CAD Automation
Quote approved at 4 pm. Manufacturing still waits for engineering to open the template. Mercura runs parametric CAD jobs from configuration rules when orders confirm and routes exceptions to review.
The challenge
Quote approved at 4 pm. Manufacturing still waits for engineering to open the template.
A manufacturer of industrial fume extraction hoods and duct runs for metal fabrication shops configures hood face width, capture velocity, filter module, and duct diameter in Mercura CPQ. Inside sales converts approved quotes to orders the same afternoon. Production planning opens the drawing release board and finds fourteen confirmed jobs still waiting because each order needs a design engineer to open the CATIA master template and type dimensions from the quote PDF.
The work is repetitive: every hood variant follows the same parametric pattern with different widths and duct lengths. Transcription from quote to CAD introduces errors anyway. A filter slot dimension copied wrong becomes a rework ticket after panels are cut. Engineering capacity caps order throughput even though product rules already encode valid parameter ranges in CPQ.
CAD integration maps confirmed configuration fields to CAD template variables when an order accepts. 3D parametric visualization reshapes browser geometry as buyers change dimensions. 3D product configuration swaps pre-built meshes during sales configuration. Visual product configurators update marketing images beside option pickers. CAD automation is different: Mercura triggers parametric template jobs from the same configuration rules that priced the quote, generating STEP, DXF, or drawing output when the quote converts, with engineering review reserved for configurations outside template bounds.
Inquiry to config to price to approval to order should not leave manufacturing idle while engineering manually opens files that CPQ already parameterized.
How it works
How Mercura CAD automation works
Engineering links each product family to a parametric CAD master in SolidWorks, Inventor, CATIA, Creo, or NX. Mercura maps configuration attributes to template variables: hood width, duct run length, material gauge, filter module, and mounting options. When a quote converts to an order or passes an approval step you define, Mercura queues a generation job with the parameter set. Valid configurations produce output to a manufacturing folder and attach traceability back to the originating quote. Configurations outside template limits enter an engineering exception queue instead of failing silently on the shop floor. BOM lines from the same configuration session feed production planning. Someone must maintain master templates, test jobs after rule changes, and define which conversion events trigger generation.
What's included
What CAD automation covers
- Parametric CAD jobs triggered on quote-to-order conversion
- Template library with one master model per configurable family
- Output to STEP, DXF, IGES, and PDF drawing formats
- Rules validation before generation blocks unmanufacturable configs
- Engineering exception queue for out-of-template configurations
- BOM from the same session that drives CAD generation
- Output linked to originating quote for traceability
- Connectors for SolidWorks, Inventor, CATIA, Creo, and NX templates
The difference
CPQ to CAD before and after automation jobs
- Confirmed orders wait in a drawing queue behind manual CAD work
- Dimensions retyped from quote PDFs into parametric templates
- Transcription errors between CPQ values and shop drawings
- Throughput limited by design engineer headcount
- Engineers spend most time on repetitive parametric variants
- Template jobs start when quotes convert within rule bounds
- Configuration parameters pass straight to CAD without re-entry
- Manufacturing receives drawings matched to approved CPQ numbers
- Engineering reviews exceptions, not every standard variant
- Order release decoupled from manual template opening
Real-world application
Example workflow: fume hood orders to CATIA without a drawing queue
A fume extraction OEM confirmed hood and duct orders in Mercura every afternoon but released CATIA drawings only after engineers manually opened templates and retyped face width and run length from quote exports. After Mercura CAD automation mapped configuration output to parametric masters, order conversion queued generation jobs for in-bounds configs and pushed STEP output to the fabrication folder within minutes. Engineering handled the exception queue when a custom filter stack exceeded template limits. Production planning stopped waiting on a fourteen-job backlog for standard hood sizes.
Business impact
Why CAD automation is generation on conversion, not a replacement for template design
CAD automation closes the gap between approved configuration and production-ready geometry for parametric product families. It complements CAD integration connectors, 3D sales visualization, multi-level BOM setup, and rules-based configuration. Mercura does not replace master template authorship, novel product design, or PLM processes outside mapped families. Someone must own template libraries and regression tests when rules change. If the pain is "CPQ approved the order but CAD still waits on engineering to open the file", generation on conversion aligns inquiry, configuration, price, approval, and order with drawings manufacturing can build from the same numbers sales confirmed.
Convert an approved hood configuration and watch the parametric CAD job land in the manufacturing folder
Book a demo and walk quote-to-order conversion until template output appears for in-bounds configs and exceptions route to engineering review.
Let’s build together.
We empower manufacturers to master product modeling, streamline quoting process, reduce errors, and ultimately deliver the tailored solutions that customers demand.