The value of free 3D CAD models

A mechanical engineer who works with 3D solid modeling software usually needs a large amount of 3D CAD files to work out his design. Modeling these components is often a lot of work and therefore any component that can be downloaded from the Internet saves time and money.
But what exactly is the value of a free 3D CAD model?

It's quite simple: 
The value of a free 3D CAD model is expressed in terms of money: 


Value = saving time x hourly rate

So, if you have an hourly rate of $40 and you'll save two hours to download a free model, then the model to go for a value of $80.

However, a free 3D model can also have a negative value, for example when you have been looking for 2 hours and then still have to verify that the dimensions and other details. In that case, it would have been faster and cheaper to model the part itself. Actually, there are two important issues that determine the value of a free 3D model:
The retrieval of the 3D model
The reliability of the 3D model

Findability:
Over time, you will notice the 3D CAD models that you are searching for faster and easier. This is partly because your search experience is growing, and because the number of suppliers is not getting bigger, only the number of downloadable files on their websites are growing to better recommend a product.

Reliability:
Generally, you can assume that the models offered by your supplier of the component are the most reliable and therefore almost always have a positive value. If you downloaded the part through a "crowd-based sharing site," make sure you always pay attention to whether the 3D model corresponds to the real part.
On this note, you can see the value of our (free) 3D CAD models which have been recently provided with a dimensioned drawing. Before you download the model, you to first check whether it is exactly what you need. We hope that this will help you make the right decision and help us boost our download numbers.

Conclusion:
Incidentally, the formula for determining the value of the acquired 3D models is using the following formula:

Value = (Time saved x hourly rate) - (purchase price 3D models)

Then the acquired 3D CAD files can be the best option yet still be "cheaper" than the free versions. This makes sense when using the formula.