Ailbre teams with FreeDesign on 3D CAD bundle

There seems to be no shortage of product news from CAD vendors surrounding efforts to make their products more accessible to non-traditional users without taking a major toll on functionality.

Alibre Inc., which has positioned itself as the only sub-$1,000 a seat 3D solid modeling tool, is upping the ante with a new $1,595 bundle that packages its Ailbre Design Expert parametric solid modeling tool with FreeDesign Inc.’s FreeDimension tool for free-form modeling and design concepting.

By combining the two technologies, officials claim even novice users can create organic shapes in FreeDimension and then pass those 3D surfaces to the Alibre solid modeling environment for additional work. Officials are positioning the bundle as a good fit for design professionals in the areas of marine design, mold making, jewelry and consumer products, in particular.