Sheet Metal Design

Professional Outsourced Sheet Metal Design Services

Sheet metal design can be found in almost any industry and countless applications. You might use sheet metal within the aerospace, automotive, medical device, and defense industries, to name a few. How do we know that? Our sheet metal experts at CAD/CAM Services have designed unique parts for each of these industries.

Outsourcing your sheet metal designs to a professional CAD company is a great way to save time and money. If you pick the right outsourced CAD team, you’ll be left with high-quality sheet metal parts that can be manufactured easily, and meet all of your design requirements. The best part? It’s done quicker and more affordably than you can probably do in-house.

What Are Sheet Metal Design Services?

A sheet metal design service is when you pay an outside company to handle your sheet metal designs. For instance, you could pay our team at CAD/CAM Services to do all of the 3D modeling, and create 2D flat patterns of the sheet metal for your upcoming project.

Since we are outsourced engineers, you’re not paying us a salary or benefits, nor are you paying for our time off. You’re strictly paying for engineering efforts that go into your project.

With our sheet metal design services, we typically structure each project as an hourly or per-part price, and we tell you all of the pricing ahead of time. That means no surprises when you get the final invoice.

Our engineering experts have access to all of the major CAD programs, so we’ll make native CAD files. These files will have more information, and make your life easier when it comes time to start manufacturing.

Why Sheet Metal Design Services Matters

Sheet metal designs can make or break the success of your next project. Something as simple as assuming the wrong bending radius on a sheet can completely ruin your design. This is why it’s so important to outsource to the right sheet metal design company.

Designing a part out of sheet metal comes with a different set of rules than designing a part with standard stock metal — if you don’t know the difference, your project is doomed. Our team of over 100 engineers and draftsmen have explicit experience in the sheet metal space. We know the ins and outs of sheet metal design, and we use a number of common best practices to get the most out of each part.

With sheet metal, an inexperienced designer won’t be able to catch an issue until it’s too late. You might not know there was a problem until the part was cut, bent, and sent to your doorstep. By then, you wasted hundreds or thousands of dollars, and weeks or months of your time.

Avoid those headaches. Don’t waste time or money on your next design, just choose our sheet metal engineers at CAD/CAM Services.

What Goes into Sheet Metal Design Services from CAD/CAM Services?

Our sheet metal design services can vary a lot from project to project. Some companies just want us to do a final check and optimization of their existing sheet metal designs, most companies want us to create sheet metal designs from scratch, and others want to use us for a part of a larger sheet metal design.

In any case, our services are generally the same: we’re here to provide as much help as we possibly can. We design sheet metal parts in 3D CAD and turn them into manufacturable 2D flat layouts that your machine shop can use.

It all starts with a simple conversation with our engineers. Let us know what you want, when you want it, and how you want the designs delivered. From there, we’ll handle all of the engineering. We deliver files using encrypted services that the DoD trusts, so your trade secrets will stay safe.

We will assign a dedicated Project Manager to the project, and they’ll be your direct line of contact if you have any questions, comments, concerns, or want an update.

Our Sheet Metal Design Services Include:

3D CAD Modeling
2D “Flat Pattern” Layouts for Manufacturing
Engineering Simulation, As Needed
Reverse Engineering
Concepting, Prototyping, and Iterative Design
Production-Quality Models and Renderings
Assembly and Modeling Work
And Much More (Including Custom Services)

Get a Quote Today

With CAD/CAM Services, you can get 2D flat pattern drawings that are ready for manufacturing in no time. We go the extra mile to keep all the stress off your plate, and we aim to exceed your expectations. See the CAD Perfect® difference when you choose CAD/CAM Services today. Get a free quote to get started, and let us know what you’re looking for. Whether you need a single plate designed, or an assembly of 100 parts, we’re here to help.

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Sheet Metal Design

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Case Studies

37% Lighter Trolley Cart for FleetPride — Validated in Ansys

FleetPride's axle trolley cart redesigned in Ansys — 37% lighter (210 lbs → 132 lbs) while maintaining full 1,000 lb rated capacity.

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Reverse Engineering a Legacy Rotor Shaft

A client needed a replacement rotor shaft for industrial equipment. Original CAD files, drawings, and specifications were unavailable.

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Engine Housing Reverse Engineering

In this case study, we aimed to create a full digital model of an engine casing. This casing had no current CAD files, outdated drawings, and undocumented shapes because of years of use and part changes.

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Fan Housing Recreation

We were recently tasked with recreating a fan housing using only the client’s original paper drawings.

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CAD Modeling of an F‑16 from 3D Scan to Simulation-Ready

This case study describes how we helped a defense customer turn a dense point cloud into a usable surface model. This model was a CAD surface for an F‑16 that could feed straight into simulation.

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AFT Closure Beam Assembly – Aerospace Structure

Our team received the job of creating a detailed 3D CAD model of the AFT closure beam. This beam is an important part of the back fuselage. It helps with load transfer and connects with skins, bulkheads, and closure parts.

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Building Helicopter Parts With CATIA Composites Design Workbench

Need help with your own CATIA composites or other CAD related project? Give us a shout, and we’ll saddle up to help you out!

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Modernized Engineering Data Repository

Speeds Delivery Time in Urgent Situations for Tinker Air Force Base

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3D Scanning of Impeller by Laser and Computer Tomography

Sometimes due to the unavailability of spare parts, you have to make them yourself. This is the story of how we helped our client to recreate the missing parts with a full range of CAD design services: from CT scanning (due to complicated geometry) to...

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Automotive Design from 3D Scans

Though 3D scans post-processing is more time and resource-consuming, it is impossible to recreate an original design from poor quality scans.

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CAD Migration with Custom Standard

Despite being a relatively old industry, CAD software is still rapidly developing. This makes manufacturers change their focus CAD software. The migration process can be very time consuming, especially when you have your standards. We have proven that...

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Design Improvement through Reverse Engineering

Sometimes photos alone can be a sufficient input for a CAD Perfect™ reverse engineering.

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Existing Design Modification

Even traditional sports with a long history can benefit from modern CAD technologies. New things can be created without breaking old rules. Parametric modeling helped us to create new putter head designs.

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Managing Critical Drawings: Our Take on Central Arizona Project

Infrastructure as intricate as Central Arizona Project’s (CAP) involves complex drawings that need to be continuously monitored and updated.

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Part Catalog for Amazon

Preliminary to Amazon’s Phase 1 roll-out of a parts catalog in Amazon Supply, they needed to have 3D CAD images and files for more than 150,000 products — some with as many as 9 different file variations. The problem was how to get 1 M parts files acc...

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Pipe Flow Calculation for a Hydroelectric Power Plant

This is the story of how we recreated the piping system from old yellow drawings with 3D modeling and even made liquid run through it. This project involved a full range of services: digitizing old paper drawings, creating 3D CAD models, and running simulations,...

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REVERSE ENGINEER TURBINE IMPELLER TO A SOLIDWORKS MODEL FOR CNC

Our client, a multinational firm, is a leading maintenance company, providing maintenance services of all the machinery equipment, is often confronted with an issue of non-availability of machine parts, either due to outdated machinery or a certain modification from the stock part may be required for performance improvement, this leads them to have the specific part remanufactured. For remanufacturing they require a design and CAD / CAM services is the firm they contact to reverse engineer any design. CAD / CAM services is a top-notch firm, providing services in reverse engineering, 3D Scanning, CAD conversion, 3D modelling, Designing and manufacturing codes.

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Surface Modeling for Engine Cover Production

How we adopted sheet metal design practices to the needs of the textile industry.

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FAQ’s

General CAD Questions

How do I send a sample, in order to get a quote?

Fill out our quote form, attach your files, or simply send us an email. Tell everything about your project, like the model purpose.

For smaller files < 15 MB you can simply email them to us. For something larger, just drop them in any number of drop boxes like Dropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive and others. Or if you would like, just contact us for a private, hardened link.

It is fine to use most any time of compression such as *.zip, *.rar, *.tar, *.7z, *.arc, *.LBR, and even *.iso images.

A direct email is sales@cadcam.org

We also use a hardened OwnCloud web file sharing platform for unlimited file transfers. We provide unique and very private Web Storage Portals, this also supports file syncing for extreme convenience for you. Because so much of our work is DOD or weapons design work, Security – and confidentiality is very important to us.

Will CAD / CAM Services Sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)?

Yes. NDAs are a common part of our business. All data is yours – not ours, and treated as proprietary data and not for public consumption or use. Probably 70% of our work is under NDA agreements. We can generally get these signed within the day.

What is the estimated delivery time?

It depends on the scope of work:

2D drawings – small quantity, normally 48 hours. We have several customers where they contract to us, keeping 4-8 drafters busy full time.
3D models – complexity dependent, but smaller jobs in 2-3 days. Some models we have spent months on. Again, we have several customers where they contract to us, keeping 6-10 3D CAD designers busy full time.

Simple jobs have a lead time of 48 hours. Larger projects are delivered and invoiced weekly.

Did you really own the trademark Cad Perfect™, Cad Perfect CAD Conversions™ and Cad / Cam Services™?

Yes, we did back in 2008. We started using Cad Perfect™ back in the early 1990s because all of our customers wanted only real Cad Perfect™ work. Back then the buzz words were terms like machine ready, or DXF Traceover and others.

The problem is, nobody wanted that. They all wanted drawings and models that they did not have to touch. Everybody wanted drawings just as if they hand redrew the work themselves.

Thus, Cad / Cam Services™ was the first company to start offering ONLY Cad Perfect™ work.

Do you support the PPD-21 Directive?

Yes we do, and have now for several years. In addition, we also support the industry specific plans as well.

What is the PPD-21 Protocall?

The Presidential Policy Directive 21 (PPD-21) is a Critical Infrastructure Protection and Resilience United States directive that aims to strengthen and secure the country’s critical infrastructure.The goal of this directive is to reduce vulnerabilities, identify and disrupt threats, minimize consequences and hasten response and recovery efforts related to critical infrastructure.

The directive defines resilience as the ability to prepare for and adapt to ever changing conditions, terrorists, and withstand and recover rapidly from disruptions. Resilience includes the ability to withstand and recover from deliberate attacks, accidents, or naturally occurring threats or incidents.

Who is affected by the PPD-21 directive?

The Department of Homeland Security has identified 16 different infostructures:

Chemical Sector,
Commercial Facilities Sector,
Communications Sector,
Critical Manufacturing Sector,
Dams Sector,
Defense Industrial Base Sector,
Emergency Services Sector,
Energy Sector,
Financial Services Sector,
Food and Agriculture Sector,
Government Facilities Sector,
Healthcare and Public Health Sector,
Information Technology Sector,
Nuclear Reactors Materials and Waste Sector,
Transportation Systems Sector,
Water and Wastewater Systems Sector.

This is both Government and private sectors.

If you are in any of these industries, this directive is important to you for many reasons. Do you know where your critical sections are? Are they well protected? Are there concerns for Hazmat, security clearance requirements, and other concerns? Can you quickly rebuild what might be lost?

The important part of this means that critical infrastructure must be secure and able to withstand and rapidly recover from all hazards. Achieving this will require integration with the national preparedness system across prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery.

Further details can be found at: Government PPD-21

DHS – The National Infrastructure Protection Plan details: The National Infrastructure Protection Plan

Industry specific plans: 2015 Industry specific PPD-21 plans

CAD / CAM Services provides PPD-21 for the following industries: DHS – CAD / CAM Services

I need my project done today or tomorrow. Can you process rush jobs?

Depending upon when you catch us, yes, we can handle rush jobs. We often work over the holidays, Thanksgiving and even Christmas holidays. If you have a deadline – call us.

For years we have run three shifts of about 30 drafting folks per shift – allowing us to deliver work 3x faster, and seven days a week. Yes, we work 24/7, so you do not have to. The fun never stops here.

For 3D scanning, this is a different question. Because of the common setup work required, at best expect a 48-72 hour turn to be scanned. CAD or simulation services are in addition to that.

3D Modeling FAQs

How do you bill 3D CAD services tasks?

Per hour. Hourly rate depends on what CAD software used and typically starts at $75 per hour. In general, to make this process safer for you, we often provide you a fixed not to exceed the cost as well. That way, you are protected from an open-ended PO. However, the reality is our fees are based on time. In addition, services in say Catia or NX are more expensive than say Solidworks. Or, simulation services are commonly done by real engineers.

What do you need to give me accurate pricing?

First of all, we need to know the target CAD system and whether you have an existing template, or set of CAD standards for this project.

The main question is the overall complexity. As each part and assembly consists of different features and elements the best way is to provide us with an example. Again, a picture is worth a thousand words.

If you already have a model and need us to improve it or update it in any way we need to know which dimensions and features are critical and which can be modified to achieve your desired result. Even a before and after example works very well. We started with x, and got to this CAD file.

We can also offer you better options if you provide us with the purpose of your project (demonstration, 3D printing, FEA Simulation, CNC manufacturing, etc.). This helps us better refine the task.

How do you check your models?

We create 2D drawings from our 3D models for QC purposes. We follow aerospace standards and deliver ±.005” accuracy models for all projects. All of our QC is done by a different person than the designer. On Catia work, we often use Q-Checker for Airbus.

What is the minimum price for your 3D modeling services?

We have a minimum order fee $150.

Reverse Engineering FAQs

What do you guys need to provide me with accurate pricing?

We need to know whether you need your parts to be scanned by us. Or many times we can work with 3D scans provided by third-party companies. The quality of the scan is everything in our business. Anyway, we strongly advise you to use us for both the scanning and the CAD conversion aspects. That way, we can control the quality. Sometimes we receive poor quality scans which make it impossible to create truly Cad Perfect™ models for you. By all means, send us a couple of even cell phone photos, and the rough size of the object. Most of the time, this will provide us enough information to provide a real bid.

The price depends on the part complexity, size, as well as the target file parametres. We need to know whether you need full parametric models, and your desired accuracy. If you tell us the purpose of reverse-engineered models, we can often provide you with possible solutions. The target CAD software may change the price as well. This includes sophisticated Workstation add-on products such as Composites, Catia electrical wiring, mold design, and others.

What is reverse engineering?

Reverse engineering is the process of analyzing an existing physical object, product, component, assembly, or system to understand its design, dimensions, materials, and functionality so it can be recreated, modified, documented, or manufactured again.

In the CAD and engineering world, reverse engineering typically involves converting a physical part into accurate 3D CAD models, 2D drawings, and engineering documentation.

We often: 1) Capture Existing Data by 3D scanning, 2) create a Digital model, often called a Point Cloud, 3) build a 3D model, and 4) produce the required engineering documentation.

How accurate is reverse engineering?

Typical Accuracy Ranges

Hand Measurements (Calipers, Micrometers) ±0.001" to ±0.010"

Structured Light Scanning ±0.001" to ±0.005"

Laser Scanning ±0.002" to ±0.010"

Photogrammetry ±0.010" to ±0.100"+

CMM Measurement ±0.0001" to ±0.001"

Hybrid Scan + CMM Validation ±0.0005" to ±0.002"

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For aerospace, medical, and precision manufacturing applications, a combination of 3D scanning and CMM inspection is often used to achieve the highest accuracy.

Also, there can be two parts to this answer: 1) The accuracy of the scanner, and then 2) if we are going all the way to an editable feature-rich CAD file. If we are going all the way to the CAD file, we are within ±.005” of any Point Cloud data.

What is the difference between 3D scanning and reverse engineering?

Many people use the terms 3D scanning and reverse engineering interchangeably, but they are not the same thing.

3D scanning is the process of capturing an object's geometry. Reverse engineering is the process of converting that captured data into usable engineering information, such as CAD models, drawings, and manufacturing documentation.

Simple Explanation

Think of it this way:

3D Scanning = Data Collection = a picture of 1,000,000 dots in 3D space
Reverse Engineering = Engineering Reconstruction = a feature rich, editable CAD Perfect® CAD file.

A 3D scanner captures the shape of an object. Reverse engineering transforms that shape into an intelligent, editable CAD model that engineers and manufacturers can use.

Can you reverse engineer obsolete parts?

Yes. Reverse engineering obsolete parts is one of the most common reasons organizations pursue reverse engineering services.

When original manufacturers no longer support a component—or when CAD files, drawings, tooling, and engineering records have been lost—reverse engineering can recreate the engineering data needed to manufacture replacement parts and extend the life of critical equipment.

Why Obsolete Parts Need Reverse Engineering

Organizations often face situations where:

The original manufacturer is no longer in business.
Replacement parts are unavailable.
CAD files and drawings have been lost.
Legacy equipment remains operational and critical.
Lead times for replacement equipment are too long.
Modern equivalents are incompatible with existing systems.

Rather than replacing an entire machine, reverse engineering allows companies to reproduce the specific component that has become unavailable.

Can you reverse engineer a part without drawings?

Yes. In fact, most reverse engineering projects begin with no drawings, CAD files, or engineering documentation at all.

Engineers can reverse engineer a part using the physical component itself, measurements, 3D scanning, inspection equipment, and engineering analysis to recreate the original design.

How much does reverse engineering cost?

Typical Reverse Engineering Cost Ranges

Simple Part $500–$2,500

Mechanical Assembly $2,000–$15,000

Tool & Die Reverse Engineering $5,000–$50,000+

Point Cloud to CAD $1,000–$100,000+

Aircraft & Defense Projects Custom Quote

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Factors That Influence Cost

Part Complexity

A simple machined block with a few holes may require only a few hours of engineering effort, while a complex casting with freeform surfaces can require significantly more modeling time.

Part Size

Larger parts generally require:

More scanning time
More measurement data
More CAD reconstruction effort

Can reverse engineering create a Digital Twin?

Yes. Reverse engineering is often the first step in creating a Digital Twin, especially when original CAD models, engineering drawings, or product data are unavailable.

A Digital Twin is a digital representation of a physical asset that accurately reflects its geometry, structure, and, in many cases, its operational behavior. Reverse engineering provides the engineering data needed to build that digital representation.

How Reverse Engineering Supports Digital Twin Creation

When an organization has a legacy asset with limited or missing documentation, engineers can:

Capture the physical asset using 3D scanning and measurement technologies.
Create accurate CAD models through reverse engineering.
Generate engineering documentation and metadata.
Integrate the resulting models into simulation, PLM, BIM, IoT, or asset management systems.
Establish a Digital Twin that can be updated throughout the asset's lifecycle.

What CAD software do you support?

Can you create manufacturing drawings from a scanned part?

Yes. Manufacturing drawings can be created from a scanned part, but the process involves more than simply scanning the component.

A 3D scan captures the physical geometry of the part, while engineers use reverse engineering techniques to create an accurate CAD model and generate production-ready manufacturing drawings.

The final drawing package may include:

Orthographic views
Dimensions
Tolerances
GD&T
Material specifications
Surface finish requirements
Notes and callouts
Bill of Materials (BOM)

Do you support aerospace and defense reverse engineering?

Yes. Aerospace and defense reverse engineering is a specialized engineering service used to recreate, modernize, and support legacy aircraft, military systems, ground support equipment, tooling, and mission-critical components when original engineering data is unavailable or obsolete.

Organizations throughout the aerospace and defense industries use reverse engineering to maintain operational readiness, extend service life, and create modern digital engineering assets for aging platforms.

Why Choose CAD/CAM Services?

Reverse engineering specialists since 1988
Millions of CAD models completed
100+ engineers and drafters
CATIA, NX, Creo, SolidWorks, and Inventor experts
Aerospace, defense, industrial, and government experience
U.S.-based engineering team
ITAR-capable projects
Model-Based Definition (MBD) expertise
Digital Twin and engineering modernization support

Finite Element Analysis FAQs

What is the purpose of FEA?

A Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is a form of non-destructive testing (NDT) that shows how your part reacts to real-world loading events. A common example is running an FEA on a support bracket. The FEA will give results showing how much the bracket deflects, how much reactive force is seen, and the kind of internal stresses the bracket experiences.

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FEA results will change dramatically based on the position and angle of the load, how much force is applied, the material properties of the part, and the design of the part itself.

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An FEA is used to optimize a part before manufacturing begins. It allows you to find weak points within your part or assembly, and it will predict a failure before you physically make anything. This gives you an opportunity to fine-tune each part to optimize its size, strength, and cost before you start producing it.

What do you need to make an accurate simulation?

The more information we have, the more accurate the simulation results will be. It also depends on what type of simulation you want to run. For a simple FEA, we can run an accurate simulation with just a 3D CAD model and loading/force/pressure information that you want to simulate.

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Don’t have a 3D model? Not a problem, our team can make one for you from scratch, and then run an FEA on it.

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For a more detailed answer, a well-run FEA will need:

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• Material properties: What material is the part made out of? We can run different FEAs with different materials to help you pick the right one.

• Loading conditions: The size, location, and type of load you want to simulate.

• Bonding condition: How is the part held in place? Is it bolted, welded, or just sitting on a tabletop?

• A 3D model

• For other simulations: Please provide us with all thermal, dynamic, aero, and/or fluid flow information. Feel free to call us and we’ll walk you through what we need.