Computer-aided design
Constructing a product by means of computer
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We include updates on AutoCAD, Nvidia RTX, Building information modeling, Wavefront .obj file, SketchUp, Tinkercad, SolidWorks, Autodesk Maya, FreeCAD, CATIA, Fusion 360, Autodesk Revit, Siemens NX, Non-uniform rational B-spline, .dwg, Drafter ... and more.
| March 2025 |
Autodesk Maya
Autodesk Maya 2026 version planned for release with OpenPBR material as default setting
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| March 26 2025 |
Autodesk Inventor
Version 2026 was released, focusing on updates to performance, part modeling, sheet metal, assembly mirroring, drawings, and interoperability.
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| March 2025 |
Tekla Structures
Introduced Tekla Structures 2025 version, maintaining the software's ongoing evolution.
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| 2024 |
Blender
Blender was used to produce the Academy Award-winning film Flow, highlighting the software's capability in professional film production.
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| 2024 |
Creo Parametric
Creo Parametric 11.0 version planned or released
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| 2024 |
LibreCAD
LibreCAD development split into two branches: 2.2.1.x for current releases with bug fixes, and 2.2.2_alpha for experimental features not yet suitable for regular use.
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| 2024 |
LibreCAD
LibreCAD 2 implemented support for both Qt5 and Qt6 libraries, expanding its technical capabilities and library compatibility.
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| November 18 2024 |
FreeCAD
Release of FreeCAD 1.0, featuring the new logo, improved assembly workbench, bug fixes, and significant UI/UX improvements.
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| October 2024 |
ABViewer
Release of the latest version, ABViewer 15.2, continuing the software's development and improvement.
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| August 2024 |
Autodesk Maya
Autodesk Maya 2025 version planned for release, supporting Windows, Linux, and macOS
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| July 2024 |
Blender
EEVEE renderer received a major overhaul called EEVEE Next with the release of Blender 4.2 LTS, developed by lead developer Clément Foucault. The update introduced significant new features including screen-space global illumination, virtual shadowmapping, sunlight extraction from HDRIs, and improved rendering techniques.
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| July 16 2024 |
Blender
Planned rewrite of EEVEE render engine to be closer to Cycles, addition of Ray Portal BSDF in Cycles, and GPU acceleration for the compositor.
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| May 21 2024 |
FreeCAD
Maintainer team made the final logo selection, choosing Sebastián Tabares' design by a single vote margin after extensive discussion.
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| May 1 2024 |
FreeCAD
Community voting for logo finalists concluded, with approximately 1,500 people participating in selecting the top logo designs.
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| April 14 2024 |
FreeCAD
Logo proposal submission period closed, with 46 valid logo options collected from the community.
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| March 2024 |
Tekla Structures
Released Tekla Structures 2024, continuing to advance structural modeling software capabilities.
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| March 27 2024 |
Autodesk Inventor
Version 2025 was released with updates to part modeling, sheet metal, assembly modeling, drawings, and interoperability.
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| March 22 2024 |
FreeCAD
FreeCAD launched a public call for logo proposals, inviting community members to submit a single logo design for the project's rebranding effort.
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| February 2024 |
Onshape
Onshape releases iOS support for the Apple Vision Pro, enabling real-world applications of CAD models and prototypes.
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| January 2024 |
Fusion 360
Fusion was rebranded, dropping the '360' from its previous product name Fusion 360.
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| 2023 |
SolidWorks
Five companies presented their experiences with the SOLIDWORKS for Startups Program at 3DEXPERIENCE world 2023, highlighting the program's support for early-stage hardware startups by providing free design tools, training, and co-marketing resources.
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| 2023 |
Blender
Sony Pictures Imageworks used Blender's Grease Pencil for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. 14-year-old Preston Mutanga created the Lego-style sequence in the film using Blender.
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| 2023 |
Creo Parametric
Creo Parametric 10.0 version introduced
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| 2023 |
FORAN System
FORAN System became a part of Siemens PLM Software, marking a significant integration into a major industrial software platform.
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| 2023 |
ABViewer
Release of ABViewer 15.1, marking a significant update to the software.
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| September 2023 |
LibreCAD
Latest commits and test builds for LibreCAD 3 are created, after which development significantly slows down.
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| June 14 2023 |
Siemens NX
Release of NX 2306, supporting Windows 10, Windows 11, and various Linux distributions.
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| March 2023 |
Autodesk Maya
Autodesk Maya 2024 version released with LookdevX, Substance 2.3.2, and native Apple silicon support
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| March 2023 |
Tekla Structures
Released Tekla Structures 2023, maintaining the software's annual development cycle.
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| March 29 2023 |
Blender
Introduced new hair system with Geometry nodes, asset browser, real-time viewport compositor, and vector displacement maps for sculpting.
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| February 2023 |
SolidWorks
Released 3DExperience DraftSight Mechanical version.
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| 2022 | GRAITEC announced an agreement to acquire Applied Software, an Atlanta-based Autodesk partner originally founded in 1982. |
| 2022 |
HyperSizer
HyperSizer was succeeded by HyperX, indicating a significant update or replacement of the original software platform.
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| 2022 |
Blender
Warner Bros. Animation started hiring Blender artists.
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| 2022 |
Maya plugins
Arnold Renderer plugin reaches the end of its noted compatibility period with Maya.
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| 2022 |
Creo Parametric
Creo Parametric 9.0 version released
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| 2022 |
COBie
buildingSMART international planned to roll out their strategic approach for developing ISO-based specifications through a series of position papers and begin enrolling members in the Facility Management Handover - Equipment Maintenance project.
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| September 2022 |
Autodesk Maya
Autodesk Maya 2023 version released with Boolean overhaul and Sweep mesh features
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| June 2022 |
Siemens NX
Implementation of Bi-Annual Naming Convention with NX 2206 in June 2022, standardizing the software's versioning approach.
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| March 2022 |
Tekla Structures
Released Tekla Structures 2022, further improving building structure design tools.
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| March 28 2022 |
Autodesk Inventor
Version 2023 was released, focusing on customer-driven updates to speed up design workflows, reduce repetitive tasks, and improve overall design and innovation experiences.
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| March 9 2022 |
Blender
Added point cloud objects, Cycles Metal Backend, and new geometry nodes.
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| January 2022 |
Blender
Blender Institute began work on migrating from Phabricator to Gitea after the announcement of Phabricator's discontinuation.
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| 2021 |
Autodesk Inventor
Autodesk discontinued the Autodesk Inventor LT 2021 edition of their CAD software.
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| 2021 | GRAITEC acquired Strucsoft Solutions, a Canadian-based company, and Arktec, a Spanish-based structural analysis company. |
| 2021 |
Blender
Netflix production Maya and the Three was created using Blender.
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| 2021 |
Fusion 360
Fusion 360 continued to maintain a significant market share, while SolidWorks remained the industry standard for professional and business users according to the CNCCookbook.com survey.
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This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia articles Autodesk Maya, FreeCAD, Sim4Life/SEMCAD, Autodesk Inventor, ABViewer, Creo Parametric, Tekla Structures, List of Maya plugins, GRAITEC, Siemens NX, Fusion 360, HyperSizer, History of CAD software, Blender (software), COBie, LibreCAD, Onshape, FORAN System & SolidWorks, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.