Manufacturers that design their own products hold two things AI developers ask for: native CAD with its revision history, and quality records that show how defects were found and fixed. Mercor's published range for manufacturers, $100K to $1.5M, is the highest of its 25 business types, and Mercor publishes $45K to $1.35M for hardware engineering companies, both read through a third-party copy. Those are ceilings, not offers. Check customer ownership of designs and export controls before anything else.
- Native CAD with revisions, ECOs and BOMs, linked to NCRs, CAPAs and test results, is the combination buyers ask about.
- Build-to-print shops hold mostly customer-owned designs; their own process and quality records may still count.
- Published ranges are ceilings, read through a third-party copy of the buyer's listing.
- Export classification comes first: ITAR and EAR-controlled data stays out.
Who this page is for
Owners and engineering or quality leaders at manufacturers of engineered or custom products, roughly 20 to 2,000 staff, with ten or more years of designs in a CAD or PLM system and a quality system that records nonconformances and corrective actions.
Contract manufacturers and machine shops that build to customer prints hold mostly customer-owned designs; their own process, inspection and quality history may still be licensable. See contract manufacturer IP ownership and who owns CNC programs.
Which CAD and quality records AI buyers want
Buyers want the engineering record of how a product was designed, changed and made right, not finished renderings. The value is in the links: a change order that points to the nonconformance that caused it and the test that closed it.
| Record | What it shows | Detailed guide |
|---|---|---|
| Native CAD with revision history | Feature trees, revisions, released versus working versions | CAD and engineering data |
| Engineering change orders and BOMs | Why a design changed and what it affected | SolidWorks PDM and Vault |
| Drawings with GD&T | How tolerances were set for real parts | Creo and Windchill, NX and Teamcenter |
| NCRs, CAPAs and 8D reports | How defects were found, contained and fixed | Quality records |
| First article inspections, travelers, test results | Whether a design and process produced good parts | Design history files |
| PCB and electronics design | Schematics, layouts and fabrication outputs | Altium and KiCad |
Production approval holders in aerospace already keep this chain because the FAA requires it: procedures "for controlling design data and subsequent changes to ensure that only current, correct, and approved data is used", and for "the identification, documentation, evaluation, segregation, and disposition of nonconforming products and articles." (14 CFR 21.137).
What AI companies say they pay manufacturers: the published ranges
No closed price for a manufacturer's CAD or quality archive has been published with a source. What exists are ranges a buyer publishes and offers reported in the press.
| Evidence | What it says | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Mercor, manufacturing listing | "Manufacturing & Industrial Company $100K–$1.5M 20–2,000 employees" (TrackImpact) | A buyer's published range, read through a third-party copy |
| Mercor, hardware engineering listing | "Hardware Engineering Company $45K–$1.35M 20–2,000 employees" (TrackImpact) | Same |
| An offer to design firms | Archinect reports a social post from an AI company: "We’ll pay you six figures for them", about three years of CAD files (Archinect) | Press report of an offer, not a deal |
TrackImpact notes these are "Ranges, not offers" (TrackImpact). Published ranges are ceilings a buyer advertises, not offers and not closed prices. For your own archive, the CAD archive value check scores it against published buyer requirements.
Customer-owned designs and build-to-print work
Ownership decides what is in scope. Designs you created for your own products are usually yours. Designs a customer supplied, or that a contract assigns to the customer, are not, even when they sit in your vault. Design consultancies face the same split; see who owns CAD files: the consultancy or the client.
Your own process knowledge is a separate asset: routings, work instructions, inspection plans, NCR and CAPA history. Customer part numbers and drawings inside those records can be removed or coded.
ITAR and EAR99: check export controls first
Defense work is ITAR technical data when it is "required for the design, development, production, manufacture, assembly, operation, repair, testing, maintenance, or modification of defense articles" (22 CFR 120.33). Under the EAR, sharing controlled technology with a foreign person inside the United States is "a "deemed export"" (15 CFR 734.13), which matters because AI developers and their contractors are often international teams.
Under the EAR, "items subject to the EAR which are not listed on the CCL are designated as “EAR99.”" (15 CFR 734.3). Have counsel or your export compliance lead classify the archive and keep only data classified EAR99 or otherwise cleared for release. The step-by-step version is the ITAR and EAR checklist for CAD data.
Records checklist for a manufacturer
The sector records checklist (CSV) has these rows for manufacturing and the other four sectors.
| Item | What to write down |
|---|---|
| CAD and PLM | System (SolidWorks PDM, Autodesk Vault, Onshape, Windchill, Teamcenter), years, number of parts and assemblies |
| ERP and shop floor | System (for example Epicor, JobBOSS or Global Shop), travelers, routings |
| Quality system | NCR, CAPA, 8D and inspection records: where they live and how far back |
| Links | Whether NCRs and ECOs reference part numbers and revisions in the CAD system |
| Ownership | Share of designs that are your own products versus customer-supplied |
| Export classification | ITAR, EAR-controlled or EAR99, by product line |
What a one-page datasheet looks like (fictional example)
Invented to show the level of detail; it describes no real company.
| Field | Fictional example |
|---|---|
| Company | Maker of industrial valves and actuators, own product line, 140 staff |
| Years | CAD and PDM 2009 to 2026; quality system 2013 to 2026 |
| Volume | About 18,000 parts and assemblies, 4,200 ECOs, 6,500 NCRs, 900 CAPAs |
| Links | NCRs and ECOs reference part number and revision; test reports filed per serial number |
| Exclusions | One defense product line (ITAR) removed; customer-supplied drawings removed |
| Owner and signer | Founder-owned; signer is the CEO |
What happens next: three steps
A first conversation needs no files. You can stop after any step.
- Describe your records: answer six questions, with no files and no system access. Origin then separates your own designs from customer designs and checks the export classification of each product line.
- Datasheet and sample: Origin turns your answers into a one-page datasheet like the example above, and you approve a small de-identified sample before anything leaves the company.
- Buyers and license: Origin shows the datasheet to the AI developers and data programs that have asked for CAD and quality records, with their published terms. You approve scope, use, price and delivery, and sign the license yourself.
- Origin does not charge data owners; a buyer may pay Origin when a deal closes (how Origin is paid).
Resources for your quality and engineering team
Guides for the people who keep these records, and the detailed pages behind this hub:
- Non-conformance report (NCR) template and examples
- 8D report example and template
- Engineering change order (ECO) template and process
- Manufacturing quality records and AI licensing
- Hardware startup shutdown: what happens to the CAD archive
- Fusion 360 and Onshape data
- Drone and EV engineering data
Hold years of CAD history and quality records? Describe them in six questions, no files needed, and see what your data is worth.
Origin Data Partners works with companies that own data and helps get it bought. We are independent of the services on this page, and a buyer may pay us when a deal closes (how Origin is paid). See what your data is worth.
Common questions
Can a manufacturer license its CAD files to AI companies?
Yes, for designs it owns and that are not export-controlled. Native files with revision history, change orders and BOMs are what buyers ask about. Customer-supplied designs and ITAR or EAR-controlled data stay out.
Who owns drawings a manufacturer made for a customer?
It depends on the contract. Build-to-print drawings supplied by the customer belong to the customer, and many supply agreements assign custom designs to the customer too. Your own product designs and your process records are usually yours.
Are quality records worth more to buyers when they come with the CAD?
Usually, yes. An NCR or CAPA that references the part number and revision it concerns, and an ECO that shows what changed as a result, gives a developer the full chain from defect to design change. Unlinked records are worth less.
Does ITAR stop a manufacturer from licensing engineering data?
It stops the controlled part. ITAR technical data and EAR-controlled technology cannot go to a buyer without the right authorization, including release to foreign persons in the United States. Commercial products classified EAR99 are usually the licensable part, but EAR99 is not "no restrictions": exports to embargoed countries still need a license.
What is EAR99, and why should a manufacturer check it first?
Under 15 CFR 734.3, items subject to the EAR that are not listed on the Commerce Control List are designated EAR99. Data about EAR99 products generally carries the fewest export restrictions, so knowing which product lines are EAR99 tells you which part of the archive can be licensed. EAR99 still needs a license to embargoed destinations such as Cuba under 15 CFR 746.1.
How many years of design revisions do AI buyers usually want?
Buyers ask for long, continuous history in one system, because revisions show how engineers changed designs over time. Ten or more years in one CAD or PLM system is a strong archive; a clean migration history between systems helps.
Do we send native CAD files or neutral exports like STEP?
Buyers usually prefer native files, because neutral formats lose the feature tree and history. The license and a sample decide the format; nothing leaves the company until you approve it.
How is a manufacturer's CAD archive different from public CAD datasets?
Public research CAD datasets are mostly collections of single models. A manufacturer's archive adds what those collections lack: the revision history, the change orders behind each revision and the quality records that show how parts failed and were fixed. See licensing CAD and engineering data.
Sources and further reading
- TrackImpact: Mercor data licensing programme, published ranges by business type (checked October 30, 2026)
- Archinect: AI companies are offering architects six figures for CAD files (November 9, 2026)
- eCFR: 14 CFR 21.137, quality system for production approval holders
- eCFR: 22 CFR 120.33, technical data (ITAR)
- eCFR: 15 CFR 734.13, export and deemed export (EAR)
- eCFR: 15 CFR 734.3, items subject to the EAR (EAR99)
- 15 CFR 746.1: embargoes and other special controls