This article is meant to give beginners a feel for the scope of the market for CAD software from the most expensive CAD programs used by the biggest automotive and aerospace companies all the way to free open source alternatives. I’ll finish by making some recommendations on the basis of my experience in teaching all kinds of CAD in universities for the last fifteen years.
What it is
Computer Aided Design, CAD, is specialised software used by engineers but also by hobbyists and students. Its used by the largest aerospace companies as well as the smallest innovators, inventors and small businesses riding the wave of the information revolution. We’ve had personal computers since the 1970s but CAD has run on mainframe computers since the 1950’s. It was first developed in the universities and by NASA and since then has filtered throughout the global economy.
Thirty years ago there was a transition from two dimensional CAD to 3D. Industry is slowly making the change driven by the improvement of computer technology and the bottom line improvements which this 3D CAD software makes to business.
What’s it for?
Everything in the economy has been designed in CAD, every building, car, train, boat and aeroplane. The shoes you wear, the kettle you boil water for your coffee was designed and refined in CAD. Drawings were printed and the components were all manufactured, assembled, transported and sold. CAD software plays a large part in all these steps for shaping, specifying, planning, managing and promoting. Beyond the design, development and manufacturing functions, the CAD models and drawings are also used by maintenance personnel and in the case of buildings they are used further for demolition and recycling.
Not only professional engineers use CAD but also tradesmen, technicians and others involved in the factories where the manufacturing is carried out. Quality control departments use the CAD model just as do the production departments and marketing departments.
The Top
The two most important and capable CAD programs are CATIA owned by Dassault Systemes and NX owned by Seimens. Some of the best known brands in the world use one or the other of these; car companies such as Toyota, Ford, Renault, Volvo, Hyundai. Aerospace companies such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Gruman and many others use these. A single license of CATIA or of NX will cost from $20,000 upward toward $60,000 depending on the modules required. I have taught basic skills in both of these.
Mid-Range
This is the most popular segment. There are several mid-level CAD programs which are not quite as fully featured as the two mentioned above. PTC Windchill, Inventor, Solidworks and Solid Edge are among the best known and their market share varies in different regions. In Australia we have Solidworks and Inventor having roughly equal market share. In Europe I’ve heard that Solid Edge is dominant and also quite popular in the USA. The price for a mid-level CAD program ranges from $5,000 to $15,000. I have also taught basic skills in each of the programs mentioned.
The Bottom End
If the top and mid markets for CAD software have a small number of options, the bottom end is very broad. Using the price band and popularity to distinguish CAD software as top, mid or bottom level, there are many in the lower band, below $5,000. Some are specialised such as Rhino which has strengths for the surfacing of car parts, boat hulls and consumer goods where precise organic shapes matter. There is even one named ‘FreeCAD’ an open source 3D modeler. Alibre, TurboCAD, IronCAD and BricsCAD are some names in the bottom price band. Although I have dabbled in a few of these I have only taught one of them, Onshape which has a free version but really belongs in the section on Cloud Based CAD below.
Architecture
Certain industry segments have their own favourites, in Architecture the projects have different requirements and the old two dimensional Autocad has remained a stalwart. However, the times are changing and 3D software is gaining market share in architecture. Names such as Archicad are becoming prominent and even Sketchup which until very recently was only a toy but has been used by some brilliant architects and companies for ground breaking innovations. I’ve been using Sketchup professionally for several years in residential architectural drafting.
Cloud Based CAD
One of the most significant changes to the CAD market in thirty years is the appearance of cloud based CAD such as Onshape. A few others have attempted to offer cloud based CAD and failed but Onshape seems to be catching on. There are no downloads of software, Onshape is a web-app which means that it runs in a web browser and this brings a couple of significant advantages if you have internet access. The computer needed to run CAD software effectively is not nearly as expensive. The software itself is either free or subscription based depending on the need for privacy. Certainly for educational purposes Onshape is my first recommendation. Some of the original 1994 founders of Solidworks got back together and started Onshape just a few years ago. It now has enough features to compete with mid-range offerings although there is an option to use it free. You only pay if you need secure private access.
CAM and CAE
Any discussion of the CAD market is incomplete without mentioning CAM and CAE. CAM stands for Computer Aided Manufacturing and CAE stands for Computer Aided Engineering. They are both important cousins to CAD software and they both use the CAD model as their starting point.
CAM is the software that is used to determine a tool path for a computer controlled machine such as lathe or mill or 3d printer or laser cutter. Its quite specialised and in some cases is produced by the companies who make the milling machine or laser cutting machine.
CAE is even more specialised than CAM. It can be thought of as virtual prototype testing. An example is the crash testing of cars which once used to involve the building of an expensive prototype and crashing it complete with crash-test dummies in order to measure the damage sustained in a crash. These days crash testing is done in the computer with CAE software, the expensive prototype is only the CAD model of the car and in actual practice the car companies are still required by law to crash-test at least one or two cars just in order to confirm their CAE simulations.
All of the mid-range CAD programs have CAM and CAE either built in or available as add-ons and the CAD operator, a draftsman who may not be highly qualified is required to at least be able to use the CAM and CAE software under the supervision of a fully qualified engineer.
Which CAD program should an aspiring engineer learn to use?
The answer to this question depends in part on the branch of engineering the student has in mind. A specialised audio or acoustic engineer will use different software than a bio-medical engineer, however most students at a young age aren’t ready to specialise quite so severely.
Most CAD programs these days are based on the same kernel, the underlying software skeleton which is licensed to the various companies and so most of the CAD programs operate in ways that are very similar. You can learn one of the mechanical 3D programs and if necessary make a transition from one to another without too much trouble. The exception is perhaps architecture however a student often has this much of an idea of his ambition at an early stage.
Mechanical 3D CAD is probably the most universal and a safe bet for most young people interested in engineering careers and of all of them I would recommend Onshape for a student. It is full featured and many of the most innovative features in the industry are appearing first in Onshape. It has enough in common with the mid and top level CAD programs to allow you to transition if you end up working for a company with other software. Use the free option until your circumstances demand that you do otherwise.
I should also mention Fusion 360 by Autodesk, the company that owns Autocad and Inventor among others. Their Fusion product is adequate and they are making a free offer to individuals or small businesses however I personally would be cautious with Autodesk due to their business practices in recent years. They have let a quarter of their staff go in recent months and they are getting bad press in industry circles for their pricing policies.
For a young person looking at the field of architecture, Sketchup will suffice for the first year or so unless you know that you want to focus on the popular Autodesk Revit. You then have a hurdle in the form of a pricey subscription. Sketchup has a free version and the full professional version is well under $1000. I’ve used both and in my opinion you can develop many necessary skills with Sketchup and change over to Revit later.
My Recommendations
For hobbyists. Don’t spend thousands, who knows, maybe you’ll invent something that makes you millions but to start with you should get full featured and professional quality CAD for free. That narrows it down to Onshape and Fusion 360. Either one of these will allow you to learn a great tool and it won’t be too difficult to change to another if necessary. Since Onshape is cloud based you won’t need a fast and powerful computer but Fusion 360 is a program you need to download to your hard drive and run on your computer, which means that you’re going to need a more powerful and up to date computer.
For students. If you have a preferred university chosen already, find out which CAD they teach and see if you can obtain a students license to allow you to start learning before you go to university. It will probably be one of the mid-range programs, you can follow the links below to explore access to their educational version. If you don’t have a capable computer, fall back on Onshape, since the skills you develop with Onshape will only help you.
For employees. This is a no-brainer, become a ninja, an expert and the best user of the CAD program they already have. If the company is about to upgrade from 2D to 3D CAD its still clear for you. Whatever they choose, go with it. If necessary you will be able to learn another pretty easily if you end up changing your employer in future.
For home-based businesses. I recommend Onshape, you don’t have watertight security but evaluate whether you really need to keep secrets. If you do then Fusion 360 is your alternative if you have a capable computer.
Education
Whether your education is in a university or self-directed, you have quite a volume of practice and repetition to get through in order to gain competence with CAD software. My own rule of thumb is a thousand hours of practice to get basic competence and then ten years of effort to get to the top of your profession using that particular tool. (I’ve earned a living within that first 1000 hours.)
Your first year or two depends more on learning the conventions, traditions and peculiarities of your industry, you will find those two dimensional paper drawings used by almost every field of engineering to be quite a challenge to master and all of the available software options are oriented to producing those drawings.
I personally recommend studying part time while you work in the industry that interests you if you can. If you really need a qualification in order to get your first job, a trade or technician level education can get you into employment and employers are often keen to help their people further their education and skills. Put off higher education until you know that the time and expense is worth it. You might be surprised at how well trades and technician level employees are remunerated. Education in a university is not only expensive but fraught with dangers such as teachers who know nothing of business or industry who will waste your time and money. If you are already employed, even if part time, or better yet self-employed, you will know much more about what you really need to learn and spend your scarce time and resources on.