Overview
Shapr3D provides two ROI calculators to help teams quantify the financial impact of implementing accessible CAD software:
Manufacturing Operations Calculator Measures potential savings from reduced downtime, faster fixture design, and eliminated walk-back time.
Innovation & R&D Calculator Quantifies potential savings from reduced prototyping costs, faster iteration cycles, and decreased contractor dependency.
Both calculators are ungated, shareable, and provide:
- Annual cost savings estimate
- Payback period in months
- First-year ROI percentage
- Downloadable one-page PDF summary
- Shareable URL with embedded results
Last Updated: October 27, 2025
Manufacturing Operations Calculator
Who Should Use This
Use the manufacturing calculator if your team:
- Designs fixtures, jigs, and tooling for production lines
- Creates replacement parts for maintenance
- Modifies equipment and production layouts
- Works on factory floors away from engineering desks
- Waits in CAD specialist queues for simple designs
Input Categories
Team & Tools
Team Size
- Number of engineers and technicians who could benefit from accessible CAD
- Typical range: 5-50 people
- Example: 25 people
Hourly Rate (Average)
- Fully-loaded cost per hour including salary, benefits, and overhead
- Industry benchmark: $65-$80/hour for maintenance engineers
- Example: $70/hour
Current Software Cost/Month
- Total monthly licensing for existing CAD tools
- Industry benchmark: $1,500/month per seat for traditional CAD
- Used for direct cost comparison
Current Operational Costs
Downtime Cost/Month
- Financial impact of production downtime while waiting for engineering solutions
- Industry range: $39,000 to $2,000,000 per hour depending on facility
- Automotive assembly line: Typically $500,000-$1,000,000/hour
- Example: $1,000,000/month
Scrap/Rework Cost/Month
- Cost of scrapped materials and rework due to tooling design errors
- Industry benchmark: $30,000 per incident for fixture rework
- Example: $60,000/month
Changeover/Setup Time/Month (Hours)
- Time spent changing over production lines, including fixture adjustments
- Industry benchmark: 3 changeovers/week × 5 lines × 3 hours = 180 hours/month
- Example: 180 hours
Fixture & Jig Design Time/Month (Hours)
- Engineering hours spent designing fixtures and manufacturing aids
- Industry benchmark: 5-8 tooling engineers × 40-60% of time = 400-800 hours
- Example: 800 hours
Operator Walk-Back Time/Month (Hours)
- Time lost walking between factory floor and engineering desks
- Depends on facility layout and distance
- Example: 20 hours
New Operator Training Hours
- Hours to train new operators on existing CAD systems
- Traditional CAD benchmark: 40-100 hours for basic proficiency
- Example: 40 hours
Transition Effort
One-Time Training Hours & Cost
- Initial investment to train team on Shapr3D
- Calculator estimates: 20 hours × average employee cost × number of employees
- This is the upfront investment recovered during payback period
ROI Horizon
Years to Measure
- Time period for ROI calculation (1-5 years, default 3)
- Dropdown selection
Innovation & R&D Calculator
Who Should Use This
Use the innovation calculator if your team:
- Develops product concepts and early-stage designs
- Creates physical prototypes frequently
- Works with external design agencies
- Spends significant time in design review cycles
- Iterates concepts before detailed engineering
Input Categories
Team & Tools
Team Size
- Number of engineers and designers working on concept development
- Typical range: 5-20 people
- Example: 10 people
Hourly Cost (Average)
- Fully-loaded cost per hour for design engineers
- Industry benchmark: $100-$130/hour for senior automotive design engineers
- Example: $120/hour
Current Software Cost/Month
- Monthly licensing for existing CAD and visualization tools
- Industry benchmark: $1,500/month per seat for tools like Alias
- Example: $15,000/month
Current Operational Costs
Prototypes per Month
- Number of physical prototypes created monthly
- Types: Clay models, 3D prints, high-fidelity mockups
- Example: 4 prototypes/month
Average Prototype Cost
- Cost per physical prototype
- Low-fidelity (3D prints): $1,000-$5,000
- Mid-fidelity (functional mockups): $10,000-$50,000
- High-fidelity (clay models, show quality): $50,000-$1,000,000
- Example: $50,000
Iteration Loops per Project
- Average design-review-rework cycles per project
- Traditional workflow: 4-8 loops typical
- Example: 6 loops
External Contractor Spend/Month
- Monthly spend on external agencies for concept modeling or visualization
- Industry range: $10,000-$100,000/month
- Example: $30,000/month
Concept-to-Model Time per Idea (Hours)
- Hours to transform sketch/idea into 3D concept model
- Traditional CAD benchmark: 15-25 hours with tools like Alias
- Example: 20 hours
Design Review Prep Time/Week (Hours)
- Weekly hours preparing models and presentations for reviews
- Traditional workflow: 8-15 hours/week exporting, formatting, presenting
- Example: 10 hours/week
Review Meetings per Week
- Number of formal and informal design review meetings
- Typical range: 3-8 meetings/week
- Example: 5 meetings/week
Training Time per Team Member (Hours)
- Hours for new designer to become proficient
- Traditional CAD (Alias, ICEM): 80-120 hours
- Example: 100 hours
Transition Effort and ROI Horizon
Same as manufacturing calculator.
Industry Benchmarks
Manufacturing Operations
Manufacturing Cost Metrics
| Metric |
Low |
Average |
High |
| Maintenance Engineer Hourly Cost | $65 | $70 | $80 |
| Production Downtime Cost/Hour | $39,000 | $500,000 | $2,000,000 |
| Fixture Rework Cost/Incident | $20,000 | $30,000 | $50,000 |
| Changeovers/Week (5 lines) | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Hours per Changeover | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Traditional CAD Training Hours | 40 | 60 | 100 |
Innovation & R&D
Design Cost Metrics
| Metric |
Low |
Average |
High |
| Design Engineer Hourly Cost | $100 | $120 | $130 |
| Low-Fidelity Prototype | $1,000 | $3,000 | $5,000 |
| Mid-Fidelity Prototype | $10,000 | $30,000 | $50,000 |
| High-Fidelity Prototype | $50,000 | $200,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Design-Review Loops/Project | 4 | 6 | 8 |
| Contractor Monthly Spend | $10,000 | $30,000 | $100,000 |
| Concept-to-Model Hours | 15 | 20 | 25 |
| Traditional CAD Training (Alias) | 80 | 100 | 120 |
CAD Software Annual Costs
Software Annual Cost per Seat
| Software |
Annual Cost per Seat |
| SolidWorks | $5,000-$8,000 |
| CATIA | $10,000-$30,000 |
| Siemens NX | $7,500-$20,000 |
| Alias | $8,000-$12,000 |
| Shapr3D Enterprise | $2,500-$3,000 |
How to Use the Calculators
Step 1: Choose Your Calculator
Select Manufacturing if: Your primary need is designing fixtures, tooling, and maintenance parts on the factory floor.
Select Innovation if: Your primary need is concept development, prototyping, and early-stage design iteration.
Step 2: Gather Your Data
For Manufacturing:
- Current team size and hourly rates
- Recent downtime incidents and costs (check production reports)
- Scrap and rework expenses from past 3-6 months
- Changeover frequency and duration (production scheduling)
- Fixture design time from project tracking
- Current CAD software costs (license invoices)
For Innovation:
- Design team size and rates
- Prototype production records (quantity and cost from last 6 months)
- External contractor invoices
- Average project iteration counts
- Time tracking for concept development
- Current software licensing costs
Step 3: Input Your Numbers
Use Accurate Data:
- Pull from accounting systems, not estimates
- Use fully-loaded hourly costs (salary + benefits + overhead)
- Industry defaults are provided if you don't have specific data
Common Data Sources:
- Hourly rates: HR or finance department
- Downtime costs: Operations/production management
- Prototype costs: Purchasing records or supplier invoices
- Contractor spend: Accounts payable
- Training time: HR onboarding records
Step 4: Review Results
The calculator displays:
- Payback Period: Months until training investment is recovered
- First-Year ROI: Percentage return in year one
- Annual Savings: Ongoing yearly cost reduction
- Cost Breakdown Table: Shows which categories contribute most savings
- Before/After Chart: Visual comparison of top 3 cost categories
Step 5: Share Results
Download Options:
- One-page PDF summary for management
- Shareable URL (results embedded in link)
- Email results (optional - only if you want PDF emailed)
Using Results Internally:
- Share PDF with decision makers and procurement
- Validate assumptions with finance team
- Adjust inputs for different scenarios
- Use as starting point for pilot program business case
Interpreting Your Results
Payback Period
What It Means: Months until one-time training investment is recovered through ongoing savings.
Typical Ranges:
- Less than 6 months: Strong immediate impact
- 6-12 months: Reasonable payback
- 12-18 months: Longer-term investment
- Greater than 18 months: Review assumptions or consider different use case
First-Year ROI
What It Means: Percentage return on investment in year one, after accounting for training costs.
Typical Ranges:
- Greater than 200%: High-impact use case
- 100-200%: Strong business case
- 50-100%: Moderate investment
- Less than 50%: May not be optimal use case
Annual Savings
What It Means: Ongoing cost reduction per year after initial training investment.
Review the Breakdown Table to see:
- Which cost categories contribute most
- Whether savings come from one category or multiple
- If estimates align with your organization's priorities
Negative ROI Scenario
If the calculator shows negative ROI, you'll see:
Message: "Based on your current inputs, Shapr3D may not deliver a positive ROI for this specific use case."
This may happen when:
- Team is very small (training costs don't amortize well)
- Current operational costs are already very low
- Use case doesn't align with Shapr3D's strengths
Next Steps:
- Try the other calculator (manufacturing vs. innovation)
- Contact sales to explore different applications
- Consider that Shapr3D may not be the right fit at this time
Real Customer Results
Manufacturing Operations
Major German Automotive Manufacturer:
- Challenge: CATIA specialists at 200% capacity supporting workshop engineers
- Results: 93% reduction in design review time (2 weeks to 2 hours); 90% time reduction on fixture design
- Impact: Eliminated CAD department queues, freed specialists for complex work
3M Automotive Facility:
- Challenge: 4-8 week turnaround for maintenance parts
- Results: 95% faster turnaround (4-8 weeks to same-day delivery)
- Impact: Dramatic reduction in production downtime; 15-minute onboarding for technicians
Major French Automotive Manufacturer:
- Challenge: 12-week equipment design cycles
- Results: 50% reduction in cycles (12 weeks to 6 weeks)
- Impact: Faster line launches and continuous improvement initiatives
Key Themes from Customer Deployments
- Manufacturing operations rather than product engineering
- Fixture and tooling design at point of need
- Reduced dependency on overworked CAD specialists
- Faster iteration for continuous improvement
- iPad mobility enables work at equipment locations
- Validation before physical prototyping reduces rework
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Are these calculators accurate? A: The calculators provide order-of-magnitude estimates based on industry benchmarks and customer results. Use your actual cost data rather than defaults for best accuracy. Results will vary by organization—consider outputs as estimates for internal discussion, not guarantees.
Q: How do I calculate my downtime cost? A: Calculate as: (Lost production units × unit margin) + (fixed facility costs per hour). For automotive assembly, this is typically $500,000-$1,000,000/hour. For discrete manufacturing, $50,000-$200,000/hour. Use production and finance department data.
Q: What if we don't use external contractors? A: If you don't use contractors, enter $0 for that field. The calculator will focus on other savings categories like prototyping costs, iteration time, and concept development speed.
Q: Can I customize the assumptions? A: The calculators use standard assumptions for typical deployments. You can input your actual operational costs and team size. For custom scenarios with different assumptions, contact sales for personalized ROI analysis.
Q: How long is the payback period typically? A: Most manufacturing operations see 2-6 month payback. Innovation teams typically see 4-9 month payback. Larger teams see faster payback because training costs amortize across more people.
Q: What if my results seem too good to be true? A: High ROI typically indicates significant current inefficiencies, high operational costs where small time savings have large impact, or large teams where training costs amortize quickly. Verify your input numbers are accurate. Contact sales for validation if results show greater than 500% first-year ROI.
Q: Can I share these results with my team? A: Yes. The calculator provides downloadable PDF, shareable URL, and optional email delivery. All results are shareable with any stakeholder. PDF is formatted for management review.
Q: How do these compare to actual customer results? A: Real customers often report significant improvements: major automotive manufacturer achieved 93% review time reduction, 3M achieved 95% faster turnaround, major French manufacturer achieved 50% cycle reduction. Calculators use conservative estimates. Actual results vary by organization and implementation.
Important Limitations
What the Calculators Do
- Provide order-of-magnitude cost savings estimates
- Enable quick scenario modeling
- Help build internal business case
- Compare costs vs. current tools
What the Calculators Don't Do
- Guarantee specific results for your organization
- Account for organization-specific factors
- Replace detailed financial analysis or pilot programs
- Include every possible cost or benefit
Factors Affecting Results
Results Depend On:
- Adoption rate (calculator assumes high adoption)
- Use case fit (best results when aligned with Shapr3D strengths)
- Current process efficiency (greater savings from less optimized processes)
- Team skill development over time
Not Included in Calculations:
- Productivity improvements beyond time savings
- Strategic benefits (faster time-to-market, competitive advantage)
- Intangible benefits (employee satisfaction, innovation culture)
- Downstream impacts (supplier collaboration, better documentation)
Best Practice
Use calculator results as a starting point for internal discussion and input to more detailed analysis. Validate assumptions with a pilot program using actual projects and real cost tracking.
Additional Resources
ROI Calculators:
Related Documentation:
- [Shapr3D for Automotive Manufacturing Guide]
- [Shapr3D Security & Compliance Fact Sheet]
- [Implementation Guide]
For Detailed ROI Analysis: Contact sales for customized analysis including organization-specific cost validation, multi-department rollout scenarios, and pilot program ROI tracking.
