If you're in building product manufacturing, you know the drill: design files go to the shop floor, problems are flagged, changes go back and forth — and suddenly, deadlines are missed, costs climb, and efficiency suffers.
To tackle these issues, SolidCAD hosted a roundtable discussion with experts to explore how digital workflows can better connect design and production teams in the manufacturing space.
Our virtual session — Digital Workflows in Building Product Manufacturing: Connecting Design to Production — brought together technical consultants, strategists, and industry leaders for a practical conversation on breaking down silos and accelerating production.
Here are the top takeaways and how you can apply them to your operations.
One of the first topics tackled by the panel was the disconnect between engineering design and the shop floor — a frequent and costly challenge.
Outdated or disconnected CAD files
No centralized “single source of truth”
Manual workflows slowing down operations
The conclusion? Without purposeful coordination and connected tools, even the best designs face friction during production.
SolidCAD’s Kyle Dawe and Canossa Armstrong shared actionable strategies for implementing scalable digital workflows in manufacturing environments.
Start small: Avoid over-customization at the beginning. Automate a few processes, measure the results, and expand gradually.
Collaborate early: Engage both design and production teams during planning to ensure adoption and alignment.
Enable real-time collaboration: Tools like Fusion 360 and Autodesk Vault are most valuable when they enhance collaboration, not just file management.
Attendees also experienced a live demonstration of automation tools that streamline everyday production tasks, including:
Generating shop drawings
Managing BOMs (Bill of Materials)
Extracting part lists from CAD models
These automated workflows showcased how manufacturers can reduce manual tasks, minimize errors, and accelerate time-to-market.
The live Q&A revealed that many teams are grappling with:
Migrating legacy datasets into new systems
Aligning workflows across remote or distributed teams
Scaling pilot programs to full deployment
Digital transformation is more than just adopting software — it requires leadership, the right mindset, and repeatable processes.
As Kyle Dawe put it:
“Digital workflows succeed when everyone’s speaking the same language — and the tools are set up to reinforce that, not get in the way.”
Couldn’t attend the live session? Watch the full recording on-demand.
Whether you’re a manufacturing leader, project manager, or technical specialist, this session is packed with actionable tips to streamline your production workflows.
If you’re exploring how to modernize your own design-to-production workflows, SolidCAD can help.