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The AI assistant for mechanical design engineers and drawing offices

You design machines, fixtures and equipment for industrial clients. Between drawing revisions, bills of materials, quotes and machining suppliers, Ugo keeps track from WhatsApp: it reads your files, writes the emails and asks you to confirm before anything goes out.

Try UgoHow a mechanical design engineer uses an AI assistant

An AI assistant for mechanical design engineers doesn’t open CAD or model parts: it works on what CAD produces and on everything that comes in from outside. Bills of materials exported to Excel, client specifications, requests for quotation to machine shops, comments on the latest revision. Ugo is a contact on WhatsApp connected to your email, diary and project folders on Google Drive or OneDrive.

Whether you’re a freelance designer working for several companies, a subcontract design consultancy or the drawing office of a machine builder, the sticking points are the same. The client changes a spec once the project is under way. The fabricator asks for a missing dimension. The turning shop wants to know the material for a part. And meanwhile there’s the quote for the next job to prepare and the technical file to keep in order.

Ugo doesn’t calculate, check strength or select components: design decisions and responsibility for the machine’s conformity stay with you and the manufacturer. Ugo reads, summarises, finds and writes. Every email, file or appointment goes out only after your “Confirm”. Your industrial clients’ drawings and data stay in the folders you choose, with servers and database in Frankfurt.

Where a mechanical design engineer loses time

Time at the CAD station is always less than you’d like.

Drawing revisions to keep aligned

The client comments on rev B, the workshop is still on rev A, the supplier has a third version. Keeping everyone on the same revision takes email and memory.

Bills of materials and part numbers to chase

Bought-out part numbers, materials, finishes, quantities. The BOM changes with every revision and someone always asks “is that bolt M8 or M10?” just when you don’t have the file open.

Requests for quotation to suppliers

Laser cutting, folding, turning, milling, heat treatment. Every assembly needs several quotes, and comparing them across scattered emails takes hours nobody pays you for.

Client quotes written in a rush

The industrial client wants a design quote by tomorrow. You write it in the evening starting from an old one, changing names, dates, lead times and prices by hand.

How a mechanical design engineer uses an AI assistant

From the BOM to the quote, with questions of a few words.

A BOM figure, without opening CAD

The supplier asks for the material and finish of a part. Ask Ugo, by voice if you like: it reads the BOM exported to Excel in the project folder and replies with the right line and the file revision.

Skills used

Ugoonline

  1. Material for part 2045-103 on the Gale press?

  2. In “BOM 2045 rev C.xlsx” (updated on 8 October): • 2045-103 – Support plate • Material: S355JR • Finish: hot-dip galvanised • Quantity: 2

Comparing machining quotes

You asked three suppliers to quote for the fabrication. Ugo finds the replies in your email, sums up prices, lead times and terms in a list and drafts the order confirmation for the supplier you choose.

Skills used

Ugoonline

  1. Compare the fabrication quotes for the Gale press

  2. I found three replies: 1. Valley Fabrications: £4,200, delivery in 4 weeks 2. Metalcraft Ltd: £3,850, delivery in 6 weeks 3. Reid Engineering: £4,050, delivery in 3 weeks, carriage extra

  3. Confirm with Reid Engineering

  4. Here’s the email I’ll send to Reid Engineering: “Hello, we’re pleased to confirm the fabrication for job 2045 on the terms of your quote. The reference drawing is rev C.” Shall I send it?

The design quote from your template

A client asks for a quote to design a welding fixture. Ugo fills in your quote template on Google Drive with the client, scope, lead time and price you dictate, and creates the document in the quotes folder.

Skills used

Ugoonline

  1. 🎤 Voice message (0:24)

  2. Here’s what I’ll do on Google Drive: Create “Quote 2026-087 – Ross Automation” from the template “Design quote”, in the folder “Quotes 2026”, with: • Scope: design of a welding fixture for a frame • Lead time: 5 weeks from order • Price: £6,800 + VAT Shall I go ahead?

The new revision, announced to everyone

Rev D of a general assembly is out. Ugo finds the client and workshop contacts in your address book and drafts the email announcing the new revision with the main changes, so nobody keeps working from the old one.

Skills used

Ugoonline

  1. Tell Gale and the workshop that rev D of the press is out: new guide and revised hole pattern on the plate

  2. Here’s the email I’ll send to Luke Gale (Gale Presses) and Mark Reid (Reid Engineering): “Hello, revision D of the 2045 press general assembly is now available. Changes: new linear guide and revised hole pattern on the support plate. Please stop using rev C.” Shall I send it?

A day in the drawing office with Ugo

More time at CAD, less time hunting for files and answers.

  1. 8:00

    Scheduled task: Ugo lists the client and supplier emails that came in last night and those still unanswered.

  2. 9:30

    While you’re modelling, the turning shop asks for a part’s material: Ugo reads it from the BOM and you answer without closing CAD.

  3. 11:00

    Meeting with the client in the workshop: you dictate the requested changes and Ugo adds them to the project notes.

  4. 14:30

    Ugo compares the heat treatment quotes in your inbox and drafts the confirmation for the supplier you pick.

  5. 16:30

    A new client asks for a meeting: Ugo finds the free slots this week and creates the appointment once you say yes.

  6. 18:00

    Before you leave, Ugo drafts tomorrow’s quote from the practice template.

What to connect to the AI assistant for mechanical design engineers

CAD and PDM stay where they are. Ugo reads what you export and helps with your email.

Bills of materials exported to Excel

Almost every CAD package exports the BOM to Excel. Save it in the project folder on OneDrive: Ugo reads it, answers on part numbers, materials and quantities and sends you tables as an image.

Specifications, reports and technical file

Ugo reads documents in PDF, Word and Excel: client specifications, drawing registers, reports, technical file documents. Useful for finding a figure or working out which revision is in circulation.

Your CRM for client quotes

If you manage clients and quotes in Odoo, HubSpot or Zoho CRM, Ugo reads opportunities, adds notes and moves stages once you confirm. In Odoo it also reads quotations and sales orders.

Component makers’ and suppliers’ websites

With Company websites, Ugo reads the websites of component manufacturers and machining suppliers and answers on ranges and services, quoting the page. Official technical specifications remain the reference.

Business software with an MCP server

If your company’s ERP or PDM offers an MCP server, Ugo can connect and read the information it exposes, such as job status.

The skills to switch on

The most useful Ugo features for this job, starting with the first one to turn on. You switch them on from the portal in a few minutes.

FAQ for mechanical design engineers

What’s the best software for a freelance mechanical design engineer?

For modelling you need 3D CAD and, in larger companies, a PDM system to manage part numbers and revisions. A freelancer, though, also spends a lot of time on quotes, email and coordinating suppliers and clients, and CAD doesn’t help there. Ugo covers that part from WhatsApp: it reads exported BOMs, finds documents and writes emails and quotes from your templates.

Can Ugo read DWG files or 3D models?

No, Ugo doesn’t open native CAD formats. It reads PDF, Word, Excel and Google Drive documents instead: exported BOMs, drawing registers, specifications, quotes, reports. If you export the BOM to Excel at every revision, you can ask Ugo for part numbers, materials and quantities without opening the model.

How should I organise requests for quotation to machining suppliers?

Send everyone the same drawings at the same revision, ask for price, lead time and terms in a similar format and set a date for replies. That makes the comparison quick and fair. Ugo helps you find the replies in your email, sum them up in a list and draft the confirmation for the supplier you choose.

Can Ugo help with UKCA or CE marking for a machine?

Ugo doesn’t assess risks, check safety requirements or draw up the declaration of conformity: those are the responsibility of the manufacturer and the engineers supporting them, under the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations or the EU machinery rules and the relevant designated or harmonised standards. It can, however, help you keep the technical file documents in order and find them when you need them.

How much does Ugo cost for a freelance designer?

Ugo costs €50 a month or €550 a year, excl. VAT, with every skill included. You don’t pay per client, per job or per file read. If you work in a consultancy or a drawing office, each person has their own subscription and connects their own accounts, while team skills like Company websites are shared.

Useful references

Associations, bodies and official sources for the sector: external websites, independent of Ugo.

More hours at CAD, fewer in your inbox

Connect your email, diary and project folders in a few minutes. Close out client and supplier questions with a message.

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