On May 17, 2005, at 7:39 AM, Tracy R Reed wrote:
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Andrew P. Lentvorski, Jr. wrote:
AutoCAD is 2D. BRL-CAD is 3D.
BRL-CAD is competition for Pro-Engineer and Solidworks, not AutoCAD.
AutoCAD is only 2d? I thought all of the major CAD systems went 3d a
long time ago. I didn't realize the 2d and 3d CAD markets were different.
As far as I know, this still holds (last I looked in detail was 2001). AutoCAD was trying desperately to crack the 3D market, but Pro-E holds the high end (aka GM, Ford, etc.) and Solidworks holds the low end ($5K-$10K) (individual customers, small machine shops, etc.). AutoCAD looks like they are dislodging SolidWorks somewhat, but they really don't want that end of the market.
I never hear the word AutoCad emitted when talking to plastics or metal manufacturers. Mostly Solidworks.
The problem for AutoCAD is that its huge 2D installed base doesn't help in 3D. The thought patterns and usage of a 3D program are vastly different from a 2D program. You don't construct a house by removing a rectangular chunk from the inside of a block; you don't construct a plastic flashlight by drawing its outline and building it up in pieces.
-a
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