Though there is little question that CAD tools have become more powerful and feature-rich, they are still quite expensive. A typical mid-range CAD system will set you back about $5,000 per seat.
To overcome any cost barriers to entry for smaller companies, startups and those that might just need CAD from “time to time,” many vendors have introduced monthly subscription pricing for CAD software.
One company, Ontario-based Corel, has taken a different approach by delivering 2D and 3D CAD software that is actually affordable. The company has released CorelCAD 2015, which offers tools for 2D and 3D CAD design, support for native DWG files and CorelDRAW graphics, and automation capabilities that deliver impressive speed and performance on both a Windows and Mac platform.
Based on the ARES CAD platform, CorelCAD 2015 offers new parametric design capabilities, a pop-up dimension palette and enhanced in-place text editing tools to improve overall productivity.
What’s new
* Drawing Constraints (Parametric Drawing) for Windows
Increases drawing precision by applying dimensional constraints to ensure 2D designs meet exact proportion, angle and size requirements by forcing a geometric shape to perform in a specified way.
* 2D Editing Tools
Maintains the attribute values while exploding blocks to editable shapes with the ExplodeBlockX, the DiscardDuplicates tool simplifies geometry, and the interactive trim path precisely trims curves and corners on screen.
* Pop-Up Dimension Palette
Displays dimension text formatting and property settings on screen for quick editing and easier control of frequently used settings.
* In-Place Text and Table Editing
Creates or modifies existing text with the ability to quickly stack text and paste formatted text from Microsoft Word within a project. Inserts, deletes, merges or resizes cells, rows and columns within existing tables to quickly include important text or instructions into any drawing.
* Enhanced Windows Ribbon User Interface (UI)
Enhances productivity and allows users to easily transition from other CAD programs with customizable Windows ribbon UI workspaces.
CorelCAD 2015 is available in English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Brazilian-Portuguese, Czech, Polish, Russian, Turkish, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese and Korean.
Pricing is $699. Existing Corel users can upgrade to CorelCAD 2015 for $199. CorelCAD runs on both the PC and Mac platforms.
For more information about CorelCAD, please visit the Corel web site.
