Engineering.com's roundup of recent design software news
Jaguar Land Rover to use Dassault Systèmes for another five years

Dassault Systèmes will be used for another five years at JLR (Jaguar Land Rover).
Any extension is newsworthy in the hotly contested and coveted domain of the world’s major automakers, and a switch is a big deal. The luxury automotive brands, including Jaguar and LandRover, supply even more cachet to all the software vendors they use—except when the automakers don’t allow their names to be used, like Tesla. It must be frustrating.
Dassault Systèmes, cashing in on its use at JLR, reports that as many as 18,000 people at JLR could use the digital twins produced by the software-maker’s 3DExperience platform. However, it is not known how many will be working in the design and manufacturing capacity.
“JLR’s decision to deploy the 3DExperience platform at this scale further confirms the role that Dassault Systèmes plays in JLR’s commitment to a good and responsible business in an industry that demands high levels of excellence and personalization,” said a Dassault Systèmes press release.
Both Jaguar and Land Rover enjoy a reputation for luxury in the U.S. due to their gloried pasts and well-appointed interiors. However, they also suffer from the opposite perception of reliability. According to RepairPal.com, Jaguar currently ranks 29th out of 32 car brands in reliability, while Land Rover is 31st.
SPEC releases SOLIDWORKS 2024 benchmark

SPEC (Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation) has updated SPECapc, the Solidworks benchmark for the 2025 version of Solidworks.
Solidworks users, hardware vendors, and publishers, on better days, use SPEC benchmarks to compare workstations and graphic boards.
SPECapc for Solidworks benchmark supports Solidworks 2024’s new hidden line removal (HLR) algorithm, one of 48 graphic and 12 CPU tests.
Included are ten Solidworks models, the largest of which has 4.75 million triangles.
SPECapc for Solidworks 2024 benchmark is free to download for users but must be licensed for $2,500 for use by hardware vendors.
Spatial Adds HOOPS Communicator

Spatial Corp, a division of Dassault Systèmes, best known for its ACIS modeling kernel, has added HOOPS Communicator, developed by Tech Soft 3D, to the library of components it offers. The HOOPS Communicator enables web-based visualization of and interaction with 3D data. With it, design, engineering, and manufacturing software developers don’t have to rewrite their Windows-based applications to run on the web-native applications that rely on WebGL.
With it, software vendors can port their desktop applications to display on the web, effectively turning a desktop CAD, CAM or CAE application into one that can run in a browser.
Spatial will not be selling HOOPS Communicator exclusively. TechSoft continues to offer HOOPS Communicator on its site.
ProgeSoft unveils ProgeCAD 2025

ProgeSoft has unveiled ProgeCAD 2025. The latest release supports Advanced Blocks. Users can create and edit parametric blocks and turn visibility on and off, as with AutoCAD’s Dynamic Blocks feature.
ProgeCAD is one of a host of AutoCAD-like programs that sprouted from IntelliCAD, all given the ability to read and write DWG files, all having a user interface as similar to AutoCAD’s as they dare. All hope to make a living selling CAD similar to AutoCAD for the most part but at a fraction of the cost.
The DWG-compatible team does its best to keep up with AutoCAD, but sometimes, it takes a while. AutoCAD introduced Dynamic Blocks in 2006.
When a ProgeCAD user opens an AutoCAD drawing that has dynamic blocks, they are immediately converted into Advanced Blocks.
In addition to Advanced Blocks, ProgeCAD 2025 has the following enhancements:
- A Generative AI Translator that converts the text and notes in a drawing to another language
- An AEC module compatible with AutoCAD AEC Objects
- ARX support
- Drawings with multiple blocks and external references open faster,
- Rubber sheeting, which lets you stretch 2D maps into geographic alignment.
- Data extraction is used to create dynamic tables inside a drawing that are updated based on drawing changes.
- BIM Importer can import Revit files
- IFC Export
Ashlar-Vellum Releases Cobalt Share App in Apple Mac App Store

Ashlar-Vellum, an Austin, Texas company best known for its Vellum CAD software, announced that its Cobalt Share application is available in the Apple Mac App Store.
Cobalt Share is a program that can view and convert over 40 CAD formats (including Ashlar-Vellum’s) between Windows and Mac platforms. s, the leading developer of 2D CAD and 3D modeling software, announces the release of the Cobalt Share Application in the Apple Mac App Store.
Standard formats converted are DWG, DXF, STEP, IGES, and PDF.
The Cobalt Share app can be downloaded for free both as a Windows and Mac app.
Revalize Adds 5 Executives
Revalize, a company that found an intersection of CAD, CPQ (configure price quote), and PLM software and appointed itself the leader, has added five executives to its management team.

This is the first time we have heard of Revalize. The company was founded in 2021 and acquired various industry-specific software application vendors, each irregularly spaced along the manufacturing supply chain, including a CAD and a PLM application. Revalize calls itself an “idea-to-cash solution.”
The new executives and their positions are:
- Jason Rupert, chief revenue officer, comes from Pushpay and previously held positions at Symplr, FIS, and Worldpay.
- Reiner Hofmann, SVP of EMEA Sales, previously CRO at Tacton, Qt Company, and Fluke Network
- Heather Boyd, SVP of Marketing, led international marketing at Auctane and previously was EMEA marketing director at Oracle.
- Oliver Staehelin, chief corporate development officer, led acquisitions at Harver. He has also been a CFO and founded his own business.
- Christine Stewart, chief talent and productivity officer, was chief human resources officer with Eagleview and had leadership roles at Kodak, Alaris, and Xerox.
Revalize is part of the TA Associates and HG portfolio. TA and HG are private equity firms. TA targets technology, healthcare, financial services, consumer, and business services and has raised $65 billion in capital. HG also focuses on software and companies in the early stages of digitization, and has $65 billion under management.