We all have our own list of favorite websites related to our jobs that we really can’t do without. Here’s my list of 2015 and the list of those one high on my list that are now those I even forget I have bookmarked. Of course, there is a few dozen more I visit regularly but not on a daily basis.

My 2015 list:

Social Media (in a very particular order)
Twitter Business and networking is what Twitter is all about. It’s an amazing resource for the CAD world.
Facebook It may be the worlds biggest, but that doesn’t mean the best.
Google+ Wouldn’t even make the list if it wasn’t for the Community functionality. The Google+ Inventor community is a truly remarkable tool for all of you Inventor users out there.

Autodesk Discussion Forums
The only discussion forum worth visiting with it’s fast responses and built in experts. If you don’t know who JD Mather is, you’re missing out.

Autodesk BETA
I would love to tell you more about the Autodesk beta program but I can’t. Just go check it out yourself.

Design & Motion
These guys obviously have figured out a way to add an extra day to the week or a few hours to each day. Scott Moyse, John Evans  and the rest of the D&M crew are content machines with new goodies coming out almost daily.

CADSetterOut
Paul Munford is yet another non-stop CAD ninja. Between his blog, forum posts, social media presence and published books I think Paul and Chuck Norris are in the same category.

Falling off the wagon this year:

CADtoolbox.com
Yes, I added my own forum to the declining list. My lack of fresh posts and content is obvious. Let’s hope the trend turns around and I get back on the CAD saddle soon. Honesty is always the best policy.

mCADForums
The once dominate forum was purchased by Sold Smack and as a forum in a social media world… it’s struggling to stay relevant. With most posts with just a few replies, you can see only the hard core anti hashtaggers stuck around.

So what sites do you visit regularly?

Here’s an interesting topic I wanted to get all of your opinions on. There’s a enormous effort today being put behind “CAD in the cloud”. Autodesk is heavily investing in development and marketing of Fusion 360 and newcomer, OnShape is rapidly gaining momentum. With their low cost and ease of use, CAD in the cloud is gaining users at a rapid pace. The makers movement only accelerates the pace of adoption further.

So what If you own your own business or are part of a larger company that uses traditional CAD software such as Inventor, Solidworks, Creo, etc. and are feeling left out? Are you worried years from now that you won’t be able to find enough qualified people to hire for your company that is entrenched with your traditional CAD software? What if you’ve already decided using CAD in the cloud is not a good fit for your company due to government regulations, missing features or another reason? How do you stay relevant?

The worst thing you could do is put your head in the sand and ignore the CAD cloud movement. This doesn’t mean you have to switch off your current traditional CAD application for a CAD in the cloud application. But it does mean you shouldn’t limit yourself or your company to your traditional CAD applications.

Consider first, polling your engineers, designers and drafters on what other CAD in the cloud applications they may use at home and in their free time. You might be surprised on how many of them are using something already for their hobbies or home projects.

Think about how you might be able to leverage in a cloud based application into your design cycle. Can you use the powerful collaboration features of Fusion 360 or OnShape for product concepts or sales demonstrations? Even if you already know the detailed design efforts will remain with your traditional CAD applications, there is so many opportunities to reduce the overall design cycle by harnessing the modern cloud tools being developed today.

I would love to hear what you all think. Post a comment, find me on Twitter at @cadtoolbox or like me on Facebook.

You can also check out these other posts regarding concept design with cloud based CAD applications:

GrabCAD: Fusion 360 Key For Concept Design: An Interview With Aurel Estidial

Synergis CAD Blog: Autodesk Fusion 360, The New Kid On the Block

So am I trying to convince you to drop your current CAD application and start using Autodesk Fusion 360? The answer is NO!!!!   The point I want to make, Autodesk Fusion 360 should be viewed as an extension of your current CAD tools and not as a replacement. – Mark Lancaster @ Synergis

Thanks for reading and I look forward to your comments.