Proven Payoffs from 3D Design

I'm a big fan of 3d modeling in the mechanical design field. The only problem I encounter is that too many people use different software, so it is difficult sometimes to work with designs that have been made by others

exactly!the software manufacturers should work on a standard file system (and not something like step or so; something with history. We bought our 3d package because our main 'design'supplier used that. but now we encounter other problems; it is not easy in use; you need thorough training and it is hard to find employers who can work with it or we can choose to pay a lot of money to let them follow training but you need several months/years of practice to really work with it in an efficient way. 3d design is really better then the 'old way' but you need good experience.

When I converted our mechanical design group from AutoCad to Solidworks in the late 90s, I would objectively say that it took about 9 months for their productivity to match and exceed their previous levels. But once the learning curve was over, I was satified that design cycles were shortened and fewer mistakes were released to the shop for build.