DesignCAD 3D Max v18

Use a complete set of 2D drafting and design tools, including drawing layers, hatch patterns and full dimensioning capability, and render 3D models with materials or textures for added impact. Or, easily import/export editable DXF/DWG files without the risk of data loss or corruption. 2D drafting and 3D modeling have never been easier.

Mechanical Design
DesignCAD’s drafting tools let you design everything from engines and mechanical parts, to circuit boards, technical drawings and more. Create complex 3D shapes simply by extruding (pulling) them from your 2D shapes. Edit directly in 3D mode and apply colors brush styles and lighting effects to create stunning visual presentations.

Architectural Design
Use DesignCAD 3D MAX to design your dream home, floorplans, deck remodeling plans, even furniture and woodworking projects. The possibilities are endless!

Top 5 Reasons to Choose DesignCAD

• 1. Best Value in CAD – Competitive professional features, dollar per dollar when compared with other 2D/3D CAD applications.
• 2. Easy to Learn and Use – Get results fast with familiar, intuitive menus and context sensitive tools.
• 3. 2D Drafting & 3D Modeling in One Application – Packed with precision design and drafting tools including realistic rendering, advanced lighting effects, transparency options, camera views, 3D modeling and more!
• 4. CAD & Graphics Compatibility – Supports the most popular industry-standard file formats
• 5. Proven CAD Solution for Over 18 Years – Year over year, the industry’s most versatile and consumer friendly CAD application.

New Arrow Command
A new option in the Arrow command "Draw as Curve" allows you to draw arrows as curves instead of straight lines.

New Grid Option
There is a new option in the Grid Options dialog box: "Show CS". This shows a graphical representation of the coordinate axes in the drawing area.

New Option to Turn Off Nested Groups
There is a new option in the General Options dialog box: "Don't use nested groups". If you activate this checkbox, DesignCAD will use its "classic" grouping mechanism from version 15 and earlier. In this situation, groups are not linked to a specific layer, cannot be nested, and do not generate an actual group entity. The setting is application-wide, not per-document. When this option may cause a change in an open drawing's data, you will be warned and can cancel the operation.

New Option to Print Hidden Line as Dash
There is a new option in the "Type" tab of the Print dialog box: "Print hidden line as dash". You can adjust the pen width setting in the Print dialog box for the lines to show faintly or clearly in your printed results.

New BasicCAD additions

• Sys(1140) -- use/don't use nested groups. 0=nested groups, 1 = "old-style" groups.
• Sys(1141) – highest used group index (read-only)
• Sys(1142) – lowest unused group index (read-only)
• Arrow command has new parameter:

General Improvements:

• Widened the fields in the coordinate bar to show more digits.
• Improved import of DWG files set to Metric units.
• BasicCAD – added
• Improved the Linestyle and Color toolbar behavior to better indicate by-layer or by-entity colors and linetypes.
• Added LineStyle by Layer button to the Linestyle toolbar, and Color by Layer button to the Color toolbar.
• Improved Snap and Trim accuracy against curve entities.
• Improved Hidden Edge by Section behavior – now, if a section touches/encloses a combination of hidden and un-hidden lines, all touched edges will be hidden. When all touched/enclosed edges are in the same state (hidden or visible) the command toggles their state to/from hidden.
• Improved XYZ file import

Versatile, Easy to Learn & Use
DesignCAD 3D MAX is the ultimate beginner tool for creating precise, high-quality drafting, modeling and animation. 2D drafting and 3D modeling have never been easier. Design everything from furniture, decks, floorplans and architectural drawings to engineering layouts, electronic schematics, plats, maps, elevations and even toys for hobbies.

Precision 2D Drafting
Intuitive yet sophisticated editing tools, advanced geometric construction capabilities, drawing short cut keys and complete layer management make 2D drafting a breeze.

• Usability Tools
• Workspace Tools
• Macros
• Image Tools
• Drawing Tools
• Editing and Measuring
• Dimension Tools
• Groups, Blocks, Symbols and more!

Precision 3D Modeling
Access a full range of powerful 3D modeling primitives, including box, sphere, hemisphere, pyramid, cylinder, cone and torus. Utilize Boolean operations, including solid add, solid subtract, and slice, to shape your 3D parts. Add materials to your model to create presentation ready designs.

• 3D View Settings
• 3D Primitives
• 3D (Solid) Editing Operations
• 3D Visualization

3D Visualization and Lighting
Render your 3D models with applied materials or texture maps or use transparency and fogging for added impact.

• Enable Shadow tool - smooth the edges of rendered shadows
• Procedural Textures - add marble, wood, cement, grain, patch, perlin noise, brick, cells or wood extended textures to your designs.
• Image Fills - Use an image as a fill pattern.

Symbols and 3D Images
Choose from more than 10,000 standard symbols and more than 700 3D symbols, including 30 photorealistic 3D images that are all included! Plus, get access to millions of additional mechanical and architectural symbols with a free 3-month subscription to CADSymbols.com!

Animation & Walkthroughs
Create stunning animated presentations with a moving view of your 3D model.

Added Flexibility when Sharing Your Work

• User Notes – Add notes to any drawing
• Save for Sharing - When you save a drawing, all files referenced externally (textures, symbols, images) are saved to a subfolder with the host drawing’s name.
• Paper Space Mode – Create a view frame and choose a specific scale or enter a custom view frame scale.
• Print Scale Options - Select from a standard set of print scale options or create your own.

AutoCAD® DWG/DXF Compatible
Read and write AutoCAD® files through 2009 and enjoy excellent compatibility with AutoCAD® layouts and PaperSpace, plus support for AutoCAD® layers, linestyles, views, viewports and blocks in both DXF and DWG file formats.

Minimum:

• Windows® XP, or Vista
• Pentium III class processor
• Microsoft ® Windows XP 512 MB RAM, Microsoft ® Vista 1 GB RAM
• 110 MB of free hard disk space
• 256 MB of swap space
• Super VGA display 1024x768
• High Colour (16bit) graphics card
• CD-ROM Drive
• Mouse

Recommended:

• 2.0 GHz Pentium 4 or better processor
• 2 GB RAM
• 1GB or more of free hard disk space on your primary system drive (C:)
• 3D Graphics accelerator card with TrueColor (32-bit) graphics capability
• Wheel mouse
• Internet Connection
• Microsoft® Internet Explorer ™ installation required for Internet activation.

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