CAD on Linux - new 2D CAD program from DS

Menthu_Rae · 11th March 2011, 1:37 PM

Hey guys,

Just thought I'd let people know that there is a new 2D CAD program from Dassault Systemes called DraftSight.

Screenshot (DraftSight):

Click to view full size!

Screenshot (Solidworks - for Comparison):

Click to view full size!

There is an FAQ for Linux here:

Linux DraftSight FAQ (PDF)

There are Linux packages available in .deb and .rpm:

DraftSight - Download Page

At the moment the final has been released for Windows, but still on Beta for Linux. Still, this is a good move and I hope to perhaps see more from Dassault Systemes in the future! (Solidworks on Linux? Yes, please!)

f3n1x · 11th March 2011, 6:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Menthu_Rae

Hey guys,

Just thought I'd let people know that there is a new 2D CAD program from Dassault Systemes called DraftSight.

Screenshot (DraftSight):

pix

Screenshot (Solidworks - for Comparison):

pix

There is an FAQ for Linux here:

Linux DraftSight FAQ (PDF)

There are Linux packages available in .deb and .rpm:

DraftSight - Download Page

At the moment the final has been released for Windows, but still on Beta for Linux. Still, this is a good move and I hope to perhaps see more from Dassault Systemes in the future! (Solidworks on Linux? Yes, please!)

Yeah i downloaded the windows version to have a look at (running windows on my more powerful rig), pretty nice for the price.

Quadbox · 11th March 2011, 6:51 PM

solidworks isnt a very good comparison btw, draftsight's oldschool 2d cad.

Seems pretty alright from a first little play, however personally when I was last in industry we did buggerall new designs in 2d, pretty much only had autocad around for legacy drawings and designs. Considering both Pro/Engineer and NX are both well established and *extremely* competent modern cad packages and both have had linux ports since year dot, cant see draftsight making huge inroads.

The really interesting thing about his has nothing to do with draftsight, and it's more about the fact dassault finally seems to be getting serious about linux. *Hopefully* this will mean that linux will become an officially supported platform for CATIA. Which is a Big Deal. That'd leave us with three heavyweight CAD packages and two heavyweight structural FEA packages all with official linux support (the other FEA package is ANSYS multiphysics, which is... well, it's an astoundingly good package if you can afford it)

elvis · 11th March 2011, 7:34 PM

Cheers for the heads up. I've been using QCAD:
http://www.qcad.org/

It too is "old school" in feel, and I totally suck at grasping how to use 3D cad products (Sketchup totally baffles me).

I'll be checking out DraftSight for my next project (hopefully a 100% CNC-cut cocktail arcade cabinet).

foxmulder881 · 12th March 2011, 11:56 AM

Yeah I've dabbled with CAD applications, both 2D and 3D and I struggle with all of them. They just seem to be so different from anything else digital imaging related. Nowadays, I no longer bother.

elvis · 12th March 2011, 12:40 PM

I did tech drawing in school, so 2D CAD makes sense to me. The concepts are the same - build your construction lines, draw in the necessary stuff, delete the temporary stuff you don't need.

3D CAD is the complete opposite. It's either create a large shape and subtract the stuff you don't need, or build and extrude. I get the overall concept, but it just takes me HOURS to do things that should be utterly trivial.

Of course, I could just shut up and practice. That would probably help a lot.

stmok · 14th March 2011, 8:05 AM

When I went through University (late 1990s to early 2000s)...

* Solidworks 97Plus and 2003.
* Strand7 (Finite Element Analysis = FEA)
* COSMOSWorks (FEA add-in for Solidworks)
* Fluent (Computational Fluid Dynamics = CFD) + Gambit (Generate models)
* CATIA (On my own accord.)

Of the lot, only Fluent/Gambit had Linux versions. The rest were Windows only.

During my FEA course, I tried to model the firing of a handgun. (The moment where the hammer strikes, igniting the primer of the bullet). I started off using Strand7, but ended up grabbing Solidworks with COSMOSWorks to do the job; given the limited time available for the major project. COSMOSWorks was too simplified for the role, but I didn't have much of a choice. I remember suggesting they change to ANSYS in the future. (Student feedback at the end of the course.) ...The following year, the FEA course was updated to use ANSYS.

Anyway...

SALOME (Open source CAD/CAE under GNU LGPL)
=> http://www.salome-platform.org/
(Salome is currently in Debian "Sid" only.)

OpenCASCADE (CAD/CAM/CAE)
=> http://www.opencascade.org/
They use some LGPL-like license...
=> http://www.opencascade.org/getocc/license/
(Under non-free in Debian.)

Code_Aster (FEA under GPL)
=> http://www.code-aster.org/
(I can't connect to their site, at the time of this post.)

Code_Saturne (CFD under GPL)
=> https://code-saturne.info/
(Both Code_Aster and Code_Saturne were developed by the same company that handles France's nuclear power plants.)

OpenFOAM (CFD under GPL)
=> http://www.openfoam.com/
Has specific packages for Debian/Ubuntu and SuSE. It can export to Fluent format...If you want to use Fluent for post-processing instead of OpenFOAM's solution.

If you're a Debian user, there's various other engineering apps.
=> http://blends.alioth.debian.org/scie...ks/engineering

11th March 2011, 1:37 PM	#1
Menthu_Rae Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Northern Beaches, Sydney Posts: 6,137	CAD on Linux - new 2D CAD program from DS Hey guys, Just thought I'd let people know that there is a new 2D CAD program from Dassault Systemes called DraftSight. Screenshot (DraftSight): Click to view full size! Screenshot (Solidworks - for Comparison): Click to view full size! There is an FAQ for Linux here: Linux DraftSight FAQ (PDF) There are Linux packages available in .deb and .rpm: DraftSight - Download Page At the moment the final has been released for Windows, but still on Beta for Linux. Still, this is a good move and I hope to perhaps see more from Dassault Systemes in the future! (Solidworks on Linux? Yes, please!) __________________ System Specs: i7 3770K, Noctua NH-U12P SE2, 32GB Corsair Vengeance LP DDR3-1600, ASUS P8Z77-V Premium, 2048MB Zotac GTX680, ASUS Xonar Essence One, 120GB/240GB Samsung 840 SSDs, 2x 3TB Toshiba HDDs [RAID1], 2x Zalman ZMMFC-1 Plus, Dell U3011 30" LCD, Creative T-40 Series II 2.0, LianLi PC-A71B, 8x Scythe SFF21G, 1kW Silverstone ST1000P. Over 50 Trades.

11th March 2011, 6:51 PM	#3
Quadbox Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Brisbane 4065 Posts: 5,088	solidworks isnt a very good comparison btw, draftsight's oldschool 2d cad. Seems pretty alright from a first little play, however personally when I was last in industry we did buggerall new designs in 2d, pretty much only had autocad around for legacy drawings and designs. Considering both Pro/Engineer and NX are both well established and extremely competent modern cad packages and both have had linux ports since year dot, cant see draftsight making huge inroads. The really interesting thing about his has nothing to do with draftsight, and it's more about the fact dassault finally seems to be getting serious about linux. Hopefully this will mean that linux will become an officially supported platform for CATIA. Which is a Big Deal. That'd leave us with three heavyweight CAD packages and two heavyweight structural FEA packages all with official linux support (the other FEA package is ANSYS multiphysics, which is... well, it's an astoundingly good package if you can afford it) Last edited by Quadbox; 11th March 2011 at 7:01 PM.

11th March 2011, 7:34 PM	#4
elvis Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Brisbane Posts: 19,890	Cheers for the heads up. I've been using QCAD: http://www.qcad.org/ It too is "old school" in feel, and I totally suck at grasping how to use 3D cad products (Sketchup totally baffles me). I'll be checking out DraftSight for my next project (hopefully a 100% CNC-cut cocktail arcade cabinet). __________________ Child's Play Charity

12th March 2011, 12:40 PM	#6
elvis Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Brisbane Posts: 19,890	I did tech drawing in school, so 2D CAD makes sense to me. The concepts are the same - build your construction lines, draw in the necessary stuff, delete the temporary stuff you don't need. 3D CAD is the complete opposite. It's either create a large shape and subtract the stuff you don't need, or build and extrude. I get the overall concept, but it just takes me HOURS to do things that should be utterly trivial. Of course, I could just shut up and practice. That would probably help a lot. __________________ Child's Play Charity

14th March 2011, 8:05 AM	#7
stmok Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Sydney Posts: 8,872	When I went through University (late 1990s to early 2000s)... * Solidworks 97Plus and 2003. * Strand7 (Finite Element Analysis = FEA) * COSMOSWorks (FEA add-in for Solidworks) * Fluent (Computational Fluid Dynamics = CFD) + Gambit (Generate models) * CATIA (On my own accord.) Of the lot, only Fluent/Gambit had Linux versions. The rest were Windows only. During my FEA course, I tried to model the firing of a handgun. (The moment where the hammer strikes, igniting the primer of the bullet). I started off using Strand7, but ended up grabbing Solidworks with COSMOSWorks to do the job; given the limited time available for the major project. COSMOSWorks was too simplified for the role, but I didn't have much of a choice. I remember suggesting they change to ANSYS in the future. (Student feedback at the end of the course.) ...The following year, the FEA course was updated to use ANSYS. Anyway... SALOME (Open source CAD/CAE under GNU LGPL) => http://www.salome-platform.org/ (Salome is currently in Debian "Sid" only.) OpenCASCADE (CAD/CAM/CAE) => http://www.opencascade.org/ They use some LGPL-like license... => http://www.opencascade.org/getocc/license/ (Under non-free in Debian.) Code_Aster (FEA under GPL) => http://www.code-aster.org/ (I can't connect to their site, at the time of this post.) Code_Saturne (CFD under GPL) => https://code-saturne.info/ (Both Code_Aster and Code_Saturne were developed by the same company that handles France's nuclear power plants.) OpenFOAM (CFD under GPL) => http://www.openfoam.com/ Has specific packages for Debian/Ubuntu and SuSE. It can export to Fluent format...If you want to use Fluent for post-processing instead of OpenFOAM's solution. If you're a Debian user, there's various other engineering apps. => http://blends.alioth.debian.org/scie...ks/engineering __________________ "Haters gonna hate." => "I have no logical rebuttal to your criticism so I'm going to say something simple and meaningless to make myself feel better."-crabjokeman from Techreport.com forums. "The politicians don’t just want your money. They want your soul. They want you to be worn down by taxes until you are dependent and helpless."-James Dale Davidson.

12th March 2011, 11:56 AM	#5
foxmulder881 Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Gold Coast, QLD OS:R.Hat Posts: 5,845	Yeah I've dabbled with CAD applications, both 2D and 3D and I struggle with all of them. They just seem to be so different from anything else digital imaging related. Nowadays, I no longer bother.