How to choose CAD

All of us frequently read in articles referring to one theme - how to choose the best CAD. As a rule, their authors themselves are representative this or that company developing this or that software. And if you follow recommendations given in these articles, you without any trouble will choose the best CAD - and it will be not difficult to realize which CAD it will be! Sometimes authors analyze CADs - their and others - and these "others" do not bear any comparison with "their" CAD. It is obviously that if an article was written by a developer or - more - sales-manager, one cannot find a fair assessment in it. Currently, there is not firms or experts who could analyze fairly all existing CADs, estimate their characteristics and recommend one of them. The buyer has to collect information, advertising, leaflets and study sophisticated system and required equipment.  

In the present article we would like to give you several recommendations referring to choosing CAD for a small manufacture. The buyer should know criteria of estimation of the software he is going to buy.

The first question is whether you need CAD or not in principle. Some businessmen think that buying CAD will automatically solve all their problems. In this case buying CAD, as usual, brings things to worth, and CAD becomes no more than a ballast. 

You should decide for yourself: how you could deal without CAD. If you need patterns, you can buy patterns, not CAD. If you need marker making - calculate the total cost of CAD, equipment, materials and burden charges. Will the volume of output compensate these charges and keep your equipment busy (sometimes it occurs that highly-technological and expensive equipment uses no more than 20-30% of its possibilities) and how you would have your equipment repaired. 

Maybe you need CAD to solve certain problems, mainly of technological character. But personnel management problems will be changed, too. The designer who works manually can be employed for a short period and fired at any moment. The designer whose work is computerized have to study the program no less than a month, and his/her mistakes are much more expensive. When such a specialist leaves his job, it creates great problems.  

If you came to the decision that CAD is necessary for your business, you should collect information. Devise it into several packs: advertisements, fiction and rubbish. You can transfer the data from one pack to another - until you have the exact decision: what you need and what are resources of CAD. Any advertise leaflet will provide you with a long list of those who had bought this or that software and their good references. But to buy a CAD is not the same as to use it in concrete work. In closer interviewing these designers and modelers we have found out that they did not master the program, that wide range of CAD's resources are not being used properly, that modelers keep working manually, as before (and managers of the manufacture have not the slightest idea about real state of affairs). We know from experiences: those who has bought our CAD and now use it, prefer not to spread information on it - for that reason that they, naturally, do not want the same god results for their competitors. 

The next step is choosing CAD. Firstly, estimate the sum you are able to spend for it and how, correspondingly, will increase output of your manufacture. The list of currently existing CADs is not too long, and it will be even shorter if we divide them into categories on the base of the price. "Expensive" and "cheap" CADs should be choused under different criteria. 

We have divided all CADs as follows: 

Without analyzing all characteristics of CADs, we would like to draw your attention to the most necessary module, namely - construction, or designing. Traditional CADs (old versions of LECTRA, GERBER, INVESTRONICA) practically do not have module of constriction; ready patterns are to be input via digitizer. That is why you will not solve problems of drafting if you buy one of traditional CADs (with a digitizer). If you want to automate the very process of pattern making, you need CAD which could provide you with new approach. And the criterion of the estimation of construction of construction module will be: the more methods, ready models and patterns in CAD (or patterns and methods can be additionally bought), the more useful CAD is. 

Some systems are being sold with 3 of 4 methods of base slopers designing. "As for the rest models and methods, - say sellers and designers, - you can easily add them yourself and create hundreds of models, input any method". Do not believe it! New models are to be developed, and this process is rather time-consuming; not every method can be developed within system frames - as a rule, resources of the system are oriented to the methods already input to the system. 

Every developer should show strong aspects of his CAD. But to publish information on weak aspects is at developer's wish. And here the board between keeping silence and a obvious lie must be drawn. 

...So, if you need a construction module, LEKO is the best system. 250 models of different cutting in the first delivery, 30+30+30=90 additional "libraries" of models (approximately $2 per model), made-to-measure and customized models. You may change allowances and lengths for each model that substantially widens the range of real models (in traditional sense of the word). Our system, of course, has its weak aspects. There is no system without weak aspects. In 6.94 version it is weak module of marker making, that makes it useful for small manufacturers only. It is not integrated into automate cutting machine. But our system has additional strong aspects, which, at the first sight, are hidden: 

powerful construction filling of the system 

technology of new construction methods development 

powerful database of inside objects. Provides for adjustment of versions, makes work more transparent 

additional language, for widening resources of the system 

3-dismentional module 

To end our article, we would like to note. 

CADs based on AUTOCAD must be Russian invention. Surprisingly, that, although AUTOCAD was developed abroad, nobody of its developers had an idea of using it for apparel construction. In Russia, we know at least three companies, which promote their products. Their advertising is based on the following idea: AUTOCAD is great, and, consequently, we are great, too. But we think that "greatness" must not be declared, but proved.

 For more information, please, contact us:  leko@lekala.info