In today's modern industrial ecosystem, migration between Computer-Aided Design (CAD) systems has become a major strategic issue. In 2025, more than 65% of engineering projects experience significant delays due to compatibility issues between CAD systems. This reality directly impacts the competitiveness of manufacturing companies, forced to juggle different technical environments while maintaining the integrity of their digital assets.
Accelerated digital transformations, mergers and acquisitions, and the constant evolution of design tools create an urgent need for effective solutions to preserve design intelligence during migrations between CATIA, NX, SOLIDWORKS, and other leading systems. The question is no longer whether a migration is necessary, but how to execute it while preserving the business value contained in parametric models.
Table of contents
- Key drivers of CAD migrations
- Technical challenges of conversion between CAD systems
- Impact on industrial performance
- Effective CAD migration strategies
- Proficiency: complete parametric conversion solution
Key drivers of CAD migrations
Industrial companies face several strategic imperatives that motivate their decision to undertake a migration between CAD systems. These triggering factors are generally part of a broader digital transformation or industrial reorganization approach.
Consolidation after mergers and acquisitions
External growth operations constitute one of the main drivers of CAD migration. When a company acquires another, it often inherits a heterogeneous technical environment that complicates engineering processes. This disparity generates considerable hidden costs:
- Multiplication of licenses and maintenance costs
- Training teams on multiple systems
- Risk of errors during repetitive conversions
- Slowing down design cycles
Rationalizing CAD systems then becomes a priority objective to maintain operational efficiency post-acquisition. This approach allows for standardizing working methods and promoting collaboration between newly integrated teams.
Modernization of legacy systems
Aging CAD systems present functional limitations that hamper innovation. Companies facing these obsolete environments often need to migrate to more modern platforms to:
- Access new modeling features (generative design, integrated simulation)
- Benefit from more ergonomic user interfaces
- Ensure compatibility with the latest operating system versions
- Reduce technical risks related to the end of publisher support
This modernization cannot, however, come at the cost of losing knowledge encapsulated in existing models, which sometimes represent decades of business expertise.
Alignment with industry standards
Pressure from principals and industrial partners pushes many companies to align with the dominant CAD systems in their sector. This standardization facilitates exchanges within value chains while reducing the risk of interpretation errors. For example:
| Industrial sector | Dominant CAD systems | Benefits of alignment |
|---|---|---|
| Aerospace | CATIA V5/V6, NX | Easier integration with aircraft manufacturers' collaborative platforms |
| Automotive | CATIA, NX, Creo | Direct compatibility with manufacturers' digital mockups |
| Industrial equipment | SOLIDWORKS, Inventor | Extended ecosystem of partners and component libraries |
PLM migrations and digital transformation
The adoption of new PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) systems frequently leads to a reassessment of associated CAD environments. This evolution is part of a more global digital transformation strategy aimed at:
- Creating a coherent digital twin of the product throughout its lifecycle
- Breaking down silos between design, engineering, and manufacturing departments
- Facilitating design reuse and knowledge capitalization
- Accelerating innovation through better technical data management
CAD migration then becomes a prerequisite to ensure optimal integration with new PLM processes, particularly to fully exploit configuration and variant management functionalities.
Technical challenges of conversion between CAD systems
Migration between CAD systems raises considerable technical challenges, which go far beyond simple geometric conversion. These obstacles are often underestimated when planning migration projects.
Preservation of design intelligence
Design intelligence constitutes the real added value of parametric CAD models. It includes:
- Construction history (feature tree)
- Parametric relationships and sketch constraints
- Design intents (symmetries, patterns, etc.)
- Business rules encapsulated in models
Neutral formats such as STEP or IGES only preserve the final geometry, losing all parametric intelligence. A true migration must maintain this intelligence to allow subsequent modification of models without complete reconstruction.
Quality and validation of converted data
Ensuring the quality of models after conversion represents a critical issue. Even minor discrepancies can have significant consequences on downstream processes:
| Type of discrepancy | Potential impact | Validation method |
|---|---|---|
| Geometric | Assembly problems, interferences | Point cloud comparison, analysis of physical properties |
| Structural | Loss of associativity, unpredictable behavior when modified | Verification of the construction tree, testing of parametric relationships |
| Metadata | Broken links with the bill of materials, loss of information | Property audit, verification of specific attributes |
A rigorous validation strategy must be implemented to certify the conformity of converted models compared to the originals, both geometrically and functionally.
Managing CAD system specificities
Each CAD system has its own particularities that complicate the conversion process:
- Fundamental differences in geometric engines (B-Rep, NURBS surfaces)
- Different approaches to modeling (feature-based design, explicit, implicit)
- Proprietary functionalities without direct equivalent (CATIA Power Copy, NX Wave Link)
- Specific methods for assembly management (constraints, positioning)
These technical disparities require a deep understanding of both source and target systems to determine the best conversion strategy, feature by feature.
Impact on industrial performance
CAD migration issues go far beyond the technical framework to directly affect the overall performance of the company.
Consequences of compatibility problems
The alarming figure of 65% of engineering projects experiencing delays due to CAD compatibility issues reveals the magnitude of the problem. These dysfunctions lead to:
- Development cycles extended by 15 to 30% on average
- Excessive mobilization of engineering resources for tasks with no added value
- Increased risks of errors during manual or partial conversions
- Additional costs related to multiple revisions and corrections
For an average manufacturing company, the financial impact of CAD interoperability problems can represent between 0.5% and 2% of revenue, not counting missed opportunities related to delayed market introduction.
Internal and external collaboration challenges
The diversity of CAD environments constitutes a major obstacle to effective collaboration between the different stakeholders of a project:
- Slowed communication between internal design offices using different systems
- Increased complexity in exchanges with subcontractors and suppliers
- Difficulties integrating external contributions into the main digital mockup
- Risks of erroneous interpretation of technical specifications
A successful CAD migration helps streamline these interactions by establishing a common technical language between all product development actors.
Continuity of the digital chain
Modern industry requires perfect continuity between design, engineering, and manufacturing. This uninterrupted digital chain is compromised by interoperability breaks between CAD systems, which affect:
- Consistency between design models and simulation tools
- Information transfer to CAM systems for manufacturing
- Integration with quality control and metrology solutions
- Synchronization with virtual and augmented reality environments
Implementing an effective migration strategy helps restore this digital continuity essential to Industry 4.0.
Effective CAD migration strategies
Faced with the identified challenges, companies must adopt a structured approach to successfully carry out their CAD migration projects.
Planning and methodology
The success of a migration project relies on meticulous preparation and a methodology adapted to the specificities of the company:
- Preliminary audit of digital assets (volume, complexity, criticality)
- Establishing a map of dependencies between models
- Defining conversion priorities (active models vs. archives)
- Choosing between a progressive approach (project by project) or mass migration
- Developing validation and quality assurance procedures
This preparatory phase allows for anticipating difficulties and optimally allocating resources throughout the project.
Available technologies and solutions
The market offers different technological approaches to meet CAD migration needs, each with its advantages and limitations:
| Conversion type | Characteristics | Appropriate use cases |
|---|---|---|
| Simple geometric conversion | Transfer of geometry alone via neutral formats (STEP, IGES, JT) | Long-term archiving, visualization, occasional exchanges |
| Semi-parametric conversion | Partial reconstruction of the feature tree with manual intervention | Small volumes, simple models, limited modification needs |
| Automated parametric conversion | Preservation of design intelligence with automatic validation | Large volumes, complex models, need to maintain modifiability |
The emergence of artificial intelligence technologies is also beginning to transform the field of CAD conversion, allowing better recognition of design intent and increased process automation.
Change management
Beyond technical aspects, the success of a CAD migration largely depends on human and organizational support:
- Training teams on new tools and methodologies
- Transparent communication about expected objectives and benefits
- Involvement of key users in testing and validation phases
- Setting up dedicated support during the transition period
- Continuous evaluation of productivity gains and necessary adjustments
This human dimension, often neglected, is nevertheless a critical success factor for the adoption of new CAD environments.
Proficiency: complete parametric conversion solution
Facing the complex challenges of migration between major CAD systems, Proficiency stands out as a complete solution that preserves design intelligence while automating a large part of the process.
Comprehensive parametric conversion approach
Proficiency offers a unique technology for full transfer of design intelligence between major CAD systems in the market:
- Support for main systems: CATIA V5, NX, Creo/Wildfire, Solid Edge, SOLIDWORKS, Inventor
- Preservation of construction history with 90% automation
- Retention of design intent (constraints, relationships, parameters)
- Complete processing of assemblies, associative drawings, and metadata
This approach maintains the modifiability of models after conversion, thus avoiding the loss of business value inherent in traditional geometric conversions.
Components of the Proficiency ecosystem
The Proficiency solution is built around several complementary modules forming a coherent ecosystem:
- Collaboration Gateway: centralized server for task management, conversion monitoring, and detailed report generation
- Proficiency Agent: application integrated with native CAD system APIs to ensure faithful and validated conversion
- DrawtoPMI: specialized module for converting 2D drawings to annotated 3D models (MBD - Model Based Definition)
- Completion Wizard: integrated remastering assistant to manually finalize partially converted elements
This modular architecture allows the solution to be adapted to the specific needs of each company, whether for a one-time migration or ongoing multi-CAD collaboration.
Validation and remastering process
The reliability of conversions performed with Proficiency is based on a rigorous validation and remastering process:
- Geometric validation through point cloud comparison for each converted feature
- Automatic verification of physical properties (volume, surface area, center of gravity)
- Intelligent replacement of non-convertible features with exact NPF geometries (Non-Parametric Feature)
- Generation of detailed reports indicating the conversion status feature by feature
In case of partial conversion, guided remastering tools allow models to be finalized up to 50% faster than with classic manual reconstruction.
| Model complexity | Parametric success rate | Geometric success rate |
|---|---|---|
| Simple | 99% | 100% |
| Medium | 98% | 100% |
| Complex | 85% | 100% |
Resource optimization and performance
The architecture of Proficiency has been designed to maximize operational efficiency during migration projects:
- Flexible architecture with portable conversion agents that can be deployed as needed
- Load balancing mechanism to distribute workload among multiple agents
- ReUse functionality avoiding redundant conversions of unchanged models
- WWAN license (When and Where As Needed) optimizing resource utilization
These features allow for efficiently processing large volumes of data while minimizing the impact on existing infrastructures.
Business benefits
Beyond technical aspects, Proficiency brings concrete benefits to companies facing CAD migration challenges:
- Significant reduction in conversion and remastering times (up to 50%)
- Complete preservation of design intent (geometry, features, relationships)
- Migration without interruption of ongoing development projects
- Total traceability via centralized reports facilitating quality audits
- Decreased risk of errors thanks to automation and systematic validations
These advantages translate into rapid return on investment, particularly for companies managing a large volume of CAD data or operating in permanent multi-CAD environments.
Conclusion
Migration between CAD systems represents a major but unavoidable challenge for industrial companies engaged in a digital transformation process. The consequences of failing interoperability - development delays, additional costs, loss of design intelligence - fully justify investment in specialized solutions like Proficiency.
The parametric approach, by preserving the construction history and design intent, helps protect the intellectual capital encapsulated in CAD models while facilitating the transition to new technical environments. This digital continuity constitutes a decisive competitive advantage in an industrial context where agility and innovation speed become key success factors.
Companies facing CAD migration challenges now have access to proven technologies that automate a large part of the process while guaranteeing the quality of converted models. Investment in these solutions represents not only a tactical response to a technical problem but also a strategic choice to maintain operational excellence in a constantly evolving industrial landscape.