OpenCAD-CRM: Collaborative Industrial Design Bridge

Independent industrial designers and small engineering studios often struggle to bridge the gap between technical CAD files and client relationship management. While enterprise solutions like DELMIAWorks exist for SOLIDWORKS, they are financially out of reach for students and startups. This project aims to design, document, and test a standardized, zero-cost pipeline. We will map out a structural workflow where client data, project milestones, and feedback loops are managed inside a free CRM interface, while linking dynamically to cloud-shared CAD environments. Using Onshape's free educational/maker tier (which supports importing/exporting native SOLIDWORKS files .sldprt and .sldasm), we will eliminate the need for expensive local workstation hardware or software licenses during our prototype phase. The final deliverable will be a complete, open-source playbook, automation scripts (via free Make/Zapier tiers), and video tutorials hosted publicly for global design students.