About Yorkshire CAD Services

Paul Smith, founder and director of Yorkshire CAD Services, commissioning a hydraulic power unit on site

Design is our passion!

Yorkshire CAD Services is led by its founder and director, Paul Smith, who has more than 35 years of hands-on engineering design experience. One of Paul's most recent high-profile accomplishments was delivering, over six years, the complete design, manufacture, testing, installation, and commissioning of the hydraulic systems, hydraulic power units, and hydraulic cylinders for the multi-billion-pound Thames Tideway infrastructure project.

Paul's involvement in design began in the 1980s, studying technical drawing in secondary school. From the days of the humble drawing board to developing skills with 2D CAD software, then moving into 3D CAD design, and now using the latest AI technologies to enhance those skills, we have many years of practical, at-the-coal-face design experience. And like many of Generation-X, we have learned new business practices and developed additional skills, such as using software like Microsoft Word and Excel, along with Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign, all whilst keeping up with the latest technology,

Our design skills have been learned through hands-on and practical engineering rather than in the classroom, from working for small hydraulic engineering companies to being employed for several years running a PLC owned hydraulic engineering company with full responsiblity for all design, staff and financial performance, we understand the need to deliver your project when and how you need it.

Our Ethos

Quality

Our aim is to design your projects as you need them, to the correct specifications, standards and that they are fit for purpose. We also understand that the items we design have to be as easy as possible to manufacture and assemble.
On Time

Having worked in a demanding engineering environment for many years, we fully understand the need to have your projects ready on-time, every time. We are used to working to tight deadlines and know some project timescales can be very fluid, so we pride ourselves on being adaptable to your requirements.
On Budget

We also understand that time is money and appreciate that it's your money we are working with. Using efficient design processes and making projects as easy to manufacture as possible are part of our core values.

Software

We use the following software in our design work.

HYDROSYM hydraulic schematic design software

Experience, Standards & Credentials

Paul's design career began in the mid-1980s, learned hands-on rather than in the classroom. It included many years running a PLC-owned engineering company – responsible for all design, staff and financial performance – before he founded Yorkshire CAD Services, where he remains the director and principal designer. That background means projects are run with an eye to delivery, cost and manufacture, not just the drawing.

We design using SolidWorks Design Premium and SolidWorks Visualize, and work to general engineering standards such as BS and ISO as well as our customers' own specifications. Every design is checked to be fit for purpose and as easy as possible to manufacture and assemble.

Where a project requires it, we produce detailed engineering calculations – including rod buckling and burst pressure calculations on hydraulic cylinders – as packages suitable for CAT3 checkers and third-party inspectors such as ABS, DNV and Lloyd's Register. We regularly work under Non-Disclosure Agreement for clients in regulated sectors including military, nuclear and subsea.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is behind Yorkshire CAD Services?

Yorkshire CAD Services is led by its founder and director, Paul Smith, who has more than 35 years of hands-on engineering design experience across hydraulic and general engineering.

What experience does Yorkshire CAD Services have?

Paul's design career began in the mid-1980s and included many years running a PLC-owned engineering company, responsible for all design, staff and financial performance, before founding Yorkshire CAD Services. We have worked across military, nuclear, civil engineering, water treatment, Formula One, offshore marine, subsea, chemical and food-industry projects.

What software and standards do you work to?

We design using SolidWorks Design Premium and SolidWorks Visualize, and work to general engineering standards such as BS and ISO as well as our customers' own specifications.