With ViaCAD® 2D/3D, the power of 3D design has never been easier. Our CAD software will allow you to design anything you can dream up, including architectural plans, mechanical plans, electrical schematics, furniture designs, and more. All you need is an idea and ViaCAD.
Our surprisingly affordable 2D and 3D design tool really packs a Punch! You can draft 2D projects such as floor plans and diagrams, but also create spectacular 3D designs for building construction, home renovation, inventions, musical instruments, furniture, and really fun DIY projects using a 3D printer at home or in the classroom. Suitable for beginners and intermediate users.
ViaCAD 2D/3D offers precision design tools for beginning to intermediate CAD software users. It allows you to create in 2D or 3D and quickly toggle between views. Our price to performance ratio blows the competition away. Amateur users will be thrilled by professional-looking results, while professionals will love how budget-friendly this version of ViaCAD is. You may also want to check out ViaCAD Pro here.
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ViaCAD software plays nice with others. ViaCAD is compatible with AutoCAD® with up-to-date DWG import and export capabilities. So your team will be able to work together without forcing everyone to be on the same brand of CAD software.
ViaCAD is also compatible with over a dozen popular CAD and Graphics formats, so you’ll be able to deliver files that can be opened and edited by users of other popular design software. In our newest release (version 12) you can import PDF and Adobe Illustrator files, and be able to import/export SketchUp 2019 and Collada files.
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While ViaCAD is feature rich, we work hard at making it easy by including intuitive tools like our LogiCursor™ that makes CAD a snap by suggesting your next move as you draw.
Your purchase includes access to our training tutorials, so you will not have to learn through trial and error. We are experts at creating CAD software and our tutorials will help you to become an expert user quickly.
Make your designs come to life with our powerful 3D CAD software. Begin exploring the powerful world of 3D mesh modeling! ViaCAD provides solid modeling technology found in many higher-end products. There is behind-the-scenes programming that connects 2D and 3D, so that you can edit 2D profiles used to create 3D objects and the 3D shape will automatically update.
Drawing precisely is easy with ViaCAD! We have designed it to be user friendly and intuitive to work with.
The LogiCursor™ anticipates your next action and guides your cursor to potential point selections in the drawing.
The Gripper adds drag and drop capabilities to make editing designs easy breezy.
Customizable Grids add another level of ease by providing precision drag and drop in rectangular, polar (circular), and isometric layouts.
ViaCAD 2D/3D includes 3D printing tools to prepare and validate your designs to make them 3D printer ready.
Checks for print viability, displaying warnings or errors to the user.
Facet normals define the inside and outside areas of a part. If facet normals are pointing the wrong way, the 3D printer may have problems creating the part. This will check for problems and we have several commands that can help you fix it.
This will help you visually inspect modeling areas that may require structural support for 3D printing. Meshes, surfaces, and solids facets normals are compared to the work plane direction. Angles that are less or equal to 45 degrees are highlighted as red.
This tool provides a means to visually inspect modeling areas that may be too thin for 3D printing. Meshes, surfaces, and solids facets are examined using ray intersections.
This interface will help you to slice models given a direction and thickness. The dialog box allows for animation through the slices and single-stepping. Use to verify that a part has closed, non-overlapping sections, a requirement for 3D printing.
The Auto Position tool translates the model to the positive x, y coordinate system at z=0.
Manually adds geometry to support material as it is created by the 3D printer. Support structures controls, include Attach Radius, Midpoint Radius, Base Radius, Base Thickness, and Drag base and midpoints to modify structure location.
Toggles the boundary of the default 3D Printer. The volume is defined within the Printer Definitions dialog box.
Sets key parameters of the 3D printer, including length, width, and height of the volume accessible by the printer. The parameters in the Printer Definitions dialog box are used for commands such as 3D Print Check and Auto Position.
Split MeshThis tool will divide a mesh into two portions based on a cutting plane. Split Mesh is an ideal tool for those working with facetted data along with 3D printing manufacturing processes. |
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Mesh BooleansThis advancement provides a means to add or remove material from a mesh body. Previous versions only allowed Boolean operations on ACIS based solids. Now with the introduction of mesh Booleans, you can add/remove material imported from STL, OBJ, 3DS, and SketchUp. |
Weight and Volume TablesWhether you’re designing an aircraft, automobile, or picnic table, weight is key control parameter in a design.Tracking the weight of materials is a key control parameter in design. V12 introduces a new Bill of Material (BOM) attribute specific for creating a summed weight table. |
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Best Fit Line and Best Fit CircleGreat for tracing precise curves over rough sketches. This tool will “best fit” a line or circle from a sample collection of points. |
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Angular Tolerance UpdatesThe Angular Tolerance interface has been updated to dynamically provide input from the Inspector dialog box. |
Show/Hide FaceThe Show/Hide Face tool will hide faces within a part enabling access and visibility into the internal representations of complex models. |
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Save Layers with ViewNow you have the ability to save layers associated with view orientations. |
Repeat Previous CommandThis “right click” feature will save you lots of time by maintaining a list of last-used drawing commands. Select an item in the list to quickly change the current tool. |
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Now you can work with file types from these other programs:
10 fully detailed sections on all the tools most frequently used in any 2D or 3D Design. Some of these include :
2D & 3D Self-Paced Tutorials
Also includes 16 self-paced Work sessions containing the 2D Sketch and 3D Model of the same design. Each Worksheet contains detailed, colorful instructions on how to complete each task, including full animations per task. Each task contains full instructions in an animated, video format. Pause, rewind, or fast-forward your videos while you draw. Drag the movie to another screen and use the instructions on your laptop to produce the designs and the movie on the second screen to check your progress.
Progress through each session at your own pace, repeating any task as many times as necessary until you are ready to move to the next design. Tutorials 4 to 8 contain a full 5-part component to assembly design, progressively building the design with each tutorial. Access the PunchCAD Forum and Online User Guides for additional information from within your Training Guide. Get expert support from our Team from within your Training Guide.
Sample 1 | Helix and Pipe:
Sweeping a circle along a path to create the helix. Creating a Pipe from a single line to form an axis.
Sample 2 | Creating a Slotted Wheel:
Using the Lathe tool to create a solid.
Sample 3 | Assembling a Part:
Learn how to design using the component-assembly method commonly used in the industry. Assemble multiple parts in the same design and to create a highly organized drawing with Layers and Sub-Layers allowing complete control over each component.
Windows Recommended Requirements:
Microsoft® Windows® 64-Bit versions of Windows® 7, 8,10 , or 11 Intel® Pentium® IV or AMD® Athlon64™ class 64-bit processor 3 GB of hard disk space 8 GB of RAM Mouse Pointing Device (wheel button recommended) OpenGL/DirectX9 Compliant video card with 256MB of dedicated RAM
Macintosh Recommended Requirements:
Macintosh® OS 10.11 through 11.01 or higher¹ x64 Intel® Mac® 3 GB of hard disk space 8 GB RAM or greater Mouse Pointing Device (wheel button recommended) OpenGL Compliant video card with 256 MB VRAM ¹ Program compatibility is not guaranteed for later operating systems ²User is responsible for all Internet access fees and phone charges. PC & Mac require a machine with an operating system using x64 (64-Bit) architecture.