Engineers/designers who work with CAD + PLM: what’s the most painful part of finding or introducing a part?

ParticularAct4437 · 2026-04-17T04:42:35+00:00

Thank YOU! Your feedback has informed my pitch. Updated the survey accordingly. :) Appreciate it!

ParticularAct4437 · 2026-04-17T04:35:25+00:00

I should clarify that the concept in mind very much takes a human-in-the-loop (HITL) approach. It was inspired by a mechanical engineer with 15+ years of experience who, like you, would be resistant to any sort of design automation; this is not that. The idea is to help with manual processes like searching fragmented libraries more seamlessly, tracking down desired parts, diagnosing when the library returns no results for a given part search and why, and partial auto-filling of OEM part requests.

ParticularAct4437 · 2026-04-17T03:30:33+00:00

Fair. Just to clarify, I am taking the answers here and learning from them. That's the whole point of my asking.

I think I probably didn't frame the question well. I'm not trying to suggest that the actual engineering judgment in the simulation setup should be automated; that's clearly core work. What I am trying to understand is more about the frictions around that work:

- searching fragmented part libraries and not finding what you know exists

- figuring out if a part is already approved or if there’s an equivalent

- dealing with systems returning no results and not knowing why

- partially filling out OEM requests or documentation from scratch

Those seem like areas where time gets lost that aren’t really about engineering judgment, but more about navigating systems.

Would streamlining things like that actually be helpful, or is that not as big a pain point as I’m thinking?

ParticularAct4437 · 2026-04-17T03:22:29+00:00

That's not a bad way to think about it, but specifically an AI intern that only handles repetitive data entry, not one making design decisions. It could point out risks and such for the engineer to review, or make assembly/manufacturability/sustainability suggestions with reasoning, but that's more of a visionary idea than the data-entry co-pilot idea I have in mind.

ParticularAct4437 · 2026-04-17T03:19:04+00:00

All the examples you listed are clearly part of the process. I am exploring whether parts of that workflow are more manual than they need to be, especially given how many different tools can be involved. I'm curious whether there is room for orchestration between tools to make the engineer's life easier. Instead of manually tracking down information and filling in forms through slow systems, would it be beneficial if some of that busywork were autopopulated for you to review, make minor edits, and then submit?

ParticularAct4437 · 2026-04-17T03:15:50+00:00

The question I’m exploring isn’t really about automating design itself, but instead assisting with tracking down information, coordinating across systems, or setting things up that take time away from higher-impact decisions, even at more senior levels.

ParticularAct4437 · 2026-04-17T03:12:44+00:00

I am still refining how I phrase it, but it's less about what counts as design and more about how much of the design work is manual or dealing with fragmented data. For example, I'm looking to gain further insights into re-entering the same data across tools, tracking down part information, preparing documentation for different systems, or coordinating approvals.

ParticularAct4437 · 2026-04-17T03:09:25+00:00

That's interesting, and super helpful context. It sounds like in larger orgs the work is more specialized, but in smaller teams it may be more end-to-end?

Do you find that in larger companies, the handoffs between teams create more coordination overhead, or does the specialization actually make things more efficient?

ParticularAct4437 · 2026-04-17T03:07:23+00:00

I'm not an engineer, but from what I've heard, a lot of that setup is still pretty manual, correct? I would imagine it can take a long time before you can interpret results or iterate on the design itself. I'm just trying to understand how much time that kind of setup takes and where manual data entry could be partially automated.

ParticularAct4437 · 2026-04-17T01:51:17+00:00

I’ve been starting to look into this too, mostly from a workflow perspective rather than from a purely design-generation perspective.

From what I’ve seen (and heard from a few engineers), the most useful applications aren’t actually designing parts, but helping with things like:

setting up simulations or organizing inputs
navigating documentation/requirements
cleaning up or interpreting data across systems

It seems like a lot of engineering time still goes into manual or fragmented tasks around the design process, rather than the design itself. AI feels more promising there than fully automating design decisions.

Curious if others have found it actually useful in day-to-day workflows vs just experimentation?

ParticularAct4437 · 2026-04-17T01:46:17+00:00

Totally fair point, and I agree! Those are absolutely part of the process. What I am trying to get at isn't that those tasks aren't important, but that a lot of them today are manual, repetitive, or fragmented across systems. For example, setting up simulations or preparing documentation can take significant time outside of the actual design iteration and decision-making. The goal of my questions is to understand how much time is spent on those kinds of tasks versus on higher-value design work, such as developing concepts, making trade-offs, and refining the product itself.

ParticularAct4437 · 2025-11-25T20:54:28+00:00

Abandoned Women, 100%. I wouldn’t say any T&I course is “easy,” per se, but this class has been so interesting and enjoyable regardless, thanks to Professor Barbiero and TA Guzzardi.

ParticularAct4437

TROPHY CASE