Corel Updates CAD Suite, Providing Low-Cost 2D and 3D Design

Corel has updated its CorelCAD 2015 with new features that provide designers with a low-cost option for designing 2D and 3D graphics. CorelCAD 2015 is the fourth major release of the software maker's toolset for 2D and 3D CAD design, supporting native .DWG files and CorelDRAW graphics with automation capabilities for both Windows and Mac platforms.

The update includes a number of features that give architects and engineers, mechanical engineers, and 3D enthusiasts similar functionality to what they would experience in significantly more expensive CAD design suites, Klaus Vossen, senior product manager, Technical Graphics at Corel, told Design News.

The feature set you get in CorelCAD as a low-cost, or below $1,000, CAD application you typically only get in multi-thousand-dollar CAD applications, he said. These features include: 3D design or solid modeling tools; an automation interface with support for the LISP programming language; and Window and Mac platform support that allows one license for use on a desktop and laptop in certain instances.

Vossen added that a new key feature of CorelCAD 2015 is Enhanced Windows Ribbon UI with workspace customization options, which helps Windows users feel at home with the CAD application and supports the user experience for MS Office and other Windows applications. Another Windows-exclusive feature, parametric drawing, will make 2D designs more efficient for editing or creating variations.

Applying dimensional and/or geometric constraints helps designers put objects into context and limits future modifications to those constraints. In other words, it does not accidentally change object location or size without considering relations between objects, Vossen said. For example, this can help mechanical and process engineers such as factory planners to draft, or place machinery components onto a plan, and modify 2D drafts, or move components while maintaining constraints between components, quickly.

CorelCAD 2015 also connects to graphics applications such as CorelDRAW and Corel DESIGNER to provide a seamless workflow from initial sketching in the former to precise CAD to presentation graphics in the CorelDRAW Graphics Suite and technical documentation/illustration in the CorelDRAW Technical Suite with Corel DESIGNER.

Other new features in the latest version of the suite include:

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