outsourcing your CAD design work ?

[dmonwaxa]

Interesting post Tom,

There's a site called 99 designs.com that has a similar approach. You offer "prize money" to the winning design. Therefore you get to choose the best design from the pool of entries.

You can view each entrant's portfolio and it provides a venue for upcoming talent to promote their skills.

The site receives a small percentage of the prize money for their share.

http://99designs.ca/landing/home/

Didn't see a category for CAD design...

 

[RJS8669]

What's the average time spent on design of a single posterior, including loading and emailing final design... not ot mention accounting for any ratty margins.

Not sure about the download/import time, but I'm between 3-6 minutes for a single posterior from opening the file to generating cam. I average about 12/hour as long as I'm not interrupted...

 

[dmonwaxa]

even you outsourcing your design work , how could lose it ?? you pay for it , so you control it , if the design center can not design as good as you expect ,ok just do not pay them. this is easy business , you do not need any shipping ,export and import .

this would be a very good business in future , just do it .

Very interesting question is raised. So, if a lab outsourced a project to a milling lab,,,,, scan, design and mill. And the lab pays for that service,,,,,who owns the design file,,,the milling lab? Shouldn't the requesting lab be provided with said file? It seems like a service you paid for.

 

[dmonwaxa]

Not sure about the download/import time, but I'm between 3-6 minutes for a single posterior from opening the file to generating cam. I average about 12/hour as long as I'm not interrupted...

What your fee for service?

 

[Tom Moore]

I know I've used elance.com for years for different projects and they have done over a billion dollars worth of business in what they offer. The work has always been good and the time was faster that here in town and much cheaper.

Someone on the other side of the world can design while you sleep and you mill the next morning. You spend time finding designers you want to work with and then it could be easy.

The ability to find a designer with say John Wilson's ability on big complicated cases could allow many more labs to do that sort of work or the single go out of house so you can design the hard stuff. Lots of possibilities.

Bidding could be based on average time for the type case you put out on contract and the difference would be the per hour charge the vendor wants to design. In time you would have a list of designers you will work with based on what the do best, turn time and price.

Who knows, If lab owners learn that their personal control of everything is not necessary for everything while teaching themselves to be better business people may see lab size growth and a need for fewer labs. Then their market share in even our shrinking margins will deliver more profit dollars in the bank, more time off, and less stress being a lab owner.

I'm just drawing in the air but looking outside the box is fun for me.

 

[Tom Moore]

Like I do on my elance projects the site takes half the money and holds it to confirm the start of the contract on the project. When you and the vendor have decided the project is complete you sign off the contact is complete and pay the rest of the money to the site to get the final files. Then the designer gets paid. The files are yours not the vendors.

Remember once you have designers you trust you could send many crowns at a time in one contract and get a better deal.

If you are not happy with the designers work there would be ways of braking the contract but remember the people bidding on your work are wanting to make money and not just once. I have never had change requests that where not done working this way with other types of projects.

 

[Tom Moore]

fee for service would be the most I will give and the least you will take crossing paths

 

[rkm rdt]

I like the concept very much.

I have seen ads on here for cad designers go unfilled because the owner wants the tech to come to work in his lab.

Cad designers are quite at home working in their pjs and freelancing seems to be the best scenario.

 

[CoolHandLuke]

the new sponsor will be offering a flat-rate design fee on cases sent as scans only.

looking like end of november now.

 

[McTeeth]

What kind of turnaround time do you need?

24-48 hours I suppose. I don't expect same day. If the designer is kick-ass (minimal adjustments) Could be 100-200+ units a month. I have been designing for 4 years, looking for a change, interested in CAM. But finding a CAD replacement is difficult. Need to build that trust. The right person could have steady work for quite a while. I guess I'm looking to hire lol, you could say.

Full mouth dental knowledge + computer skills + digital artistry is a unique skill-set,

 

[Acrylic Innovation]

Argen and Bego are two of my favorite milling centers! Chock-full of support!

Had two days at the Argen facility.... FK AMAZING stuff going on there!

 

[McTeeth]

the new sponsor will be offering a flat-rate design fee on cases sent as scans only.

looking like end of november now.

What is going on?

 

[RJS8669]

24-48 hours I suppose. I don't expect same day. If the designer is kick-ass (minimal adjustments) Could be 100-200+ units a month. I have been designing for 4 years, looking for a change, interested in CAM. But finding a CAD replacement is difficult. Need to build that trust. The right person could have steady work for quite a while. I guess I'm looking to hire lol, you could say.

Full mouth dental knowledge + computer skills + digital artistry is a unique skill-set,

I was going to say let's give it a shot until I saw you were in Canada. I'm in the States, and I don't know a thing about doing business across borders...

 

[LA Ceramics]

Having an outside source for CAD work is killer awesome if can find a qualified individual(no middleman!) with whom you have developed a relationship of trust and understanding. Many large companies have come and go whiz kids who can push all the knobs but know jack sprat about dental form and function because surprise, surprise,... they are not dental technicians. Choose your own guy/gal carefully and when you find this person tuck em under your arm and trot in for the easy score!!!
( Sorry,..football season)

 

[CoolHandLuke]

What is going on?

there will be a new sponsor to DLN very soon. some of you may recognize who it is.

 

[KentPWalton]

I would not favor sourcing out my designs. We have our parameters and specific library that we spent time on dialing in. How would you get the same results from someone who knows nothing about what you specifically need? My parameters and designs are what keeps my clients happy.

So you export your settings to the place you want to outsource and they can design to your settings. No worries after that right? You can also check their designs and sign off on them before they finish them if you wanted to.

 

[CoolHandLuke]

after all it is better to have some measure of control before the product begins manufacturing, and avoid getting work you wouldnt be happy to pay for.

 

[KentPWalton]

I'm in on that CHL if you need someone else.

 

[Tom Moore]

The problem is there is no place for the needs and those that can fill the needs can meet and do business.

If the design is done by an eastern European D/CAD designer and its milling and finished is done in the US where is it made?

The world is flat first done with FedEx now with the internet and no shipping costs.

I'm busy as hell but I think I may take this on.

We do much of our design work with our own proprietary software so I couldn't use the service much but I've becoming convinced it will work.

This could be an international site drawing cases for all over the planet being designed by designers from all over the plant.

Monday is my day off so I'll spend it looking for the stating place.

 

[Tom Moore]

what I see is Dental Cad designers will find they can make much more money at home than their day job at a lab. The idea of using the internet, some software and a computer at home will appeal to many out there. Working as hard as you want and then taking time off when you need it not when it's convenient to the boss is attractive.

I've already put out bids to build the site to do the deed, that is if I can afford it. I should know in a day or two.