FreeCAD is a customizable, open-source paramentic 3D CAD and BIM software with FEM support, built on the Opencascade geometric kernel. It was created primarily for product design and mechanical engineering, but it can be used in a wide range of industries, such as electrical engineering, or architecture. It runs on Windows, Mac OS, and Linux.
FreeCAD is made to craft real-life objects of different sizes and is perfect for a home user/amateur, programmer, experienced CAD software user, or educator. This software provides tools similar to those of SolidWorks, Catia or Autodesk Revit.
SOLIDWORKS is a modeling CAD and CAE program by Dassault Systemes which runs on Windows. It is built on Parasolid kernel. SOLIDWORKS user base covers a very wide range of manufacturing market segments, such as aerospace, transportation, electronics, machinery, medical, etc.
SOLIDWORKS users are capable of drawing 2D and 3D sketches, creating models and assemblies, adding notes, dimensions and tolerances.
A CAD file is an output of a CAD software, containing key information about the designed object: its geometry and topology representation, 3D model hierarchy, metadata, and visual attributes depending on the format of the file.
Read moreRead how Holo-light, a leader in the XR market, has integrated CAD Exchanger into its platform to provide flawless CAD file reading for XR applications.
Read moreIn the sixth part, we are going to get a closer look at exploded view mode.
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