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Black History Portal
THE BHP WIRE —
HIDDEN TRUTHS
GREENWOOD / BLACK WALL STREET WILMINGTON 1898 LITTLE ROCK NINE TUSKEGEE STUDY ROSEWOOD 1923 THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN SENECA VILLAGE BLACK TOWNS GREENWOOD / BLACK WALL STREET WILMINGTON 1898 LITTLE ROCK NINE TUSKEGEE STUDY ROSEWOOD 1923 THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN SENECA VILLAGE BLACK TOWNS
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THE JOURNEY THROUGH TIME
BHP HOME BEFORE AMERICA 1800–1936 1937–1957 1958–1980 1981–2000 2001–PRESENT

Explore Black History

Explore the people, places, events, achievements, struggles and stories that shaped our journey.

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Civil Rights

Movements, leaders, victories and the continuing fight for equality.

⚙️

Black Inventors

Innovation, patents, science, technology and world-changing contributions.

🏆

Sports

Pioneers, champions, Negro Leagues, records, activism and excellence.

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People

Meet the people whose lives, choices and achievements shaped the journey.

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Places

Black towns, communities, institutions and places where history happened.

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Events

Moments that changed communities, movements, institutions and the nation.

Enter a person, place, event, or topic.
MY'STORY

The MOVE Fire

This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985 Philadelphia police fired thousands of rounds at the MOVE house, city officials approved dropping an explosive device on the roof, the resulting fire was allowed to burn, 11 people—including five children—died, and 61 homes were destroyed. Philadelphia City Council later called it a “brutal attack carried out by the City of Philadelphia on its own citizens” and acknowledged that no individual faced criminal consequences for the bombing. One timeline correction worth preserving for the BHP record: the major previous MOVE-police confrontation was August 8, 1978, about seven years before the bombing, not a year or two earlier. Officer James Ramp was killed, other police and firefighters were wounded, nine MOVE members were later convicted, and television cameras recorded police beating Delbert Africa during his arrest. The 1985 MOVE Commission later specifically criticized city planners for failing to adequately use lessons from that 1978 confrontation. And that actually strengthens the point you’re making: 1985 did not happen without precedent or institutional memory. There had already been a deadly confrontation with MOVE, years of conflict, negotiations and police involvement before Osage Avenue.

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BLACK FACTS
The Truths They Never Taught You...

Wilmington 1898 — An American Coup

Wilmington, North Carolina once had a thriving Black middle class and an elected interracial government. In 1898 white supremacists used violence to overthrow that government, kill Black residents and drive many others from the city.

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BHP gathered finds from its connected research sources. Showing the 4 strongest Black History matches.
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Wikipedia

Comparison of computer-aided design software

The table below provides an overview of notable computer-aided design (CAD) software. It does not judge power, ease of use, or other user-experience aspects. The table does not include software that is still in development (beta software). For all-purpose 3D programs, see Comparison of 3D computer graphics software. CAD refers to a specific type of drawing and modelling software application that is used for creating designs and technical drawings. These can be 3D drawings or 2D drawings (like floor plans).

Title and developer 2D/3D or specialty fields Platform Latest release License Academic version? User interface languages Support for building information modelling? Support for Industry Foundation Classes (version & MVD)? Support for AutoCAD DXF? Imports Exports Price
(USD)
Version Date
ABViewer by CADSoftTools 2D/3D Linux with Wine Version 15.1[1] 2023-02-01 Proprietary Yes en, fr, de, ru and others No No Yes DWG, DXF, DWF, DXT, 3DS, ACIS SAT, STL, IGES (.igs), STEP (.stp), OBJ, X_T, X_B, SLDPRT, GTS, TIN, ASE, B3D, GLM, GLX, GLA, LMTS, LWO, NURBS, NMF, OCT, PLY, VRML, MDC, MD2, MD3, MD5, SMD, BSP, WMF, EMF, PDF, CGM, SVG, SVGZ, EPS, PS, Hewlett-Packard HPGL (PLT, HGL, HG, HPG, PLO, HP, HP1, HP2, HP3, HPGL, HPGL2, HPP, GL, GL2, PRN, SPL, RTL, PCL), GED, RLA, RPF, CEL, PIC, CAL, CG4, GP4, GIF, CUT, PAL, DDS, FAX, HDR, IFF, ICO, EXR, IMB, JPG, JPEG, J2K, J2C, JNG, JP2, KOA, PCT, PICT, MNG, PSP, PCD, PSD, PDD, PNG, PPM, PGM, PBM, RAW, G3, BW, RGB, RGBA, SGI, RAS, TIF, TIFF, TGA, VST, ICB, VDA, WIN, BMP, RLE, DIB, WAP, WBMP, WBM, XBM, XPM, PCX PDF, DWG, DXF, SWF, CGM, DXT, SVG, PLT, STL, OBJ, OBJF, NMF, LMTS, NC, BMP, GIF, JPG, PNG, TIF, TIFF, WMF, EMF, SWF Varies depending on the license type
Windows
Alibre Design by Alibre, LLC 2D/3D Windows Version 28 2024 Proprietary Yes en, de, ja, fr, zh-Hant, pl, cs, es, da, pt-BR, sv No (version?) Yes DXF, DWG, STEP, IGES, SAT, 3DM, STL, OBJ, PLY, 3DS, WRL, Inventor, ProE, SolidEdge, CATIA, Parasolid, Solidworks DXF, DWG, STEP, IGES, SAT, BIP, EMF, PDF, STL, Solidworks, Parasolid $1,000 - $2,000
Allplan by Allplan GmbH 2D/3D architecture, engineering, road, bridge, BIM Windows Version 2023 2022 Proprietary Yes en, es, fr, de, ru, zh-Hant, ja, pl, cs, it, pt-BR and others Yes v2x3 CV2.0 & v4 Import and export certified Until version 2023, incl. ACIS support[2] DXF, DWG, IFC, DGN, PDF, STL, OBJ, C4D, SKP, WRL, LandXML[2] DXF, DWG, IFC, DGN, PDF, STL, OBJ, C4D, SKP, WRL, 3DS[2] $4,000 - $9,000
Archicad by Graphisoft 2D/3D architecture, BIM macOS[3] Version 27 2023 [4] Proprietary Yes
No cost 		en, de, es, fr, it, pt, ru, ja, pl, cs, hu, nl, fi, sv, no, da, tr, el, zh-Hans, ko, zh-Hant[5] Yes v2x3 CV2.0 & v4 Import and export certified [6] Yes 3D Studio, ACIS SAT, BMP, DGN, DWF, DWG, DXF, EMF, EPS, GIF, HPGL/PLT, IFC/IFCXML, JP2, JPEG, PDF, PICT, PNG, PSD, QTIF, SketchUp, TGA/Targa, TIF/TIFF, WMF, FBX 3D Studio, Artlantis/ATL, AVI, BMP, DGN, DWF, DWG, DXF, EMF, EPS, EPX - Piranesi, FACT - ElectricImage, GIF, HPGL/PLT, IFC/IFCXML, JP2, JPEG, MOV, LP - Lightscape, OBJ, PDF, PICT, PNG, PSD, QTIF, SGI, Keyhole Markup Language, TGA/Targa, TIF/TIFF, U3D, WRL, WMF $4,250
Windows[3]
AutoCAD by Autodesk 2D/3D, architecture, drafting macOS, No for discipline-specific vertical products, e.g. AutoCAD Architecture[7][8] 2026.1.1[9] 2025-11-06 Proprietary[10] Yes pt-BR, en, cs, fr, de, hu, it, ja, ko, pl, ru, zh-Hans, es, zh-Hant[citation needed] limited for some verticals for some verticals Yes DXF, DWG, DWS, DWT, WMF, SAT, 3DS, FBX, DGN[11] 3DS (requires 3dsout), DXF, DWG, PDF, DWF, FBX, BMP, DGN[12] $245 per month;

$1955 per year; $5865 per 3 years

Windows
Android
iOS
Autodesk Inventor 3D Windows 2024.1.1[13] 2023-08-08 Proprietary Yes en and others Yes version? Yes ACIS SAT, DXF, DWG, IGES, Pro/Engineer, STEP, .dwf, .wire, .catpart, .catproduct, .jt, .x b, .x t, .prt (NX), .asm, .g, .neu, Solidworks, ProE, Catia, .stl ACIS SAT, DXF, DWG, IGES, STEP, .dwf, .catpart, .catproduct, .bmp, .gif, .jpeg, .png, .tiff, .iges, .jt, .pdf, .x b, .x t, .g, .neu, STL (file format), .xgl, .zgl $300 per month;

$2415 per year; $7245 per 3 years

Autodesk Fusion 2D/3D Windows, macOS, android, iOS, Web browser Proprietary Yes en, de, fr, it, es, ko, zh, ja, pt, pl, tr No No Yes 3dm, 3mf, asm, brd, cam360, CATPart, CATProduct, dwg, dxf, f3d, fbx, g, iam, ige, iges, igs, ipt, jt , neu, obj, prt, sab, sat, sch, skp, sldasm, sldprt, smb, smt, ste, step, stl, stp, svg, tsm, wire, x_b, x_t, 123dx[14] f3d, iam, ipt, skp, sab, sat, smb, smt, step, 3mf, fbx, obj, spd, stl, usdz, dwg, f2t, dxf, cam360, fsch, fbrd, flbr, iges[15] smp[16]
Blender by Blender Foundation 2D/3D modeling, rendering, animation Windows, macOS, Linux 5.x 2025 GPL Yes Multiple Via Bonsai Bim addon [17] Via Bonsai Bim addon [17] Yes DXF, STL, OBJ, FBX, PLY, glTF, 3DS DXF, STL, OBJ, FBX, PLY, glTF No cost
BricsCAD
by Bricsys 		2D/3D AEC,
parametric direct modeling,
BIM,
mechanical,
sheet metal,
rendering 		macOS V24 (24.2.03 English)
(64-bit, 32-bit) 		2022-03-18 Proprietary Yes
No cost 		en, cs, de, es, fr, hu, it, ja, ko, lt, pl, pt-BR, ru, vi, zh-Hans, zh-Hant Yes version? Yes DWG 2.5 to 2013,
DXF, ACIS SAT, DAE (COLLADA), BMP, JPEG, PCX, PNG, GIF, TGA, TIF, JP2, J2K, ECW, SID

With extra Communicator license:
STE, STP, STEP, IGS, IGES, CATIA V4/V5, VDA, IAM, IPT, Parasolid, PAR, PSM, PRT, ASM, PRT, SLDPTR/SLDASM 		DWG 2.5 to 2013,
DXF, DWF, ACIS SAT, DAE (COLLADA), SLT (3D Printing), PDF, BMP, WMF, EMF

With extra Communicator license:
STE, STP, STEP, IGS, IGES, CATIA V4/V5, VDA, 3D PDF 		$1020 Platinum,
$680 Pro,
$550 Classic,

$610 Communicator
Fedora
openSUSE
Ubuntu
Windows
10, 8, 7, Vista
BRL-CAD by United States Army Research Laboratory 3D design and simulation for military vehicles POSIX (BSD–Linux–Unix like OS), Packages for FreeBSD, IRIX, Linux, macOS, Solaris[18][19] 7.44.0[20] Edit this on Wikidata 2026-07-24 LGPL-2.1-only[21] Yes
No cost 		en[18] Unknown No Yes DXF, Elysium Neutral Facetted, Euclid, FASTGEN, IGES, Jack, NASTRAN, Pro/E,[22] STL, TANKILL, Unigraphics, Viewpoint Datalabs Format[23] DXF, Euclid, IGES, Jack, STL, TANKILL, VRML, OBJ, X3D[23] No cost
Windows
Others
Caddie Professional by Advanced Computer Solutions 2D/3D CAE, rendering Windows 27 2021 Proprietary Foc en Yes Yes Yes DWG, DXF, DRW, JPEG, BMP, TIFF, PNG, GIF, ECW, JPEG2000, ASCII, XLS DWG, DXF, DRW, DWF, WMF, PDF, JPEG, BMP, TIFF, PNG, GIF $106 - $3022
Cadwork by Cadwork informatik AG 2D/3D/4D/5D/6D CAE, rendering, CAM, BIM HP-UX 30 2023 Proprietary Yes en, cs, fr, de, it, ja, pl, pt, ru, zh-Hans, es Yes Yes Yes DWG, DXF, PDF, JPEG, TIFF, PNG, SAT, IFC DWG, DXF, PDF, JPEG, TIFF, SAT, IFC $1,000 to $20,000
Windows
CATIA by Dassault Systèmes 2D/3D CAE IBM AIX R2023x 2023–11 Proprietary €99, US$99, £89.7 en, fr, de, ja (at release date) Yes version? Yes some formats require extra license some formats require extra license $9000 to $65000 (depends on modules)
HP-UX
Solaris
Windows
V4 runs on mainframe
Cobalt by Ashlar-Vellum 2D/3D rendering, CAE, CAM macOS, 10.13+, fully hyper-threaded ray tracing v12 2023-08-17 Proprietary Yes en, bre, fr, de, it, pt, ru, sl, sv No No Yes 3DS, ACIS SAT, AI, ASCII Text, BMP, CATIA v4, CGM, CCAD, CO (native), Drawing board, DWG/DXF, Facet, GIF, Grid Surface, IGS (IGES), JPEG, Parasolid XT, PICT, 2D PDF, PNG, PPM, Pro/E, Rhino 3DM, Spline, STP (STEP), VRML, XBM, XPM ACIS SAT, AI, ASCII Text, BMP, CATIA v4, CGM, CO (native), Drawing board, DWG/DXF, EPS, Facet, GIF, Grid Surface, IGS (IGES), JPEG, Parasolid XT, 2D & 3D PDF, PICT, PNG, PPM, Pro/E, RAW Triangle, Shockwave 3D, STP (STEP), STL, VRML, XBM, XPM $2,495 buy, or $995/year rent, or $94.95/month rent
Windows
10, 11 (64-bit)
Creo by Parametric Technology Corporation 2D/3D hybrid POSIX (some)[24] Creo 12.0 2025-06-04 Proprietary Yes en, fr, de, es, it, ja, ko, zh-Hant, zh-Hans (at release date)[25] No[26] No[26] Yes STEP, IGES, DXF, DWG, Parasolid, STL, SAT, more STEP, IGES, DXF, DWG, Parasolid, STL, SAT, more $4,995, $1,500 maintenance
Windows
DataCAD by DATACAD LLC 2D/3D AEC Windows 19 2016–10 Proprietary US$49 en, pt, cs, et, fi, fr, de, hu, he, it, ru, es, and others No No Yes DWG, DXF, SketchUp, TXT, WMF, EMF, o2c, ACO, 3DS, STL, BMP, JPEG, GIF, TIFF, Targa, PNG, PCX, PCD, and others DWG, DXF, DWF, SketchUp, TXT, WMF, EMF, o2c, ACO, 3DS, STL, BMP, JPEG, TIFF, Targa, PNG, PCX, EPS, PCD, PRN, PDF, VRML, RAY, and others $1,295 First, $495 Additional, $395 Upgrade
DesignSpark Mechanical by RS Components 2D/3D hybrid Windows 2.0.1 2015-11-18 Proprietary Yes en, cz, de, es, fr, it, jp, kr, pl, pt, zh-cn, zh-tw No No Yes ECAD (IDF, IDB, EMN), OBJ, Point curve text files (TXT), SKP, STL, STEP (read-only) AMF, DXF, OBJ, 3D PDF, SKP, STL, XAML, JPEG, PNG No cost base package
Digital Project by Gehry Technologies 2D/3D/4D AEC Windows
32-bit and 64-bit 		Version R5 2013 Proprietary Unknown en Yes v2x3[27] Yes(2D + 3D) SDNF, DWG, DXF, IFC, IGES, HSF, 3DXML[27] SDNF, DWG, DXF, IFC, IGES, HSF, 3DXML[27] ?
FINE MEP by 4M 2D/3D, BIM, MEP design Windows v. 14 2014 Proprietary Yes en, fr, tr, gr, bg Yes v2x3) Yes DXF, DWG, IFC, ACIS, BMP, JPG, TGA, GIF DXF, DWG, IFC, ACIS, Collada, 3DS, PDF, BLD, JPG, BMP, TGA, PNG, TIFF $1,220, $720
FreeCAD 3D Unix-like OSes; Packages for FreeBSD, Linux 1.1.0[28] 2026-03-25 LGPL-2.0-or-later Yes
No cost 		en, af, cn, hr, nl, fi, fr, de, it, no, pt, ru, es, se, ua Yes version? Yes IFC, IGES, STEP, BRep, OBJ, DXF, SVG, U3D IFC, IGES, STEP, BRep,[29] OBJ, DXF, SVG, U3D No cost
Windows
Others with OpenGL as a prerequisite[30]
form•Z by AutoDesSys, Inc 2D/3D AEC rendering macOS 6.6 2008-06-23 Proprietary Unknown en, fr, de, el, it, ja, ko, es Yes Unknown Yes ACIS SAT, Art·Lantis, BMP, DAE, DEM Data, DWG, DXF, EPS, FACT, GIF, HPGL, IGES, Illustrator, JPEG, Keyhole Markup Language, Lightwave, Lightscape, OBJ, PDF, PICT, Piranesi, PNG, QTVR, RIB, SGI, SketchUp, STEP, STL, TGA, TIFF, ZPR ACIS SAT, Artlantis, BMP, DAE, DEM Data, DWG, DXF, EPS, FACT, GIF, HPGL, IGES, Illustrator, JPEG, Keyhole Markup Language, Lightwave, Lightscape, OBJ, PDF, PICT, Piranesi, PNG, QTVR, RIB, SGI, STEP, STL, TGA, TIFF, ZPR $1,995
Windows
XP, Vista
32-bit and 64-bit
HiCAD by ISD Group 2D/3D Windows 2026 2025-10-30 Proprietary Yes en, de, it, fr, pl, jp (at release date) Yes version? Yes IGES, STEP, DXF, DWG, IFC, ACIS, ProE, SolidWorks, CATIA (V4/V5), Parasolid, UniGraphics, Inventor, IFC, PC-Draft, Technovision, Procad, Proren, Babcad, ME10, JT, STL, DSTV, SDNF IGES, STEP, DXF, DWG, IFC, ACIS, ProE, CATIA (V4/V5), Parasolid, IFC, VRML, STL, JT, Gamma-Ray, STL, DSTV, Tops Geo, SDNF Depends on modules acquired
IntelliCAD by IntelliCAD Technology Consortium 2D/3D AEC BIM Windows V 10.0a 2020-10-29 Proprietary Varies by vendor en (more options vary by vendor) Yes version? Yes DXF, DWF, SAT, DXB, DWT, DGN, DAE, IGES, STEP, OBJ, STL, IFC, RVT/RFA DWF, DGN, SVG, PDF, SAT, BMP, EMF/WMF, STL, DAE Varies by vendor
IRONCAD by IronCAD LLC 2D/3D hybrid Windows 2023 2022-12-19 Proprietary From US$124 en, jp, ko, de (at release date) No No Yes DXF, DWG, Parasolid, IGES, STEP, SAT, STL, ProE, Solid Edge, Inventor, Rhino (3dm), Catia DXF, DWG, Parasolid, IGES, STEP, SAT, STL, u3d, VRML, 3dxml, Catia, PDF $3,970, $1,295/yr for optional support
KeyCreator by Kubotek 3D direct modeling, mechanical, drafting Windows 2021 SP1[31] 2021-03-17 Proprietary Yes en, jp, it, de (at release date) Yes Yes Yes STEP, IGES, SAT, Parasolid, DXF, DWG, Catia, Creo/ProE, NX, Solid Edge, JT, SolidWorks, Inventor, CADKEY, IFC, STL, U3D, OBJ[32] STEP, IGES, SAT, Parasolid, DXF, DWG, STL, U3D, OBJ, VRML, WMF, HPGL, PDF[32] $3,495 - $5,995 permanent license w/1st year maintenance, $1,188 - $2,028/yr lease (USD)
LibreCAD 2D POSIX 2.2.1.5[33] Edit this on Wikidata 2026-05-02 GPL-2.0-only Yes
No cost 		en, fr, it, de, es, ja, zh, fi, cs, pt, lv[34] No No Yes DWG, DXF DXF, JPEG, PNG, SVG, BMP[35] No cost[36]
Windows
Others
MicroStation by Bentley Systems 2D/3D AEC Windows CONNECT Edition (Update 9)[37] 2017-01-17 Proprietary Yes en, fr, it, de, es, ja, zh, ru, tu, pl, pt, ko, fi, cs[38] Yes v2x3 Yes DGN, DGNlib, RDL, DXF, DWG, FBX, OBJ, 3DS, SKP, 3DM, JT, Mapinfo MIF/MID, imodel, RFA, IFC, SHP, TAB, IGES, Parasolid, CGM, STEP, STL, Terrain Land XML, ACIS .SAT, 3DM, STL DGN, DXF, DWG, U3D, PDF, .dae|Collada, FBX, JT, KML, LXO, SVG, VRML, VOB, ACIS, OBJ, STL, gbXML, IGES, STEP, SKP[39] $5,050
Other systems dropped (last was V 5.7 of 1997/1998)
NX by Siemens Digital Industries Software 2D/3D, parametric macOS[40] 11.0 2016-06-29 Proprietary Unknown en, fr, it, de, es, ja, zh, fi, cs Unknown Unknown Yes JT, Parasolid, STEP, DWG, DXF, ProE, SolidWorks, I-deas, CATIA (V4/V5), STL, IGES JT, Parasolid, STEP, DWG, DXF, ProE, SolidWorks, I-deas, CATIA (V4/V5), STL, IGES $12k - $40k
Red Hat Linux
SUSE Linux[41]
Windows
Onshape by PTC Mechanical CAD (MCAD), 3D printing Web browser 1.143[42] 2022-02-18 Proprietary, some parts MIT Yes
No cost 		en, de, ko, zh-Hant, zh-Hans, fr, ja, it, es Unknown Unknown Yes DWG, DXF, Parasolid mesh (.xmm_txt or .xmm_bin), ACIS (.sat), STEP (.stpor .step), IGES (.igs or .iges), CATIA, SolidWorks (.sldprt), Inventor, Pro/E, JT (.jt), Rhino (.3dm), STL (.stl), OBJ (.obj), NXSolid Edge (.par and .psm)[43] DWG, DXF, DWT, SVG, PNG, JPEG, Parasolid mesh (.xmm_txt or .xmm_bin), ACIS (.sat), STEP (.stpor .step), IGES (.igs or .iges), SolidWorks (.sldprt), JT (.jt), Rhino (.3dm), STL (.stl), OBJ (.obj), GlTF (.gltf), COLLADA, PDF, PVZ (.pvz)[43] No cost for education[44] and Hobbyists/Open Source,[45] $1500 - $2100 for Commercial Use, Contact for Enterprise Version[46]
Android
iOS
OpenSCAD 2D/3D POSIX (BSD–Linux–Unix like OS), Packages for Linux 2021.01[47] Edit this on Wikidata 2021-01-31 GPL-2.0-or-later Yes
No cost 		en No No Partial[48][49][50] DXF, STL, OFF PNG, DXF, STL, OFF, AMF, 3MF, SVG, CSG, PDF No cost
macOS
Windows
OrthoGraph 2D/3D Android 3.1.2 2020-05-08 Proprietary No en, fr, de, hu, it, ja, nl, ru, es Yes version? Yes PNG, DXF, JPG, IFC $29.99 per month
iOS
PowerCADD by Engineered Software 2D macOS v9 2010–08 Proprietary No en, fr, it, es, ... No No Yes DWG, DXF, PDF, EPSF, PS, Bitmap, VectorPict, JPG, PNG, TIF, SGI, TGA, Adobe Photoshop, *SHP, *GPX, ASCII Topo Survey (*with WildTools) DXF, DWG, PDF, EPSF, PS, Bitmap, VectorPict, JPG, PNG, TIF, SGI, TGA, Adobe Photoshop, $995(PRO)-$1250(expert incl WildTools)
QCAD by Ribbon Soft 2D POSIX 3.33.1.0[51] Edit this on Wikidata 2026-09-08 GPL-3.0-or-later Yes en Yes v2.x3 import and export Yes IFC, DXF, DWG IFC, DXF, DWG No cost,[52] $42 for Commercial
macOS
Windows
Autodesk Revit 2D/3D BIM AEC Windows 2024.1 2023-07-11 Proprietary Yes[53] pt-BR, en, cs, fr, de, hu, it, ja, ko, ru, zh-Hans, es Yes version? Import and export certified[6] Yes DXF, DWG, SAT, SKP, DGN, JPEG, PNG, TIFF DWG, DXF, SAT, FBX, IFC, DGN, DWF, JPEG, PNG, TIFF, AVI, PDF Varies
Rhinoceros 3D by Robert McNeel and Associates 2D/3D CAD macOS Rhino 8

SR8.8.24

2024-06-18 Proprietary Yes en, fr, de, it, es, pl, cs, zh, ja, kr Unknown Unknown Yes DXF, DWG, .3ds, SAT, SketchUp, IGES, STEP, STL, DGN, FBX, OBJ, sldprt DXF, DWG, .3ds, SAT, SketchUp, IGES, STEP, STL, COLLADA, Parasolid $995[54]
Windows
Salome CAE Linux 9.15.0[55] Edit this on Wikidata 2025-09 LGPL-2.1-or-later Yes
No cost 		EN, FR, JA Unknown Unknown No[56] BREP, IGES, STEP, XAO[57] IGES, STEP, BREP, STL,[58] MED, UNV, DAT,[59] XAO[60] No cost
FreeBSD[61]
Windows
SketchUp by Trimble 3D macOS 18.0.16976 2017-11-14 Proprietary Yes EN, FR, IT, DE, ES, PT(BR), JA, KO, ZH(CN), ZH(TW) Yes import and export, version? Yes DWG, DXF, DEM, DDF, 3DS, DAE, KMZ, IFC, JPG, PNG, PSD, TIF, TGA, BMP DAE, KMZ, 3DS, DWG, DXF, FBX, OBJ, WRL, XSI, PDF, EPS, BMP, JPG, TIF, PNG, EPX, SketchUp Make: No cost
SketchUp Pro: $700
Windows 18.0.16975 2017-11-14
Solid Edge by Siemens Digital Industries Software 2D/3D Windows Solid Edge 2023 2022–10 Proprietary Yes
No cost 		en, es, ru, fr, ko (at release date) Unknown No Yes IGES, STEP, DXF, JT, ACIS (SAT), ProE, SolidWorks, NX, SDRC, Microstation, Inventor, CATIA (V4/V5), Parasolid, Autocad, STL, XML, MDS IGES, STEP, STL, PDF, EMS, JT, XGL, XML, DXF, Parasolid, CATIA (V4/V5), ACIS (SAT), Microstation, Autocad Community Edition: No cost[62]
Commercial: $5,300, $1,200 maintenance
SolidWorks by Dassault Systèmes 2D/3D hybrid Windows 2023 SP3[63] 2023-07-10 Proprietary From US$12,995 en, es, de, fr (at release date) Yes import: ifc2x3, export: ifc4.0 Yes DXF, DWG, DXF, Parasolid, IGES, STEP, ACIS (SAT), STL, ProE, Creo, Solid Edge, Siemens NX, Autodesk Inventor, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Rhino (3dm), IDF (emn, brd, bdf, idb, idx), VDA, WRL, Meshfiles (stl, obj, off, ply, ply2), 3MF, CGR, catpart/catproduct, Rhino (3dm), JT, sldxml, IFC DXF, DWG, Parasolid, IGES, STEP, ACIS (SAT), STL, u3d, VRML, 3dxml, Catia, PDF, IFC, $9.99/mth or $99/yr for hobbyists – makers,[64]
$3,995 for commercial, $1,295/yr for optional support
SolveSpace by Jonathan Westhues 2D/3D parametric Linux 3.2[65] Edit this on Wikidata 2026-03-26 GPL-3.0-or-later Yes
No cost 		en, de, es, fr, ru, ja, tr, uk, zh-Hans, cs No No Export only 2D as DXF, EPS, PDF, SVG, HPGL, STEP; 3D wireframe as DXF, STEP; triangle mesh as STL, Wavefront OBJ, HTML (Three.js); NURBS surfaces as STEP No cost
macOS
Windows
SpaceClaim Engineer by Ansys, Inc. 2D/3D hybrid Windows Ansys 2023 R2 2023-07-05 Proprietary Unknown en Unknown Unknown Yes DXF, DWG, Parasolid, IGES, STEP, ACIS, STL, ProE, Solid Edge, VRML, OBJ, STL, NX, CATIA, Solidworks, Rhinoceros [ACIS], Acrobat PDF 3D, Acrobat - PDF 2D, AutoCAD - DWG and DXF, CATIA V5, [IGES], JT Open, Keyshot, Parasolid, POV-Ray, PowerPoint, Rhino, SketchUp, [STEP], STL, VDA-VS, VRML, OBJ, XAML, XPS ?
Tekla Structures by Trimble 3D/4D/5D, steel detailing, concrete detailing Windows Version 2025 SR 4 2024-09-13 Proprietary Yes en, cs, zh-Hans, zh-Hant, du, fr, de, hu, it, ja, ko, pl, pt, pt-BR, ru, es Yes Import and export IFC2x3 IFC4 IFC4.3 Export certified.[6] Yes IFC, IFCXML, IFCZIP, DWG, DXF, DGN, PDF, STEP, IGES, CIS/2, ISM, FabTrol KISS, DSTV, Steel Detailing Neutral Format, Eliplan ELI, Primavera P6, Trimble LM80[66]

3D geometry definition file format (.obj) - Adobe PDF (.pdf) - Autodesk 3DS Max format (.3ds) - AutoCAD (.dwg)(.dxf) - BIM Collaboration format (.bcf) - Blender files (.blend) - Collada (.dae) - Conversion files (.cnv) - Comma separated value files (.csv) - DSTV (.nc, .stp, .mis) - Elematic ELiPLAN, ELiPOS, Plant Control, FloorMES, WallMES (.eli) - FabTrol MIS Xml (.xml) - Filmbox (.fbx) - GL Transmission Format (.glft) - IFC2x3 IFC4 IFC4.3 (.ifc) - IFCXML 2X3 (.ifcXML) - IFCZIP 2x3 (.ifcZIP) - Initial Graphics Exchange Specification (IGES) (.iges, .igs) - LandXML (.xml) - Microsoft Project (.xml) - Microstation (.dgn) - Oracle Primavera P6 (.xml) - Point cloud (.e57, .las, .laz, .pts, .ptx, .js, .tzf, .tdx) - Polygon File Format (.ply) - Potree (.js) - SketchUp (.skp) - Staad ASCII (.std) - Steel Detailing Neutral Format (.sdf, .sdnf, .dat) - STEP AP203 (.stp, .step) - STEP AP214 (.stp, .step) - TrimBIM (.tekla) - Tekla Collaboration (.tczip) - Tekla PowerFab (.pftx, .zip) - Tekla Structural Designer model (.tsmd) - Tekla Structural Designer neutral (.cxl) - Tekla Structures shape (.tsc) - TrimBIM (.trb) - Trimble Field Link (.tfl, .tflx, .txt, .cnx)[67]

IFC, IFCXML, IFCZIP, DWG, DXF, DGN, CIS/2, ISM, FabTrol KISS, DSTV, Steel Detailing Neutral Format, Eliplan ELI, Primavera P6, Trimble LM80, HMS[66]

3D geometry definition file format (.obj) - aSa (.TEK) - Adobe PDF (.pdf) - AutoCAD (.dwg)(.dxf) - BIM Collaboration format (.bcf) - BVBS (.abs) - Collada (.dae) - Conversion files (.cnv) - Comma separated value files (.csv) - DSTV (.nc, .stp, .mis) - Elematic ELiPLAN, ELiPOS, Plant Control, FloorMES, WallMES (.eli) - FabTrol Kiss (.kss) - FabTrol MIS Xml (.xml) - HMS (.sot) - IBB Betsy (.fa, .f, .ev) - IFC2x3 IFC4 IFC4.3 (.ifc) - IFCXML 2X3 (.ifcXML) - IFCZIP 2x3 (.ifcZIP) - Initial Graphics Exchange Specification (IGES) (.iges, .igs) - Microsoft Project (.xml) - Microstation (.dgn) - Oracle Primavera P6 (.xml) - Plant Design Management System (.pdms) - Potree (.js) - RIB iTWO-Export (.cpixml) - SketchUp (.skp) - Staad ASCII (.std) - Steel Detailing Neutral Format (.sdf, .sdnf, .dat) - TrimBIM (.tekla) - Tekla Collaboration (.tczip) - Tekla PowerFab (.pftx, .zip) - Tekla-FabTrol Report (.xsr) - Tekla Structural Designer model (.tsmd) - Tekla Structural Designer neutral (.cxl) - Tekla Structures shape (.tsc) - TrimBIM (.trb) - Trimble Field Link (.tfl, .tflx, .txt, .cnx) - TubeNC (.xml) - Unitechnik (.uni, .cam)[67]

No cost for education

-

Price change related to Tekla Structures subscription

Diamond - for detailing and production documentation

Graphite -  for modeling and design documentation

Carbon - for viewing and collaboration

Tinkercad by Autodesk 3D modeling, constructive solid geometry POSIX 2019 Proprietary No Browser default No No Unknown SVG, STL, OBJ STL, OBJ No cost
Windows
Others
T-FLEX CAD by Top Systems Ltd.[citation needed] 2D/3D parametric Windows Version 17.0.74.0 2022-06-14 Proprietary Yes en, ru, de, pl, cs, it, ko Yes Version? Yes DWG, DXF, DXB, Parasolid, STEP, IGES, ACIS, SolidWork, Autodesk Inventor, Siemens NX (Unigraphics), CATIA (V4/V5), Creo (ProE), Solid Edge, Rhino, VDA-FS, JT, PRC, 3dxml, CGR, U3D, IFC, TF3D, Open Inventor, VRML, X3D, 3DS, PLY, OBJ, STL. 2D documents: PDF, DXF, DXB, DWG, EMF, WMF, BMF

3D documents: Parasolid, STEP, IGES, ACIS, JT, PRC

3D documents with mesh (polygonal) geometry: DXF 3D, STL, OBJ, PLY, VRML 2.0, 3D PDF, U3D, X3D, 3DM, POV, Open Inventor, IFC, 3MF

Raster images: BMP, JPEG, PNG, GIF, TIFF

-
TransMagic File translator Windows
XP, Vista, 7 		R11 2014 Proprietary No en, de No No Yes CATIA V4, CATIA V5, Autodesk Inventor, Pro/E, Solidworks SLDPTR/SLDASM, Unigraphics, ACIS (.sat, .sab, .asf, .asat, .asab), JT, Parasolid, IGES, STEP (.stp), HOOPS Meta File, HOOPS Streaming File (.hsf), PLY, STL, OBJ, Large file support CATIA V4, CATIA V5, ACIS (.sat, .sab, .asf, .asat, .asab), JT, Parasolid (.x_t, .x_b, .xmt_txt, .xmb_txt), IGES, STEP (.stp), HOOPS Meta File, HOOPS Streaming File (.hsf), NGRAIN, PLY, STL, HTML, OBJ, Enhanced Metafile, PDF, PostScript, TIFF, BMP, Large file support ?
TurboCAD by IMSI/Design, LLC 2D/3D macOS 2017 Mac V10 2018-04-30 Proprietary Up to 85% off standard pricing en, cs, de, es, ja, fr, pl, zh-Hant Yes Version? Yes [1] [2] $1,495 Pro, $1,695 Pro Platinum[68]
Windows V2018 2018-04-30
VariCAD by VariCAD 2D/3D parametric Linux 20123–2.0 2023-03-21 Proprietary Yes en, de, cs, pt, ja Unknown Unknown Yes STEP (3D), DWG (2D), DXF (2D),[69] DWB STEP (3D), STL (3D), IGES (3D), BMP (from 3D), DWG (2D), DXF (2D),[69] DWB $780
Windows
VisualARQ by Asuni CAD S.A. 2D/3D Windows 1.9.7 2017-05-03 Proprietary $95 en, fr, es, de, it, cs Yes Version? Yes 3DM, 3DS, AI, DGN, DWG, DXF, EPS, FBX, GDF, IGS/IGES, LWO, OBJ, PDF, PLY, SLDPTR/SLDASM, SKP, STL, STP/STEP, VDA, VRML/VRL, X, ZPR 3DM, 3DS, ACIS, AI, DGN, X, DWG, DXF, EPS, FBX, GDF, IGS/IGES, IFC, LWO, OBJ, PDF, PLY, POV, RIB, SKP, SDLPTR/SDLASM, STL, STP/STEP, VDA, VRML/VRL, WMF, X_T, XGL, ZPR $495
ZWCAD by ZWSOFT 2D Windows 2026 2025-05-14 Proprietary No en, ja, de, fr, it, es, pt, ko, pl, tr, cs, hu, zh-Hans, zh-Hant, ru No Yes Yes DWG 2.5 to 2018,
DXF, DWF, ACIS SAT, BMP, JPEG, PNG, TIF, TIFF, PDF, WMF, DGN, SXF, IFC, STEP (.stp), JWW 		DWG 2.5 to 2018,
DXF, DWF, ACIS SAT, BMP, JPEG, PNG, TIF, TIFF, PDF, WMF, DGN, SXF, STL, CAL, TGA, PCX, GIF, RLC, BIL, PCT

ZWCAD STD: $899

ZWCAD PRO: $1,399

ZWCAD MFG: $1,699

Title and developer 2D/3D or specialty fields Platform Latest release License Academic version? User interface languages Support for building information modelling? Support for Industry Foundation Classes (version & MVD)? Support for AutoCAD DXF? Imports Exports Price
(USD)
Version Date

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
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Source: Wikipedia. Article content is retrieved live through the MediaWiki API.

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Comparison of computer-aided design software

The table below provides an overview of notable computer-aided design (CAD) software. It does not judge power, ease of use, or other user-experience aspects. The table does not include software that is still in development (beta software). For all-purpose 3D programs, see Comparison of 3D computer graphics software. CAD refers to a specific type of drawing and modelling software application that is used for creating designs and technical drawings. These can be 3D drawings or 2D drawings (like floor plans).

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Computer-aided design

Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or workstations) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve communications through documentation, and to create a database for manufacturing. Designs made through CAD software help protect products and inventions when used in patent applications. CAD output is often in the form of electronic files for print, machining, or other manufacturing operations. The terms computer-aided drafting (CAD) and computer-aided design and drafting (CADD) are also used. Its use in designing electronic systems is known as electronic design automation (EDA). In mechanical design it is known as mechanical design automation (MDA), which includes the process of creating a technical drawing with the use of computer software. CAD software for mechanical design uses either vector-based graphics to depict the objects of traditional drafting, or may also produce raster graphics showing the overall appearance of designed objects. However, it involves more than just shapes. As in the manual drafting of technical and engineering drawings, the output of CAD must convey information, such as materials, processes, dimensions, and tolerances, according to application-specific conventions. CAD may be used to design curves and figures in two-dimensional (2D) space; or curves, surfaces, and solids in three-dimensional (3D) space. CAD is an important industrial art extensively used in many applications, including automotive, shipbuilding, and aerospace industries, industrial and architectural design (building information modeling), prosthetics, and many more. CAD is also widely used to produce computer animation for special effects in movies, advertising and technical manuals, often called DCC digital content creation. The modern ubiquity and power of computers means that even perfume bottles and shampoo dispensers are designed using techniques unheard of by engineers of the 1960s. Because of its enormous economic importance, CAD has been a major driving force for research in computational geometry, computer graphics (both hardware and software), and discrete differential geometry. The design of geometric models for object shapes, in particular, is occasionally called computer-aided geometric design (CAGD).

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