Machine CAD is among the most sensitive files a manufacturer holds. It contains your tolerances, your drive design and often a customer’s specification. Before you send it anywhere, work through this list.
1. NDA before transfer, not after
The agreement should be signed before a single file moves, and it should cover the studio’s subcontractors. You can download our mutual NDA and have your legal team mark it up, or send yours.
2. Ask how files are transferred
Email attachments are not acceptable for assemblies, and not only for size reasons. A private upload link, access-controlled, is standard.
3. Ask who can open the data
The answer should be a named project team, not the whole studio. Ask whether any work is subcontracted, and whether that subcontractor is bound by the same agreement.
4. Decide what can be simplified
Not every internal detail needs to leave your building. Proprietary mechanisms can be simplified, boxed or replaced with a representative version. Agree this before production so it does not need re-rendering later.
5. Agree publication rights separately
Signing an NDA does not mean the studio can never show the work. It means they need your written permission. Make that explicit, and say which images may appear and when, for example after your launch date.
6. Ask what happens to the files afterwards
A studio that keeps your prepared model can make future work much cheaper. That is useful, but it should be your decision. Ask for deletion terms in writing.
7. Check the export control question
If your machine or its components fall under export control rules in your country, tell the studio and confirm where the work is performed and stored.
8. Put deadlines and ownership in the same document
Rights to the delivered assets should transfer on final payment. Say so in the quote, not in a side email.
How we handle it
NDA first, private upload links, access limited to the project team, nothing published without written permission, and deletion on written request. Read how we work or send one CAD file for a free assessment.
Send one CAD file for a free assessment.
We open it, tell you what is usable, and return a fixed price and delivery date within one working day. NDA first if you need it.
