VariCAD is a commercial and powerful application that provides a 3D/2D CAD solution for mechanical engineering, which features high performance and powerful tools to ease mechanical design tasks.
VariCAD can interchange files with other CAD systems. You can import STEP (3D), DWG (2D), DXF (2D) and IGES (2D) files, and export STEP (3D), DWG (2D), DXF (2D) and IGES (2D and 3D).
VariCAD is a cross-platform software and it was tested with a wide range of Linux distributions, supporting both 32-bit and 64-bit architectures. Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Debian and openSUSE are recommended.
VariCAD Viewer is also available for free on Softpedia, so you can easily view CAD files.
Product's homepage
Here are some key features of "VariCAD":
· 2D Drawing and Editing
· 3D - 2D Export
· 3D Modeling
· Calculations
· Mechanical Part and Symbol Libraries
· BOM and Title Blocks
· Printing and Plotting
Requirements:
· XFree86 4.1 or later, Qt 2.3 or later
· KDE libraries according to Linux distribution
· libraries OpenGL - MesaGL 3.4, or better 4.0
· XServer supporting OpenGL (extension GLX)
· Pentium II
· 256MB RAM, HDD 30MB
· 16MB graphic card with hardware support of OpenGL graphics (recommended graphics cards with chips nVidia GeForce 4 and higher, with manufacturers' drivers, available for download from their websites)
Limitations:
· Fully functional 30-day Trial
What's New in This Release: [ read full changelog ]
Changes in 3D kernel, allowing you to read multiple shape representations from STEP:
· For instance, you can load open shells (shells with zero thickness), or solids with missing patches and work with them. This improvement significantly reduces number of solids, previously refused to load. Until now, VariCAD refused to load a solid, if an error was detected at a single patch. Now, the solid is loaded with missing patch only. Moreover, there are other improvements in opening of STEP files.
· Support of DWG/DXF format of Autocad 2013
Tools for working with open solids (mostly loaded from STEP, see above):
· Now, VariCAD can work not only with closed surfaces, but also with objects with missing patches (originally, a closed surface where a patch was deleted due to error or, optionally in VariCAD). Other supported shape representations are set of patches and especially, open shells. The open shells may be often used in various libraries of mechanical parts.
· You can convert objects from one representation to another, with certain limitations. If necessary, you can also convert solids into open shells (for instance, if such type is demanded by other systems).
· Tools for working with such objects and for displaying information about them are accessible from pull-down menu or from optional toolbar. Also, you can right-click open solid and select tools from pop-up menu.
New reparation tools:
· Reparation tools are accessible from pull-down menu, or from a new toolbar. Apart from already existing tools, there are possibilities to handle erroneous surfaces, if they were loaded from STEP.
Completely rebuild working with construction lines in 2D:
· You can conveniently define directions, where new construction lines will be created, or optionally, drag construction lines by cursor at a defined step. These new features are especially useful, if you draw 2D objects in 3D space.
Other minor improvements in 3D kernel:
· They affect filleting, shell creation, rounded corners or working with surfaces, created by lofting of one profile to another profile.
A few changes in user interface:
· There is a new possibility to open pop-up menu within command (for instance, during solid transformation, selecting objects etc…) by simultaneous pressing left and right mouse button. Also, you can turn on/off some information messages. Run “cfg” command to configure these options.
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