File Details |
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| File Size | 37.3 MB |
|---|---|
| License | Commercial Demo |
| Operating System | Windows 2000/9x/Server 2003/XP |
| Date Added | March 25, 2008 |
| Total Downloads | 1,876 |
| Publisher | VariCAD |
| Homepage | VariCAD |
Publisher's Description
VariCAD is 3D/2D mechanical CAD package featuring 3D modeling, 2D drafting, associate dimensioning, libraries, calculations, BOMs, etc.
Latest Reviews
mikeeberhart reviewed v2008 1.04 on Oct 15, 2008
I recently evaluated quite a selection of 3D CAD software in hopes of finding one that was 1) affordable, 2) powerful, and 3) intuitive. VariCAD (2008.3) is the one that came out on top when my evaluation was complete.
When I started my evaluation of these packages, I was essentially CAD-naive, and I set as a very important criteria my desire to be able to QUICKLY learn the basics of the CAD GUI and commands. I found many other UIs anything but intuitive, and VariCAD was the first one that just "clicked" with me.
Next, its pricing compares quite favorably to the "big guys" (AutoCAD, SolidWords, Pro-E, etc). It is under $1000 for the full product with 1year of upgrades and support. That is much better than others.
It is definitely capable and powerful. Both the 2D and 3D functionality are excellent. It provides a great library of standard parts (be it bearings, screws, bolts, etc) in addition to all sorts of object-primitives. Rendering was smooth and didn't suffer from any screen-refresh issues (like some other CAD packages I tried, were I had to continually manually "refresh" the drawing to remove hanging pixels, line chunks, etc.) - VariCAD performed its rendering flawlessly in 2D and 3D. (NOTE: I tested all CAD packs inside a Win2003 Server VM using VMware Player, which *may* account for why some other CAD systems had issues with screen refresh?)
I looked at and discarded a LOT of other CAD software. The only other ones I semi-considered were ViaCAD Pro V5 (good price, fast 3D rendering - though with artifacts at times, but not as powerful as VariCAD, and not very good online info on their site), Bricsys/BricsCAD V9 (good price, Powerful, and an IntelliCAD technology consortium derivation, but I found the UI god-awful difficult to use for whatever reason).
So, I definitely found VariCAD to be the best for my own use. I recommend considering it for sure, but you also need to play with a few others if new to CAD and see what makes sense to you. VariCAD had some decent tutorials that helped me get up to speed quickly, plus their GUI really just made more "sense" to me.
The only reason I give it a 4 instead of a 5 is that I see some area for improvement with the UI still, and I suspect it will definitely only get better. It's been around a long time, and continues to improve from what I can tell.
mikeeberhart reviewed v2008 1.04 on Oct 15, 2008
I recently evaluated quite a selection of 3D CAD software in hopes of finding one that was 1) affordable, 2) powerful, and 3) intuitive. VariCAD (2008.3) is the one that came out on top when my evaluation was complete.
When I started my evaluation of these packages, I was essentially CAD-naive, and I set as a very important criteria my desire to be able to QUICKLY learn the basics of the CAD GUI and commands. I found many other UIs anything but intuitive, and VariCAD was the first one that just "clicked" with me.
Next, its pricing compares quite favorably to the "big guys" (AutoCAD, SolidWords, Pro-E, etc). It is under $1000 for the full product with 1year of upgrades and support. That is much better than others.
It is definitely capable and powerful. Both the 2D and 3D functionality are excellent. It provides a great library of standard parts (be it bearings, screws, bolts, etc) in addition to all sorts of object-primitives. Rendering was smooth and didn't suffer from any screen-refresh issues (like some other CAD packages I tried, were I had to continually manually "refresh" the drawing to remove hanging pixels, line chunks, etc.) - VariCAD performed its rendering flawlessly in 2D and 3D. (NOTE: I tested all CAD packs inside a Win2003 Server VM using VMware Player, which *may* account for why some other CAD systems had issues with screen refresh?)
I looked at and discarded a LOT of other CAD software. The only other ones I semi-considered were ViaCAD Pro V5 (good price, fast 3D rendering - though with artifacts at times, but not as powerful as VariCAD, and not very good online info on their site), Bricsys/BricsCAD V9 (good price, Powerful, and an IntelliCAD technology consortium derivation, but I found the UI god-awful difficult to use for whatever reason).
So, I definitely found VariCAD to be the best for my own use. I recommend considering it for sure, but you also need to play with a few others if new to CAD and see what makes sense to you. VariCAD had some decent tutorials that helped me get up to speed quickly, plus their GUI really just made more "sense" to me.
The only reason I give it a 4 instead of a 5 is that I see some area for improvement with the UI still, and I suspect it will definitely only get better. It's been around a long time, and continues to improve from what I can tell.