Second only to AutoCAD
Solidworks has been working with Graebert for six years now, adapting ARES for its own needs under the name of Draftsight. The initial effort was to provide a 2D editor that works directly with DWG files. Over the years, they added functions, some of which are passed back to Graebert for use in ARES -- the two engage in technology transfers.
Draftsight now has 1.3 million active users in 440,000 companies, second in market share behind Autodesk. Except that this growth occurred in just six years. (Elsewhere I heard that there have been nine million downloads of Draftsight, which is available in a free version.) Draftsight is free but there is a paid version that provides a lot more functions.
New in Draftsight 2017:
- DGN import
- Centerlines
- Dimension snap distances
- Preset dimensions for specific features, like dimensions
- Patterns along paths
More features will be announced in the weeks to come.
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