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What does a freelance CAD designer do?

Freelance CAD designers draft and model new buildings, homes, and other structures according to client specifications by using computer-aided design (CAD) software. CAD design freelancers have also come to perform 3D modeling for product designers and high-velocity startups. These works are often produced using some form of rapid prototyping.

Rapid prototyping encompasses traditional 3D thermoplastic extrusion printers (Additive manufacturing), metal-fusion 3D printers, photopolymer 3D or ferromagnetic fluid prototyping, or some combination of CNC milling, waterjet or laser cutting, or other high-speed production methods.

Freelance CAD designers are also responsible for creating finished assembly models, including exploded views alongside both isometric and perspective drawings of whatever they have modeled. These drawings enable the assembly teams to create a functional product from a series of pieces and blueprints.

What skills do I need to become a freelance CAD designer?

Among the most important skills for CAD designers are functional understandings of engineering design principles, expertise in object-oriented constraints, and hierarchical file organization.

CAD designing freelancers will lay out complex 3D models as smaller, functional units with internal constraints. Those functional units are then combined into larger units, such as a building floor, which will then be constrained into an even larger, complex structure, such as a skyscraper or a home.

Here are some additional CAD design skills aggregated from online job descriptions that would supplement the skill set of a Freelance CAD Designer.

• Familiarity with 2D and 3D design
• Ability to create, edit, and maintain design model libraries and drawings
• Ability to create high-quality design documents and deliverables
• Ability to meet strict deadlines; if you don’t, it will affect your ability to get more work
• Solid communication skills are important for meetings with client or project teams to obtain and discuss task requirements, obtain reference information, and gain approval of design concepts; maintain efficient information sharing with the client or project team
• Remain flexible by showing a willingness to accept changes to design approach
• Maintain current knowledge of design trends and industry standards for applications such as 3D printing, interior design, architectural design, product design, and more
• Ensure all design deliverables meet or exceed quality requirements, including part tolerance specs and constraint verification requirements.
• An associate’s degree in drafting is the most common education level for entry-level CAD designers, but earning a bachelor’s degree or higher is beneficial if you plan to advance in this competitive field
• Gain certification from the American Design Drafting Association (ADDA)

Work responsibilities for CAD design freelancers

Freelance CAD designers are responsible for ensuring that models are correctly labeled. Proper drawing labels will include callouts such as part specifications, and construction or manufacturing callouts including counterbore/countersink diameter and depth.

All drafting callouts must be consistently formatted based on ASE standards, NSME standards, or any other applicable engineering standards. Additionally, most engineering clients require at least one isometric view of a model and one exploded view of a model or, in the case of complex models, an exploded view of each simple, functional component of said model.

The callouts that CAD designers and engineers use include symbols such as counterbore, countersink, and centerline, and numerical representations such as hole depth for drilling and part totals for items such as rivets, nails, and screws.

• Verify that all designs are within tolerances and state them accordingly
• Resolve any functional design issues such as non-constrained parts or functional part errors (e.g., Two parts cannot be constrained because they would defy physics by being constrained.)
• Request and apply engineering drafting and design changes
• Work with a wide range of media, and graphic design and CAD software, such as AutoDesk (Fusion360 and AutoCAD) and SolidWorks
• Ensure that engineering ethics are applied to all drawings and that a PE-Certified engineer provides approval on all final drawings before they are shipped to the client.