Propel Software’s DesignHub connects mechanical and electrical design data to product lifecycle management.
REDWOOD CITY, Calif.—A new multi-CAD integration product from Propel Software is reported to solve a persistent problem for manufacturers: getting accurate design data from computer aided design (CAD) systems to product lifecycle management (PLM).
According to a release from Propel, DesignHub connects more than 15 mechanical and electrical design tools and product data management (PDM) systems to Propel’s PLM system. By doing so, it is said to boost productivity from design to release.
Design data often sits in shared drives with unclear naming conventions, leading to version conflicts, costly rework, and delayed handoffs. DesignHub is reported to significantly improve the connection between engineering teams and the rest of the enterprise, making design data “a strategic asset accessible across procurement, product management, marketing, sales, and service,” the release stated.
“Our research reveals multiple CAD applications and complexity hampers new product development, with nearly three-quarters of companies facing inefficiency and delays due to multi-CAD challenges,” said Jim Brown, president and founder of Tech-Clarity, in the release. “The result is design errors, extra overhead costs, and suboptimal design decisions. The solution is integrating CAD data from across systems into a unified product data platform. This makes design information accessible to the entire organization from the earliest stages, boosting collaboration, enhancing decision making, and enabling on-time delivery.”
Available immediately as part of Propel’s Winter 2026 release, DesignHub centralizes design data from mechanical and electrical CAD tools with Propel’s unified platform, eliminating version control issues and enabling engineering data sharing across the enterprise. In addition to multi-CAD connectivity, it replaces manual data entry with automated synchronization, as it automatically generates part numbers, syncs BOMs, and maps attributes. It also offers change management capability by capturing design changes and routing them into change-order workflows with full traceability, according to Propel.
The software release also enables enterprise access and version control. DesignHub makes design information, such as part and assembly drawings, thumbnails, neutral CAD formats, and interactive viewables, available to procurement, production, marketing, sales, and service. It also tracks data flow across the product lifecycle, reducing errors, the company said in the release.
By breaking design information out of silos, DesignHub is said to accelerate new product development, reduce costs, and improve time to market.
“Most manufacturers use multiple CAD solutions, and their engineering data needs to be accessible throughout the whole product lifecycle,” said Eric Schrader, chief product officer at Propel Software, in the release. “DesignHub connects these systems without the cost and complexity of traditional CAD-PLM integrations. It breaks down silos between engineering and other departments, empowering every team to make faster, better-informed decisions.”
Propel One AI automates workflows using connected data
Propel’s Winter 2026 release also offers more capabilities from Propel One, the company’s agentic AI tool powered by Salesforce Agentforce. It is said to significantly expand Propel One AI, embedding agentic intelligence directly into the Propel platform.
Built on Salesforce Agentforce, Propel One operates as a growing library of AI skills that work across item management, BOM, change management, quality, and training, using trusted product data from DesignHub and other connected sources. Rather than providing simple attachment summaries, or navigating help documentation, Propel One draws from the full system of record, including BOMs, change records, quality events, training assets, and technical documentation, to automate and orchestrate work that spans teams and processes.
According to the company, Propel One automation “works by connecting BOMs, changes, quality records, and commercial information on a single platform. This unified approach means AI has access to complete, accurate product data, not siloed information.”