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AutoCAD

March 18, 2015 by Andy Voelker
Categories: Analysis & ModelingDesign & Visualization

AutoCAD.2016.Logo.Icon

Availability: Faculty/Staff  |  Download
Comparable: Sketchup, Solidworks

AutoCAD is a commercial software application for 2D and 3D computer-aided design (CAD) and drafting — available since 1982 as a desktop application and since 2010 as a mobile web- and cloud-based app marketed as AutoCAD 360.

AutoCAD is used across a wide range of industries, by architects, project managers, engineers, designers, and other professionals. It is supported by 750 training centers worldwide as of 1994.

The native file format of AutoCAD is .dwg. This and, to a lesser extent, its interchange file format DXF, have become de facto, if proprietary, standards for CAD data interoperability.[citation needed] AutoCAD has included support for .dwf, a format developed and promoted by Autodesk, for publishing CAD data.

SketchUp

October 30, 2014 by Andy Voelker
Categories: Analysis & ModelingMultimedia

Availability: Free Download  |  Pro Download
Comparable: Blender, Solidworks

SketchUp (formerly: Google Sketchup) is a 3D modeling program for applications such as architectural, interior design, civil and mechanical engineering, film, and video game design. A freeware version, SketchUp Make, and a paid version with additional functionality, SketchUp Pro, are available.

The program claims to be easy to use. There is an online open source repository of free-of-charge model assemblies (e.g., windows, doors, automobiles, etc.), 3D Warehouse, to which users may contribute models. The program includes drawing layout functionality, allows surface rendering in variable “styles”, supports third-party “plug-in” programs hosted on a site called Extension Warehouse to provide other capabilities (e.g., near photo-realistic rendering), and enables placement of its models within Google Earth.

A free version of SketchUp is available here.  A heavily discounted version of SketchUp Pro is available for students and educators here.