If you’re an engineer or a
designer you know that some of the most important trade tools don’t come
cheap. Software programs in engineering
are often readily available for free or for cheap online, but those programs
using the CAD or Computer Aided Drafting technology are much harder to come
by. The possible reason for this is
because creating a quality, industry-accepted, and versatile CAD product is so
complicated.
There are, however, three free
programs that use CAD and available for download. These programs aren't cheap “layout design”
knockoff versions of CAD – they are legitimate quality products developed by
some of the major designers who sell commercial 3D CAD software. The motivation for offering these great
products for free is the hope that the user will decide to purchase the
commercial software after trying out the free version. Fortunately the companies offering these
products aren't offering substandard snippets of a program to hook you. The programs are actually really good
quality.
The first free program is called IronCAD
Compose.
Pluses: this program allows
the user to import files from other CAD programs for editing, 3D composites,
rendering, and even animation.
Minuses: while it is a great
program, it requires you to already have access to CAD files.
IronCAD Compose is specifically
useful for the creation and presentation of 3D models that can be used as a
sales piece or used within your own organization for training or
partnering. A drawing, for example, can
be produced by one person and passed on to another who can then use the program
to explore the assembly or product.
The catch to the IronCAD Compose
“free” deal is that it takes existing drawings and makes them viewable,
editable, and printable, but the design aspect of the program is not
accessible. There are other aspects of
the program that aren’t accessible using the free version with the hopes that
the user will choose to purchase it after seeing all that it has to offer. As a standalone product, however, IronCAD
Compose is still a quality product.
The second free program is called AutoCAD
Inventor Fusion.
Pluses: this program is
offered by Autodesk – one of the leaders in CAD programs. This program uses cutting edge technology and
is being offered free of charge to draw interest from Autodesk’s current client
base as well as its competitors’.
Minuses: this program is
only free for a short period of time and also requires the user to have access
to 3D CAD program files. Inventor Fusion
essentially takes 3D CAD files from a wide variety of formats and, in an
incredibly user-friendly way, turns them into models to be used in planning and
engineering.
The third free program is called Sold
Edge
2D Drafting and is offered by Siemens and it is a solid
good-quality 2D CAD program that is most useful in situations where a 3D model
isn’t required. Solid Edge has been an
industry leader in mechanical drawing since it was developed by the space
program in the 60’s. Currently Siemens
interests lie in selling 3D CAD programs.
They offer the 2D program for free hoping to gain the loyalty of users
who would be paying competitors for similar programs. Solid Edge is everything a designer or
engineer would expect from a 2D drafting program. It is compliant with a number of industry
drafting standards and is compatible with other 2D and 3D CAD programs.
If you’re interested in trying
out these great products follow the links below. There is no better opportunity to get your
hands on some quality CAD programs than now.
For IronCAD Compose visit: www.ironcad.com
For Inventor Fusion visit: http://labs.autodesk.com/
For Solid Edge visit: www.siemens.com/plm
Guest Post by Dan Greene of http://www.globalcad.co.uk/.