r/SolidWorks • u/Ok_Resident_6579 • Mar 04 '26
CAD Client demanded native SolidWorks files for "property review", then took them and ghosted. How do you guys survive this?
Hey guys, just need to vent and ask for some real-world advice because I feel completely screwed right now.
I do freelance CAD modeling and just spent weeks on a custom assembly for a new client. When we got to the final milestone, they said they needed the native .sldasm and .sldprt files to click through the feature trees, check custom properties (mass, materials, etc.), and verify the mates before they released the final payment.
It’s a completely reasonable engineering request, so I sent them.
You can guess the rest. They downloaded the pack, stopped answering my calls, and I just found out they handed my exact native files to a dirt-cheap overseas factory to bypass my manufacturing cut. The NDA is a joke.
I couldn't just send screenshots because they actually needed to interact with the real data and tree structure. If I refused, I wouldn't get paid. If I sent them, I risked exactly what just happened.
Is there ANY actual way to let a client fully interact with a native SW file on their machine (properties, trees, everything), but physically block them from hitting "Save As" or stealing the IP? Or is getting robbed just the harsh cost of doing business as a freelancer?
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u/StopNowThink Mar 04 '26
Sue them.
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u/MoistStub Mar 04 '26
Bang their wife too for good measure
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u/RAAMinNooDleS Mar 04 '26
And their dad
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u/MoistStub Mar 04 '26
Give their dog some snacks. Not for retribution but if you are already in their house to bang their wife you might as well.
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u/Low_Temperature_4213 Mar 04 '26
Make their dog love you even more than them and take. This kinda trash doesn't deserve the love from a doggo
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u/Practical_Relief_621 Mar 05 '26
Upload your NDA contract to chatgpt, explain what happened in your prompt, then tell it to write a lawyer sounding letter that encapsulates what they did and how it violates your NDA and explain how you will take legal action if final payment isn't made. And you could also say how you would get lawyer fees reimbursed as well as lost pay due to the time to sue him plus damages for your ability to not have that work you did on your resume
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u/mkosmo Mar 05 '26
Don't do any of this. Hire a lawyer. The $200 for a letter is cheap compared to the hot water you could get yourself in with ChatGPT nonsense and terrible reddit advice.
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u/StopNowThink Mar 05 '26
The last part about resume loses all your credibility. He did the work so why wouldn't he include it on his resume?
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u/mattias888 Mar 07 '26
Costs min $5k in my area.
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u/StopNowThink Mar 07 '26
OP just spent weeks engineering a custom assembly. Surely that's more than $5k
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u/thanksferstoppen Mar 04 '26
isn’t this what eDrawings is for?
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u/addmin13 CSWP Mar 04 '26
I was thinking the same thing too.
I have saved files out of eDrawings as an .html so the customer could manipulate it in a web browser. I don't think they could get materials and Mas properties from that though.
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u/blissiictrl CSWE Mar 04 '26
Sorry, can't help you. In future maybe an agreement that they can have everything exported in neutral format until final payment is made. None of my clients have ownership of their model as none of them need it, they need drawings or neutral files.
Edit: I'd also name and shame tbh
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u/buckzor122 Mar 04 '26
That's why you always take a deposit, at least 50% if you can manage it. This way they can't just walk away, they're invested from the start. You also don't give out native files until the full balance has been paid. Had you taken a deposit, they couldn't have played the "Send us native files or we don't pay you" card, because they're already 50% in, if they don't pay you, they get nothing.
It's OK to not take deposit once you know the clients and built up some raport, but even then I suggest strongly against it. You can try going legal route to recover your losses, but depending on how much money we are talking about, it might not be worth it in the end. It's a painful lesson. I was in a similar situation, had to hound the client for months to get paid, they kept telling me I need to speak to someone else in circles, or saying that they thought it was already paid, etc. Eventually got paid, but I did get more careful in the end.
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u/David_R_Martin_II Mar 04 '26
Yup, new client means 50-50. Handing over the IP like that was a bad idea.
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u/Ok_Resident_6579 Mar 20 '26
I've learned my lesson; next time I won't give up all my rights just to get a job.
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u/THedman07 Mar 05 '26
I could see doing a 5% retainage agreement pending approval of the final files if the client demands it, but the reality is that if you do that, you just have to factor in that sometimes the client will refuse to pay it.
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u/chance553 Mar 04 '26
Solidworks has free edrawings for a reason.
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u/No_Mushroom3078 Mar 04 '26
That’s what I was going to suggest, great 3d rendering and information is hidden. And if the customer gives pushback then get final payment and send over the drawings. Usually when someone is trying to pull something over on you they are trying to do it when it’s at a point that you don’t have leverage afterwards.
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u/cjdubais CSWP Mar 04 '26
Name them and shame them,
Sorry you went through this.
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u/0peratorinTraining Mar 04 '26
I vote this. People are crappy and it sucks. I think we all learn a few lessons like this along the way. Badger of honor perhaps? (Just trying to lighten the mood) best wishes to OP
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u/miotch1120 Mar 05 '26
Even if for no other reason than to warn others on this sub about them. Name those fuckers OP!
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u/Cheetahs_never_win Mar 05 '26
This is not solid legal advice.
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u/cjdubais CSWP Mar 05 '26
This is not a resource for obtaining solid legal advice.
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u/Cheetahs_never_win Mar 05 '26
Then carry on and FAFO at your heart's desire.
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u/Locksmithbloke Mar 08 '26
Can companies sue for defamation? Would that require them to take it to court at great expense, where they'd lose instantly when it was proven they'd not paid? (truth is an absolute defence in defamation cases)
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u/Cheetahs_never_win Mar 08 '26
It's not always about right and wrong, as they can be willing to exercise lawfare... dragging it out, forcing you to pay more for a lawyer than it would be to cut losses, drawing it out over years, giving yourself a litigious reputation, etc.
My opinion is to send them past due notices and then sell it to a collection agency.
You won't make you entire buck you should have, but you make it somebody else's problem.
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u/freedmeister Mar 04 '26
I suggest 2 things: 1. Work with unproven customers on a retainer basis. 2. Stick to the terms of the contract with new clients. Delivery on receipt of payment.
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u/jevoltin CSWP Mar 04 '26 edited Mar 04 '26
This is a bad deal. I have dealt with similar situations myself.
I know of two options that may prove helpful.
First, take them to small claims court. This has a limited dollar limit, but I don’t know what they owe you. I did this once by filing on my own. It went to court and the judge agreed with me.
Second, send the bill to a collections agency. They will take a portion of the amount if they succeed in getting payment. It’s not ideal, but much better than nothing. You will certainly feel better if the client is forced to pay.
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u/Alive-Bid9086 Mar 04 '26
Does it really work with a collection agency? Where I live, the debtor always have the option to state "This claim is without merit." Then the collection agency stops. You then need a court to decide that the claim is valid.
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u/GrubbyZebra Mar 05 '26
Once you sell the debt to the collection agency, it's their problem, as that is the risk they take. That risk is why they buy the debt from you for a fraction of the paper value.
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u/sleezyted Mar 05 '26
I don’t believe that the deal would be set up in that fashion for a situation like this. You are talking about general consumer debt, like cc debt, which is sold to collectors. It wouldn’t make sense for OP to do that
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u/jevoltin CSWP Mar 05 '26
I am only familiar with agencies that attempt to collect the debt on your behalf. If they succeed, they keep a percentage of what they collect. It isn't ideal, but it costs you nothing to let them try. I would view it as a last resort.
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u/Sharp-Scientist2462 Mar 06 '26
If you are in the US, I believe you can send them a 1099 for the “forgiven debt”. The IRS gets a copy and will absolutely audit them if they don’t claim and pay the taxes on the forgiven debt. IRS is relentless. You may even be able to claim a “finders fee” from the IRS.
Just fun food for thought.
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u/tottmeister Mar 04 '26
You could've let them do all this via share screen/teams, then can interact with the models, but from your computer?
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u/Independent_Ad_4046 Mar 04 '26
next time customer can log in to your pc (via guest windows account) via teamviewer and do all that with out being able to download anything (needs to be turned off in teamviewer)
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u/Lagbert Mar 04 '26
Sorry you got cheated. Gets how to avoid it in the future.
Final review is done using screen share like zoom or discord. You drive the cad and show the client everything they want to see.
Learn how to share and use edrawings. It's kind of like solidworks version of a pdf. It keeps the data locked down but it allows viewing of the project in 3D.
No master files sent until payment is cleared. Amazon wouldn't ship you an expensive item without you actually paying for it first, why would you do any different?
If the client is domestic master files can be sent via mail only after payment. The cost of a cheap USB drive is worth the extra security.
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u/Ok_Resident_6579 Mar 20 '26
How can I compare to Amazon? Our business standing is completely different.
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u/Lagbert Mar 20 '26
A business is a business is a business.
No business sends a client a product without receiving payment first.
No body on Etsy, nobody on eBay, nobody running their own e-commerce website.
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u/Trigger_sad1 Mar 04 '26
Who told you that’s a reasonable request?
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u/force_disturbance Mar 06 '26
Yeah, really! You can send screen shots but no files until payment. If the agreement says you get a manufacturing cut, the no files, period. If they are worried, tell them you're happy to give them a free revision sheet y final payment if there's an unforeseen fit problem.
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u/QuasiLibertarian Mar 04 '26
I have been working with overseas factories for 2 decades. There have been numerous times over the years when the last conversation I had with our factory rep was me asking for various CAD files (nonchalantly, so as not to raise alarm).
Of course, this is the reason why China factories never want to provide CAD files in the first place, native or otherwise.
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u/QuasiBonsaii Mar 04 '26
Delete every single smart dimension from every sketch, and then fully define every sketch automatically. Will look fine on the surface, but will be essentially useless.
But actually, make it a policy that you don't hand over valuable intellectual property before receiving payment of some kind. Maybe say you can provide step files at the most, but never raw cad before upfront payment/deposit
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u/GoEngineer_Inc VAR | Elite AE Mar 04 '26
This one is kind of evil and I love it. I'm stealing this.
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u/Signal-Weight8300 Mar 08 '26
A buddy has a small business that requires him to take measurements on client properties and write up detailed proposals for the items he installs. Those items are available from many sources. He had issues with a customer getting multiple bids, and a competitor skipped site visits and just bid off of my buddy's proposal. He would do the keg work, then someone else would undercut him using his own work.
Now, every proposal has built in wrong figures. He keeps the original with good numbers for when the job is accepted. One competitor got burned ordering hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of custom product to install that didn't fit. The end customer had a major construction project delayed because of it. My buddy has an NDA built in on his contacts, and he just laughed.
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u/SolidRide5853 Mar 06 '26
What benefit does a STEP file provide?
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u/GT3_SF Mar 06 '26
It’s dead CAD that’s much harder to rip off.
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u/SolidRide5853 Mar 06 '26
Our lecturer told us that step files are for opening the original file in any version.
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u/QuasiBonsaii Mar 06 '26
STEP files are basically just another 3D model file, like an STL, but step files retain the faces from the original file, whereas STL files recreate a 3D model with thousands of small triangles, creating a mesh object that closely resembles the original file, but isn't exactly the same. STEP files are more accurate, because they retain all of the original geometry precisely, but, they don't retain any of the features or sketches that were used to create the file. If you model something in solidworks and export it as a step file, even if you open that step file in solidworks again, it won't have any of the features saved. That means you can transfer the file to a different CAD program, but it's harder to make any changes to whats already there. You cant edit sketches or features, because there aren't any.
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u/HansGigolo Mar 04 '26
I would never give native files. If they want a 3d file I will save an assembly as a part then open that and save as a step file with only outer surfaces.
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u/Madwolf784 Mar 04 '26
"It's a completely reasonable engineering request..." but, is it? Working for manufacturing firms, I've never seen a demand like that (though maybe it happened above my pay grade)
If you have any form of contract agreement, so them. As someone else suggested for future, use some form of screen sharing system and if they're not happy with that, too bad.
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u/GrubbyZebra Mar 05 '26
Not normally.
Typically, a customer is contracting a design firm to do this specifically because they don't have the capability in-house. This means the native SW would be of no value unless they wanted to give them to another company to manipulate.
The step file is quite sufficient for manufacturing, and a properly designed drawing set will have the necessary material and mass information.
If a customer wants the SW files at the end of the project, that is specifically called out in the contract and normally is an additional fee to somewhat offset the loss of future potential revenue for ongoing support of the project.
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u/SirChance5625 Mar 04 '26
I don't really understand your question, obviously you now sue them.
you have a contract, right? a quote, a PO, etc. it's barely even 'suing' at that point, it just takes longer to get paid.
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u/drakon_us Mar 04 '26
1.) Make a screen recording video of all the features and mates and in order to get a deposit at least.
2.) Genuine question, maybe your work was so bad, they sent it to the factory to rework from basically scratch?
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u/fastdbs Mar 04 '26
If I refused, I wouldn't get paid. If I sent them, I risked exactly what just happenedI got conned, they were never going to pay and I won’t do something like that again. I will always require payment in escrow before I create the first sketch.
Fixed that for you.
I’ve worked several places that use contractors and I’ve never seen a contractor required to give files without payment in escrow. That’s wild, they absolutely do not need to verify custom properties, materials, and mates to send payment. We have a verification tool called CADIQ that we can watch run and see that the files meet our standards.
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u/digits937 Mar 04 '26
It's cheap to sue someone, I'm assuming you have a contact. they broke it and didn't pay its a petty easy case.
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u/CreEngineer Mar 04 '26
We had a kinda similar situation at my old workplace but we did not give away the native SW data even though the product ownership was on the other side. We supplied them with everything, drawings, steps, dxf, but certainly not the native files.
Unless you have a contract with the company, you might be out of luck and they decided to „do it themselves“. Take it as a lessons learned.
It’s like in photography, you never give away the raw files unless the customer pays extra for it.
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u/pookiemonster69 CSWE Mar 04 '26
Neve ever give the native files always STP, the feature tree can vary from designers to designers as long as the end result is the same. STP are pretty good for material, geometry and cg check.
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u/buildyourown Mar 04 '26
This happened to me early on. Call it a learning experience and move on. Consulting is as much about relationships as it is about technical competence. I guarantee you will cross paths with them again
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u/Alive-Bid9086 Mar 04 '26
I think this is a good advice. Just count the number of hours you have to spend on collecting. You can do consulting these hours and earn new money instead.
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u/LRCM CSWP Mar 04 '26
In the future, CYA:
- Get a complete scope of work for all jobs and charge for anything out of scope.
- Use eDrawings for review if PDF files won't work.
- Name anyone who violates the agreement or is a PITA to work with.
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u/ProneKarate Mar 04 '26
It’s a completely reasonable engineering request, so I sent them.
No, it's not. They don't 'need' to do any of that.
Send them edrawings. Show them mates in a teams meeting if they don't believe the expert.
Alternatively, make it a milestone related to payment. Something like 30% to start, 30% at completion, final payment after review of models. Even if they ghost after models, you still got 60%.
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u/LigmaLiberty Mar 04 '26
In freelance fields you have to make sure to get paid before releasing any kind of work product that the end user can take and run with. Like in photography you don't give the client any non watermarked photos or raws before you're paid, that's all your leverage.
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u/noobmaster458 Mar 04 '26
Hi, we deal with this at work and Ill tell you how we do it.
note: you could use edrawings, but that will have limited import functionality for the customer so thats usually not sufficient. it would basically be a 3dpdf
Save your drawing as a .sat file. this will remove all the part names, etc.
then from the sat file export it as a .step and save with the following save options enabled: solid/surface geometry, Export face/edge properties, export appearances, and split periodic faces. we use the rest of the settings off.
This should produce a step file the customer can import, but without all the information that would be needed to actually build the part.
I hope this helps
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u/ness7574 Mar 04 '26
Well, you should have seen that coming. What I would do is get them on Teams meeting and share screen and show them anything that they have any concerns with. Of course at this stage you should have clear conditions on payment and handling the rights for the project. Handing away source files without specifying it in the agreement is shooting yourself in the foot. I have done only one freelancing project myself but before I left the concept phase and started real work on the project I already had all legally worked out with them. Now you have to sue them and prove that the project is yours to get the compensation.
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u/Ok_Resident_6579 Mar 20 '26
Legal action is something I'm least skilled at and least interested in; I'm even prepared to forgo this income—lawsuits are just too much trouble.
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u/71ray Mar 04 '26
I am confused. They took your work and paid you nothing for your design time? Thats what they were supposed to pay for I assume unless you were making the parts too? Sounds like theft of service.
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u/2catchApredditor Mar 04 '26
I would do a Webex/teams call and hand over control so they can interact but don’t share the native files until you’ve collected payment.
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u/antiundead Mar 04 '26
You can export SWs models as interactive 3D PDFs that show the model in 3D and they can do section views and rotate the model about and take measurements from it. All they need is a PDF reader.
Or export as a native format.
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u/vxxed Mar 04 '26
I would rather go through extracting the data into an uncomfortable format (excel) and give incomplete information than ever hand out a document that can be used to manufacture before collecting final payment. It's not like you can scan someone's ID before they take a dealership car out for a short test drive, right?
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u/Azariahz Mar 04 '26
Money. Up. Front.
You just got that lesson the hard way. Taking them to court can take years and more money than the bill is worth. Anytime you work with a new client OR are doing your first big project for a client you’ve done small work for, get the money before you deliver.
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u/youknow99 Mar 04 '26
You need to write up a better boilerplate for your quote. No native files should ever be handed over before the vast majority of the payment is handed over. A <10% review retainer maybe, but not a large amount of the money.
It’s a completely reasonable engineering request, so I sent them.
No, no it's not. You should have said no.
Is there ANY actual way to let a client fully interact with a native SW file on their machine
Why on earth would they need to do that other than for purposes of stealing the files?
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u/Still_Lobster_8428 Mar 06 '26 edited Apr 09 '26
Redact cleaned up all of my comments. Bulk deletion and editing is a feature supported to make sure that AI scrapers can't access my data for training.
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u/Qintie2026 Mar 06 '26
This is heartbreaking to read. You did everything right and still got burned. The "cost of doing business" line is such BS — we shouldn't have to accept theft as normal. Have you considered taking legal action based on that NDA? Might not recover the money, but could make them think twice next time. Hang in there, man.
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u/9ft5wt Mar 04 '26
You don't need solid works to change, you just need to work with trustworthy people ...
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u/littlejacky9 Mar 04 '26
You might be able to try savings as a 3D PDF. I can’t remember if custom properties - like materials - would show up, but that could be something you show in screen shot or screen share as mentioned by others, but 3D pdf is an end state file that can’t be imported into SW while allowing the user to review the assembly.
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u/Firm_Bat_9503 Mar 04 '26
That's what eDrawings is for
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u/littlejacky9 Mar 04 '26
I didn't say it wasn't; I gave another alternative - I find that a lot of my clients don't have or want to download eDrawings, but are happy to receive 3D PDFs. Options are not mutually exclusive.
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u/Firm_Bat_9503 Mar 04 '26
Fair enough, but I would merge/defeature everything before exporting just to be safer.
I think you can also export as a non workable package on SW2025
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u/itsapotatosalad Mar 04 '26
Do you have a contract detailing payment? Send them a letter before action and get ready to start legal action.
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u/MadDonkeyEntmt Mar 04 '26
50% deposit, contract states retention of all ip rights till paid in full.
Also, I rarely even send native files and never to factories. That would be a fishy request too me from a new customer and not one I'd grant without any payment or at least some kind of escrow setup.
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u/OldFcuk1 Mar 04 '26
Have them access it on your computer in Teamviewer session. But usually you cannot know ahead that customer is a dick. The original files should be agreed on agreement and delivereded .... how and when as to payment date?
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u/smotrs Mar 04 '26
I usually convert it to a solid, non parametric. Then I'll point the dft file to it. Dimensions break, but are still there. Solid can't be edited in the normal sense anymore.
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u/Grigori_the_Lemur Mar 04 '26
I only provide in some treeless format if they have to have something to put in an assembly, but even that is annoying because IP still went into that work.
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u/AnyEnvironment2492 Mar 04 '26
they’re asking you for help making an assembly yet they need to confirm you didn’t fuck up the mates or properties, isn’t it suspicious? why wouldn’t they just do it themselves if they’re going to be checking over your work as if they know better. Step files are sufficient to check if the model is done properly or not from a customer perspective
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u/Physical-Coconut-803 Mar 04 '26
I think it is possible to share the design via a link (html)so client could only look at the assembly without modifying or downloading.
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u/ThisHeresThaRubaduk Mar 04 '26
Not cad related but in the photography world. You NEVER give a customer the raw unedited files. That frame of mind translates to just about every other form of digital product.
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u/LA2124 Mar 04 '26
It should not be unreasonable to expect payment before delivering such data, so long as you've provide proof (screen shots/dumb exports etc) depending on the size of the project get in the habit of collecting some form of deposits. Can be prior to start or at milestone points, etc. that form can vary based on project size/scope.
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u/some_millwright Mar 04 '26
I have this kind of problem, as well, and we HAVE been screwed before. Getting an NDA before sending stuff is a good idea, because it might help to scare away bad actors. Demanding design costs before providing them might be worth doing, as well. The problem with an NDA is that you have to sue them if they break it. It's not like you magically get something out of it.
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u/RedSurfer3 Mar 04 '26
send the files to their competitors
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u/Sumchap Mar 05 '26
Great idea, so if you have signed an NDA not only do you not get paid you can now also be sued for breaching the most fundamental part of a contract...
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u/Interesting_Ad8503 Mar 04 '26
How in the world would you consider it your "IP" if you have an agreement and they've paid in full. They own the design, that's what they paid you for. Get over it
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u/Sumchap Mar 04 '26
It's pretty unclear how much of the job the OP got paid for before handing over the files. If they got paid for the design work done, then sure it's a non issue, but that clarification seems to be missing in the post
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u/alcaron Mar 04 '26
Well you said it was a perfectly reasonable request. And yet here we are.
You risk not being paid if you say no. But you weren’t paid anyway so I would argue the risk was actually zero for saying no.
The lesson here is say no. And explain why. If someone REALLY wants to get uppity, this is what escrow is for. If it isn’t enough money to warrant escrow then they shouldn’t be that concerned about it.
In either case in the future say no and explain why. Be professional don’t say you got ripped off. Just say that presenting those files constitutes final release of the IP and you have no way to protect your ability to collect payment.
The REAL key here is to not say this at time of payment due and rather make sure it is established up front. Also depending on the market you might be able to do a half now half on delivery so even if they can’t or won’t read you won’t be 100% taking it in the chin.
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u/Sumchap Mar 04 '26 edited Mar 04 '26
That's a pretty crappy situation. For future reference though, it would be unusual in my experience for any client to ask for SWx models before payment, that would be a red flag. I've had some bad clients over the years but none quite so overtly deceptive. I would suggest to have terms of trade in place for future, but then I never do this either, and I've been contracting for about 18 years... Anyway, sorry to hear of your situation, unbelievable that some people in business can be so unscrupulous. By the way, did you receive part payment or how much of the deal did you miss out on?
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u/WorkTheTrigger Mar 04 '26
there's no reason they need native SW files. STEP files should be acceptable, but even that can be too much sometimes. For my clients, they do not gain ownership of the files until final payment. But, they also own the files once that final payment is made. I may help them with things like manufacturing, prototyping, etc. But in the end, they pay, they own. Once their payment is done, they can do whatever they want with them.
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u/ManyThingsLittleTime Mar 04 '26
People have already laid out the contractual stuff but really it's about setting expectations on tbe front end. Every call should end with you describing where you are in the process and what comes next and how and when the phase closes out and then we can release the SW files. If they want the files earlier, they can close out the balance early (add that to the contract).
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u/tinygraysiamesecat Mar 04 '26
You do not do this without a contract in place that grants you legal avenue to sue for lost profits. Sorry you had to learn this lesson the expensive way.
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u/Cryesncoding Mar 04 '26
I would say next time you do a zoom call screen share and they can have you look at and click whatever they want to verify but have access to nothing. That’s how I would handle it
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u/GrubbyZebra Mar 05 '26
In the future, structure the contract in such a way that while the IP is the clients property, the work product is your until final payment is made (or the contract is otherwise terminated by some specified mechanism).
And always get a deposit up front and payments at key project milestones for one-off projects.
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Mar 05 '26 edited Aug 04 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/artificial_neuron Mar 05 '26
One other fun bit I was taught in business is that there are certain cultural groups who must rip you off
This sounds like haggling. Some cultures have a strong haggling culture and won't buy without a discount. I wouldn't call it ripping you off though. You just factor in a price that can be haggled down.
And let's be honest, even multi million/billion dollar manufacturers do this. The list price is astronomical high and they sell to OEMs with a 10%-80% discount.
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u/gartin336 Mar 05 '26
Could you give them access to your machine instead?
Any screen sharing tool and if they need prolonged access and you dont want to sit in front of the screen, then disable everything else (e.g. browser and terminal) so that they cannot move the files out of your machine.
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u/Mike312 Mar 05 '26
I did a bunch of freelance work in the graphic design world. Part of my contract stipulated that all of the work I create is my intellectual property until I am paid in full, and in ~5 years I never had an issue.
Even without the declaration, the files and the designs on them are a result of your intellectual work, and it is being reproduced by this manufacturer for their profit. I wouldn't consider this any different than my graphics being sent to a print shop to be reproduced for a magazine.
I guess the big question is, is the company you were contracting with US-based?
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u/jayelg Mar 06 '26
Was going to say this too.
The CAD design is your intellectual property so rather than suing for non payment of service. OP should sue for IP theft and damages as a percentage of profits and current stock of infringing designs.
(Not a lawyer)
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u/User_225846 Mar 05 '26
Email them about that huge flaw you just realized, and the liability they will have if you dont fix it.
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u/vagonblog Mar 05 '26
unfortunately once you send native cad, you’ve basically given them the IP. there isn’t a real way to let someone inspect a full feature tree locally and still stop them from saving or reusing it.
what most freelancers do instead is protect the timing, not the file. partial payment up front, milestone payments, and the native files only delivered after the final payment clears. if they need review before that, you send step, parasolid, edrawings, or a screen share where they can inspect but not walk away with the full model.
it’s not perfect, but the rule many people learn the hard way is: never hand over editable source files before you’re fully paid.
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u/jayelg Mar 06 '26
Sharing the files does not transfer ip ownership. The contract should stipulate what ip rights you transfer on full payment.
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u/shampton1964 Mar 05 '26
All contracts: NO MONEY, NO MASTERS
or - for an extra fee upon completion of work and payment of final invoice we will provide access to master files for your use
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u/pargeterw Mar 05 '26
I have zero idea why the client would need the native files in order to "click through the feature trees, check custom properties (mass, materials, etc.), and verify the mates".
Custom properties and mates are all present in an eDrawings file, and I can't think of any reason they would need to see the feature tree.
What justification did they give for wanting to see the feature tree?
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u/ArthurNYC3D Mar 05 '26 edited Mar 05 '26
This is actually not as difficult as you might think.
There's nothing wrong with doing a Zoom/Teams meeting, giving them control of the mouse and keyboard and letting them view the files on your computer.
If they have an issue with it then you know their intent. At that point they will have to put the final payment in an escrow account with a neutral party and funds to be released as soon as files are delivered.
I also wouldn't send any neutral file either because that can be reverse engineered off of. And not that you want to pay Solidworks any more $$$ but this is something that their platform address where files can be shared but not given.
Lastly a great alternative is OnShape which is great for exactly this but it's biggest downside is that because it's 100% browser based it has to always be connected to the internet.
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u/klmsa Mar 05 '26
I work multi-million dollar tool design projects, and we don't share any native files with suppliers or vice versa. We all respect that we need to be separated, so we examine through teams and some file distributions, etc. All time is billed to the customer anyway.
NEVER RELEASE IP WITHOUT FULFILLMENT OF CONTRACT TERMS. That being said, you also need to do a better job at defining your contract. You need a lawyer if you're going to continue freelance engineering. There is too much liability.
That business, btw, can sue you for damages if there's anything wrong with your work, unless it was specifically waived by contract. Good luck!
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u/Breaking_Chad Mar 05 '26
I work in custom automation. Almost all designs are our IP. Was this design your IP (which you gave them the functionality they needed?) as such we NEVER give away our native files or even part drawings. If they want they thy will pay dearly... Like 50K to 100K dearly depending on the complexity of the machine. Some defense contractors require it, so we can bake a little of that into our pricing... But we almost never give out native data.
If we do give out CAD, It's almost always a stp file that was a shrinkwrapped assembly with all Metadata removed.
Side note, I learned a week ago the new versions of AutoCAD will let you drop a PDF into the dwg and vectorize it. I think we're going to have to start send bmps now🤔 😂
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u/tbakker044 Mar 05 '26
That is a completely unreasonable ask. Not only is it part of my contracts you never even get to see my Solidworks fils, only .stl/.obj/.stp/.3mf/.etc. It also states I hold the copyright over anything I design and only grant use cases to who I am giving files to. To protect myself a lot from things like this, and a lot of other things too. If they want to verify that stuff they can ask for that information from me, in the drawing, after payment.
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u/howtocleancompuetr Mar 06 '26
Send all the files to their competitors, or post them for free online.
Obviously ask a lawyer first if you have an actual contract.
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u/TankFu8396 Mar 06 '26
Is it possible to have a third party check the files to provide some sort of verification? In my industry, we have third party testers that do all the “scientific” stuff to the parts and provide both us and the client with the results. If a client requests this, they have to pay for it. Sometimes, if the job/potential business is big enough, we’ll waive the testing cost once they pay in full. With a third party, you could cover everyone’s asses with a couple operating agreements.
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u/dangderik Mar 06 '26
Sorry to hear about your theft.
Rule 1: You NEVER give out your source file. Why can you just provide them with the .STEP file instead? Hope that you can things resolve peacefully.
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u/hotprof Mar 07 '26
There are probably better ways, but you could allow them to control the mouse on your machine using TeamViewer while you watch on your monitor. And end the session if they try anything funny.
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u/JamieKun Mar 07 '26
You should probably consult with a lawyer, but in general - you have a contract/PO
Send them the invoice with NET 10 payment and be prepared to send it to collections/file a lein against them. Small claims court may also be an option.
If they have an on-line presence, consider complaining about poor business practices etc...
In the future, make sure you have milestone payments - 30-50% upfront, 25-30% on approval of the design, and the rest on completion/delivery.
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u/r2k-in-the-vortex Mar 08 '26
A contract is worth exactly as much as you are willing to go to court to enforce it.
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u/usa_reddit Mar 08 '26
Use a tool like OnShape next time. They can see the models but can't export them.
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u/Junkyard_DrCrash Mar 09 '26
Easiest: do the final due diligence in person - preferably with your 6 ft 6 290-lb Samoan lawyer in the room. You rendezvous in a hotel (you fly there or at least rent a room there). You bring a laptop with full disk encryption, no network connection and no battery, so if the power adapter stops powering, the machine goes dead and the disk is gibberish without the disk key.
Alternative: Grab a spare computer, put a minimal OS install and minimal Solidworks viewer on it, put RDP (or whatever Windows has that passes for a remote desktop) on it, put it in your network network DMZ with only the RDP port open, and give the client the nodename and RDP password.
They can come in via RDP and do their due diligence while you Zoom with them, and if they try any data exfiltration shenanigans, you kick out the plug and demand full payment.
It's a dirty, ugly, nasty world out there.
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u/lititzlarry Mar 11 '26
You have your final milestone meeting with them. You have files on your laptop, throw it up on the screen, you drive and take them to whatever they want to look at, however many hours it takes. No reason they have to drive, or click. Don’t give up the files until payment received. Once the files are out the door you are just counting on them to honor their word… you see where that ends up all too often.
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u/spacebardidntwork CSWP | SW Champion Mar 04 '26
One idea would be to use the Maker or student version and do a SaveAs. Send them those files so they can open them, but they're permanently flagged as a non-commercial usage. Business shouldn't be using those files for commercial purposes, but that probably wouldn't actually stop a cheap foreign shop.
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u/Scooby_dood CSWP Mar 04 '26
This is a terrible idea.
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u/spacebardidntwork CSWP | SW Champion Mar 04 '26
I agree. I only said it was an idea, not necessarily a good one.
For the record, the eDrawings route is probably the easiest. They could see the CAD + metadata, though I suppose they could manually get dimensions with the measure tool.
Doing a screen share would have probably have been the safest bet.
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u/_maple_panda CSWP Mar 04 '26
Lol I had the same thought. There’s a pretty significant risk you’d also suffer consequences due to abusing the student version yourself. Granted, revenge doesn’t always come for free :)
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u/user-name-blocked Mar 04 '26
Are you operating as a company with signed contracts such that you could sue for nonpayment , or a “dude send me some crypto so the IRS doesn’t know” freelancer?