Top Tier CAD Vendors Proclaim: "Free 2D for Everyone!"

Later this month, another major CAD vendor will be releasing a mature 2D CAD program... free. "We don't see why anyone would need to buy AutoCAD LT [for US$899; higher overseas] anymore," a manager from the company told me this week.

I can think of a few reasons why you might stick with LT, such as you've customized the menus and toolbars to work highly efficiently; you have several add on applications;. or, like me, you can't be bothered to learn a new user interface.

But if you work purely in 2D, this new one will give you a lot more drafting and design features, such as a variational geometry engine -- than does the deliberately-stunted LT. It's no free varient of IntelliCAD, either.

Not that this 2D CAD software is the only free one. In the AEC world, Bentley Systems gives away their MicroStation-reduced PowerDraft 2D CAD for free. In the MCAD world, SolidWorks has their renamed version of IntelliCAD, but you have to buy a full SolidWorks license to get the three DWG Editor licenses.

Of course, Autodesk could sink the price of LT to $0, although that would tick off the three-something million customers who made the effort to pay for legal licenses.

This could be the start of free 2D for everyone.

Comments

[ajay kumar]

good

[Evan Yares]

If you look at Autodesk's numbers, it doesn't seem likely that they could start to give away AutoCAD LT without getting in major trouble with the stock market.

[gmyroup]

Who is this unknown vendor... is it their sole intent to cut into Autodesk sales...