Comparison of CAD, CAM and CAE file viewers

Computer aided design (CAD), Computer-aided engineering

Computer-aided engineering

Computer-aided engineering is the broad usage of computer software to aid in engineering tasks. It includes computer-aided design , computer-aided analysis , computer-integrated manufacturing , computer-aided manufacturing , material requirements planning , and computer-aided planning .- Overview...

(CAE) and Computer-aided manufacturing

Computer-aided manufacturing

Computer-aided manufacturing is the use of computer software to control machine tools and related machinery in the manufacturing of workpieces. This is not the only definition for CAM, but it is the most common; CAM may also refer to the use of a computer to assist in all operations of a...

(CAM) software produces files in a large variety of formats many of which are extremely complex and poorly supported by other applications. This article gives an overview of the available software suitable for viewing these files so they can be shared with people who do not have the application which produced the file.

Comparison of CAD/CAM/CAE file viewers

Software which has not been added to this table can be seen on the discussion page.

Application	Latest stable release	Developer	Runs on POSIX style systems Unix-like A Unix-like operating system is one that behaves in a manner similar to a Unix system, while not necessarily conforming to or being certified to any version of the Single UNIX Specification.... ?	Runs on Windows?	Other platforms?	Open source Open source The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology... ?	User Interface Language(s)	Supported format(s)
DDS-CAD Viewer	6.5	Data Design System ASA Data Design System Data Design System ASA supplies the construction industry with software tools for building information modelling .The company was founded in 1984 in Stavanger, Norway...				(Free download)	EN English language English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...	IFC Industry Foundation Classes The Industry Foundation Classes data model is intended to describe building and construction industry data.It is a neutral and open specification that is not controlled by a single vendor or group of vendors... , DXF, DWG, CFI, VEC
DXF Viewer 1.22.07	1.22.07	DXF Viewer	(Java)	(Java)		(Apache Software License)	EN English language English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria... , DE German language German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....	DXF
Caddie Caddie (CAD system) Caddie is a mid-range computer-assisted draughting software package for 2D and 3D design. It is used primarily by architects, but has tools for surveyors and mechanical, civil and construction engineers. It was initially designed as a electronic drawing board, using concepts and tools clearly...	14	Advanced Computer Solutions				(Free download)	EN English language English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...	DXF, DWG, DRW
Drawing Express Drawing Express Drawing Express is a CAD software application for 2D and 3D design and drafting. It is used primarily by architects and builders, but the tools and commands present on the system can be adopted for use by landscape designers, surveyors, civil and construction engineers...	2018	Trial Systems Ltd			Mac OSX OSX -Technology:OS-X, an operating system for the Zilog Z80DC/OSx, 1980s-era Unix operating system by Pyramid Technology-Other:Kosciusko-Attala County Airport in Kosciusko, Mississippi, by IATA codeOSX, a Brazilian shipbuilding company, part of the EBX Group... (By use of Parallels Desktop Parallels Desktop for Mac Parallels Desktop for Mac by Parallels, Inc., is software providing hardware virtualization for Macintosh computers with Intel processors.-Overview:Parallels, Inc... , VMware Fusion VMware Fusion VMware Fusion is a virtual machine software product developed by VMware for Macintosh computers with Intel processors. Fusion allows Intel-based Macs to run x86 and x86-64 "guest" operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows, Linux, NetWare and Solaris as virtual machines simultaneously with Mac OS... or Bootcamp)		EN English language English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...	EXP, DWG, DXF
eBrowser	3	Cadmatic / Elomatic Elomatic Elomatic is a consulting & engineering partner in developing and improving industrial investments within the bio and pharmaceutical, food, chemical, paper, mechanical and marine sectors. Elomatic is a globally operating company.- History :...				(Free download)	EN English language English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...	eBrowser Model EBM CADMATIC, Nupas
progeCAD Viewer DWG (based on IntelliCAD IntelliCAD IntelliCAD is a CAD-software programming toolkit and API published by the IntelliCAD Technology Consortium . IntelliCAD aims to emulate the basic interface and functions of AutoCAD. Unlike typical CAD programs, ITC IntelliCAD is not sold directly to end users... ) (incomplete entry)		progeSOFT						DWG .dwg DWG is a binary file format used for storing two and three dimensional design data and metadata. It is the native format for several CAD packages including AutoCAD, IntelliCAD and Caddie. In addition, DWG is supported non-natively by many other CAD applications...
VariCAD VariCAD VariCAD is a computer program for 3D/2D CAD and mechanical engineering which has been developed since 1988. VariCAD runs on Windows and Linux. It features many tools for 3D modeling and 2D drafting... Viewer	2012 v1	VariCAD VariCAD VariCAD is a computer program for 3D/2D CAD and mechanical engineering which has been developed since 1988. VariCAD runs on Windows and Linux. It features many tools for 3D modeling and 2D drafting...	Linux Linux Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...				EN English language English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria... , DE German language German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union.... , JP Japanese language is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an... , PT Portuguese language Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095... , CN Chinese language The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...	DWG .dwg DWG is a binary file format used for storing two and three dimensional design data and metadata. It is the native format for several CAD packages including AutoCAD, IntelliCAD and Caddie. In addition, DWG is supported non-natively by many other CAD applications... (2D), DXF (2D), STEP (3D)
Teigha Viewer	3.4	Open Design Alliance Open Design Alliance The Open Design Alliance is a nonprofit organization of over 1,200 members in 50 countries which develops Teigha©, a software development platform used to create engineering applications including CAD...				(Free download)	EN English language English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...	DWG, DGN DGN DGN is the name used for CAD file formats supported by Bentley Systems' MicroStation and Intergraph's Interactive Graphics Design System CAD programs.There are two versions of DGN:...
WorkXPlore 3D WorkXPlore 3D WorkXPlore 3D is a CAD viewer developed by Sescoi for reading, analyzing and sharing 3D and 2D CAD files without having to rely on the original CAD application. It was launched in 2008 and is supported from Sescoi offices in the USA, UK, France, Germany, Spain, Japan, India, China and Korea, and 50...	1.7 (2009)	Sescoi Sescoi Sescoi is a developer of industrial software for computer-aided manufacturing, enterprise resource planning and extended enterprise productivity. Its WorkNC software is one of the market leaders in the CAD/CAM field and is used by more than 25% of companies in demanding countries such as Japan...				(Free download)	EN English language English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria... , FR French language French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts... , DE German language German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union.... , ES Spanish language Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the... , IT Italian language Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia... , JP Japanese language is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an... , CN Chinese language The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...	DWG .dwg DWG is a binary file format used for storing two and three dimensional design data and metadata. It is the native format for several CAD packages including AutoCAD, IntelliCAD and Caddie. In addition, DWG is supported non-natively by many other CAD applications... , DXF, IGES IGES The Initial Graphics Exchange Specification is a file format which defines a vendor neutral data format that allows the digital exchange of information among Computer-aided design systems.... , STEP, STL STL (file format) STL is a file format native to the stereolithography CAD software created by 3D Systems. This file format is supported by many other software packages; it is widely used for rapid prototyping and computer-aided manufacturing. STL files describe only the surface geometry of a three dimensional... , UNISURF UNISURF UNISURF, developed by Pierre Bézier at Renault in 1971, was a pioneering surface CAD CAM system for car body design and tooling.... , 3D WorkNC WorkNC WorkNC is a Computer aided manufacturing software developed by Sescoi for 2, 2.5, 3, 3+2 and 5-axis machining. WorkNC is well known for having always focused on automation and ease of use since its first release in 1988. WorkNC-CAD was introduced in 2002, making WorkNC a complete CAD/CAM product,... , XDW, Parasolid Parasolid Parasolid is a geometric modeling kernel originally developed by ShapeData, now owned by Siemens PLM Software , that can be licensed by other companies for use in their 3D computer graphics software products.... , SolidWorks SolidWorks SolidWorks is a 3D mechanical CAD program that runs on Microsoft Windows and is being developed by Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corp., a subsidiary of Dassault Systèmes, S. A. . SolidWorks is currently used by over 1.3 million engineers and designers at more than 130,000 companies worldwide... , Pro/E, Catia V4 CATIA CATIA is a multi-platform CAD/CAM/CAE commercial software suite developed by the French company Dassault Systemes... , Catia V5 CATIA CATIA is a multi-platform CAD/CAM/CAE commercial software suite developed by the French company Dassault Systemes... , UGS Siemens PLM Software Siemens PLM Software is a computer software company specializing in 3D & 2D Product Lifecycle Management software. The company is a business unit of Siemens Industry Automation division, and is headquartered in Plano, Texas.... , ISO toolpaths G-code G-code is the common name for the most widely used computer numerical control programming language, which has many implementations. Used mainly in automation, it is part of computer-aided engineering. G-code is sometimes called G programming language... , CADDS, Solid Edge Solid Edge Solid Edge is a 3D CAD parametric feature solid modeling software. It runs on Microsoft Windows and provides solid modeling, assembly modelling and drafting functionality for mechanical engineers...

Comparison of CAD/CAM/CAE file viewers

See also