We’ve been impressed with both RoughCAD and the overall experience. The software is easy to use, practical, and has quickly become a valuable tool for our quoting team—making design work more efficient while preserving the flexibility our projects need.
Brian has been excellent to deal with: knowledgeable, responsive, and genuinely interested in how we use the software and helping us get the most from it.
We’re very happy with RoughCAD and would have no hesitation recommending Brian and the software to other engineering and design businesses.
Build automation concepts that move proposals forward.
Build automation concepts and professional cell layouts in minutes with 900+ robots, machining cells, conveyors, and safety assets made for sales teams, applications engineers, and early-stage project reviews.
Returning customer? Log in to RoughCAD Web.
Why RoughCAD
The right tool for the right stage of the project
A proposal rarely begins with a clean drawing. It starts with a partial floor plan, a customer sketch, an existing concept, and a practical question: will the cell fit and make sense? Your team needs something more useful than a napkin sketch before it is worth committing a day to a detailed model.
Use Traditional CAD for the design. Use RoughCAD to prove out the sale: place equipment, check reach and clearance, show safety elements, and get the customer reacting to a real layout.
Start with a usable concept, not a production model.
Give the customer a clear layout to react to, then move into detailed CAD and simulation once the direction is real.
Sketch
Customer idea
Start with a customer sketch, a layout reference, known equipment, or the constraints that surfaced in the sales conversation.
Sell
RoughCAD concept
Place robots, conveyors, guards, and light curtains; check rough reach and clearance; then show flow in a layout the customer can understand.
Design
Engineering CAD
Move into detailed modeling and simulation after the opportunity is real and the direction is clear.
Why teams use it
Everything you need for the proposal stage
RoughCAD gives sales and applications teams a practical way to test the cell concept, communicate it clearly, and move forward without building a production model first.
Rapid concepting
Skip nested menus and complex constraints. RoughCAD starts fast and makes it easy to test a layout while the sales conversation is still moving.
Easy to adopt
Familiar enough for CAD users and approachable enough for sales engineers, with in-app tutorials and documentation to help teams get comfortable quickly.
Automation-specific library
Work from 900+ assets, including FANUC, KUKA, Yaskawa, and ABB robots, plus conveyors, machining cells, guarding, and safety elements.
Proposal-ready communication
Add dimensions, callouts, reach zones, and safety elements, then export a layout customers, sales, and engineering can discuss together.
Before CAD, not against it
Use RoughCAD to prove out the cell envelope, robot reach, safety perimeter, and material flow before committing time to detailed CAD or simulation.
Local browser storage
Your layouts stay local in the browser. RoughCAD does not upload customer concept designs to cloud storage.
Who It's For
Made for the people responsible for moving opportunities forward
RoughCAD bridges the gap between a napkin sketch and a full engineering model.
Applications engineers
Verify machine layout, robot reach, guarding, and flow logic before committing to a detailed model.
Sales engineers
Communicate ideas to customers and teammates with layouts that are clean enough for a proposal.
Automation end users
Share concepts with integrators so everyone starts from the same visual understanding.
Mechanical engineers
Lay out early cell concepts quickly before the project is ready for production engineering.
Workflow
From a rough reference to a proposal-ready cell layout
RoughCAD is a focused 2D concepting workflow. It starts with the space and known equipment, then moves through rough-fit checks, safety layout, annotations, and a shareable export without asking the team to build a production model first.
1
Establish the site context
Start from a blank canvas or bring in a layout reference or custom image. Use the reference to place walls, existing equipment, and the rough working envelope before the cell is modeled in detail.
2
Place equipment and check the concept
Filter the 900+ asset library for robots, machining cells, conveyors, fencing, light curtains, and other automation equipment. Use reach bubbles, rough clearance, and material-flow checks to expose problems while they are still inexpensive to change.
3
Mark up, export, and hand off
Add overall dimensions, notes, callouts, and safety layout elements, then export a readable layout image for the proposal. The concept stays stored locally in the browser on the user's hardware for the next revision.
Customer feedback
Trusted by automation teams doing real proposal work
RoughCAD helps teams move from an early concept to a useful customer conversation without waiting for a full engineering model.
Pricing
Configure RoughCAD
RoughCAD Web is available to purchase monthly or yearly. RoughCAD Desktop is in beta and available by request; contact us to discuss access for your team. Every Web purchase starts with a 14-day trial, with $0 due today at checkout.
| Feature | RoughCAD Web | RoughCAD Desktop | Pro Partner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Browser Access | Included | Included | Included |
| Offline Desktop Access | Not Included | Included | Included |
| 900+ Automation Assets | Included | Included | Included |
| Robot Browser, Filtering, and Reach Bubbles | Included | Included | Included |
| Guarding and Safety Assets | Included | Included | Included |
| Dimensions, Notes, and Callouts | Included | Included | Included |
| Import Layout References and Custom Images | Included | Included | Included |
| Export Proposal-Ready Layout Images | Included | Included | Included |
| Custom Tool and Asset Development | Not Included | Not Included | Included |
| Price |
$599
per year
Hover to see volume pricing.
|
Beta — by request | Custom |
Pro Partner
Need RoughCAD shaped around your company?
If you want custom tools, custom assets, or a version of RoughCAD tailored to your equipment library and sales workflow, Pro Partner is a custom engagement. We scope the requirements together and negotiate the cost based on the tools, assets, and support your team needs.
Discuss Pro Partner
FAQ
Common questions before a team tries RoughCAD
Short answers for sales managers, applications engineers, and anyone deciding whether RoughCAD fits the quoting workflow.
Can I use this in front of a customer tomorrow?
Yes. RoughCAD is built for fast concepting during customer conversations, proposal work, and early layout reviews.
Does RoughCAD replace CAD?
RoughCAD may replace CAD for some users depending on their needs, but it exists best alongside or before actual CAD. Use it to prove out the concept before committing time to traditional CAD or simulation.
Can my sales engineers learn it without training?
The layout is intentionally familiar and simple. Most users can get a handle on the workflow quickly with in-app tutorials and documentation, and personal training sessions are available if your team wants them.
Can I export something clean enough for a proposal?
Yes. RoughCAD is designed to produce readable automation layouts with dimensions, notes, guarding, reach zones, and customer-friendly visuals.
Does the asset library include real automation components?
Yes. RoughCAD includes 900+ automation assets, including robots, conveyors, machining cells, guarding, and layout elements used in real proposal work.
Where are customer layouts stored?
Layouts are built locally in the browser and stored locally on the user's hardware. RoughCAD does not upload customer concept designs to cloud storage or collect project data.
Free tools
Useful tools for the work around an automation project
RoughCAD is the layout tool. These free tools help with the questions that come before and around the concept.
RoughScope
Combine practical calculators with deal scoring and ROI tools so sales and applications teams can evaluate the same opportunity from the same assumptions.
Open RoughScope
CycleStudy
A complete cycle-time tool with process modeling and the metrics needed to understand whether an automation concept can meet its target.
Open CycleStudy
Robot Scout
The same robot browser from RoughCAD, pulled out as a free tool so anyone can explore robot options before committing to a layout.
Open Robot Scout
Next step
Try the workflow, then decide what fits.
Use the demo if you want to feel the speed yourself, or send a note if you want to talk through how RoughCAD would fit your sales and applications process.
Try the workflow with less risk.
Use the demo
Use the public demo to test the workflow, then choose the plan that fits when you are ready for the full version.
Need help deciding if RoughCAD fits?
Email RoughCAD
Tell us what you quote and what your team needs to communicate before proposals go out.