CAD & PDM Automation

Your Engineers Should Be
Engineering, Not Filing.

Every hour your team spends wrestling with file check-ins, redoing title blocks, or manually extracting BOM data is an hour they're not designing. We fix that.

We build automation for SolidWorks PDM, Inventor Vault, AutoCAD, FreeCAD, and pretty much any CAD or data management platform your team uses. Real scripts, real integrations, built by people who've actually used these tools.

15+ CAD & PDM Platforms
Days of Work to Minutes
Built by Working Engineers
60+ Years of Engineering DNA

Here's the thing about CAD automation.

Most automation vendors talk about "digital transformation" and "paradigm shifts." We'd rather talk about the specific, annoying, repetitive thing your team does every day that a script could handle in seconds.

Maybe it's the two days a month someone spends updating revision blocks across hundreds of drawings. Maybe it's the constant headache of files getting overwritten because nobody's managing versions properly. Maybe it's the manual BOM extraction that always has errors.

Whatever it is, we've probably seen it before. ESPO has been in the engineering services business since 1965. We know how design teams actually work because we've been in those trenches.

What We Actually Build

No buzzwords. Here's what our CAD automation work looks like in practice.

PDM & Vault Automation
Nobody enjoys manually checking files in and out, updating revision metadata, or chasing down who has a file locked. We build scripts and integrations that handle SolidWorks PDM workflows, Inventor Vault transitions, and file lifecycle management so your team can just design.
Batch Drawing Processing
Got 300 drawings that need title block updates? Or symbol replacements across an entire project set? We write the scripts that chew through those overnight so nobody has to sit there clicking through them one by one.
Design Validation & QA
We build automated checks that catch mistakes before they ever leave the office. Clearance violations, missing annotations, non-standard layers - flagged instantly instead of found during review or worse, in the field.
Template & Standards Enforcement
Every company has CAD standards. Almost nobody follows them perfectly. We automate compliance - layer naming, symbol libraries, annotation styles, title block formats - so the standard is the default, not the exception.
Drawing Data Extraction
Need quantities pulled from a BOM? Coordinates extracted from a layout? Attribute data pumped into a database? We build pipelines that pull structured data out of your drawings and put it where it needs to go, automatically.
Workflow & Approval Automation
Route designs through review and approval without the email chains. We connect your CAD and PDM systems to your actual business processes - automated notifications, status tracking, and audit trails built right in.

We Work With What You Work With

Commercial, open source, legacy, cutting edge - if your team uses it, we can automate it. And if you're evaluating new tools, we can help with that too.

Mechanical & Product Design

SolidWorks + PDM

API, macros, task scheduler, dispatch

Inventor + Vault

iLogic, API, Vault lifecycle automation

CATIA

V5/V6 automation, VBA, CATVBA scripting

NX (Siemens)

Journaling, NX Open API, Teamcenter

Creo (Pro/E)

Toolkit, J-Link, ModelCHECK

Architecture & Infrastructure

AutoCAD

AutoLISP, .NET API, script automation

Revit

Dynamo, Revit API, Forge integration

Civil 3D

Subassemblies, corridors, surface automation

MicroStation

VBA, MDL, batch processing

Open Source & Emerging

FreeCAD

Python scripting, macro development, custom workbenches

OpenSCAD

Parametric scripting, batch generation

KiCad

PCB automation, BOM generation, DRC scripting

LibreCAD

Script automation, DXF batch processing

Blender (CAD use)

Python API, parametric modeling pipelines

Data Management & Collaboration

SolidWorks PDM Pro

Dispatch, task add-ins, SQL automation

Autodesk Vault

Lifecycles, jobs processor, API extensions

Teamcenter

Workflow automation, ITK customization

Windchill

Workflow, lifecycle, reporting automation

Bluebeam Revu

Batch markup, Studio sessions, PDF automation

Open Source CAD? Absolutely.

Not everyone runs SolidWorks. And not everyone should. If your team uses FreeCAD, OpenSCAD, KiCad, or other open source tools, we're just as comfortable building automation there.

Python scripting, custom workbenches, parametric generation pipelines, CI/CD integration for hardware teams - the same engineering rigor, regardless of the license model.

# FreeCAD parametric automation

import FreeCAD

import Part

# Generate 50 enclosure variants

for spec in load_specs("config.csv"):

model = build_enclosure(spec)

model.exportStep(spec.output)

# 30 seconds vs. 2 days manual

Stories From the Shop Floor

No hypotheticals. Here's what we've actually done for teams like yours.

The Situation

A manufacturing shop was spending 2 full days every month manually updating title blocks and revision info across ~400 SolidWorks drawings.

What We Did

We built a PDM Dispatch routine that does the whole batch in about 15 minutes. The drafter who used to do this now spends that time on actual design work.

The Situation

An engineering firm had Inventor models scattered across network drives, no version control, and frequent "who has this file?" emergencies.

What We Did

We migrated them to Vault, automated their release workflows, and built iLogic rules that enforce their naming conventions. No more file chaos.

The Situation

A hardware startup using FreeCAD needed parametric generation of enclosure variants - different sizes, mounting patterns, and connector cutouts.

What We Did

We wrote Python macros that generate complete models from a spreadsheet of parameters. New variant in 30 seconds instead of 2 hours of manual modeling.

The Situation

A utility company needed field GPS data turned into as-built drawings in AutoCAD, but the process involved three people and two days per project.

What We Did

We automated the pipeline end-to-end. GPS data goes in, formatted as-built drawings come out. One person reviews, done.

How This Usually Works

01

You tell us what hurts

We sit down with your CAD team (or your IT team, or both) and map out where the bottlenecks are. Not a sales pitch - an actual technical conversation about your workflows.

02

We scope it honestly

Some things are a quick script. Some things need a more involved solution. We tell you which is which, and we start with the stuff that gives you the biggest return soonest.

03

We build it, you test it

We develop against your actual data, in your actual environment. No surprises when it goes live because you've been testing it the whole way through.

04

Your team owns it

We hand off working automation with documentation and training. No vendor lock-in. Your scripts, your tools, your IP.

What's the One Thing You'd Automate First?

Most teams know exactly which task eats the most time. Tell us about it - we'll tell you how fast we can fix it and what it'll save you.

No pressure, no 47-slide deck. Just a real conversation with engineers who get it.

Start the Conversation