Best Computer Aided Design Software for Students

Engineering, ICT and design students especially must be savvy to the deals out there because in these fields in particular, on-going software upgrades are essential to maintaining current skills. Most students require as a minimum, word processing, some presentation software and maybe a maths friendly product like Excel, and these are usually sold at hugely discounted student rates with proof of current student status. If even these packages are outside of your price range open source software is always free for the basics and every software is available in some form of open source package. While these are enough to meet standard student needs the aforementioned majors need a lot more. Some requisite programs for these folks may include:

Computer Aided Design

SolidWorks: SolidWorks offers an excellent suite of tools for engineering design, documentation, simulation and sustainability plus comprehensive online support. They are standards based with broad industry recognized certification which is important for students wanting to acquire skills they can take with them from school into the workforce. Solid works boasts the latest in engineering technology as well as interactive features for collaborating with designers in other parts of the world. With the computer aided design component of the suite students can simulate real world conditions eliminating the need for organic prototyping and testing. Another feature that is particularly useful in terms of future applications and present sustainability is life cycle assessment (LCA). Life cycle assessment enables students to see the environmental impact of their designs. University licences are available as well as discounted student rates.

AutoCAD: For design, drafting and modelling AutoCAD has the experience and utilities required to complete tasks simply and with user friendly tools and references. AutoCAD 2012 enables easy exploration, documentation, and communication of design ideas. It also boasts expanded workflows for conceptual design, model documentation, and reality capture to maximize productivity. AutoCAD can be used to create 2D and 3D designs as well as more complex layered 2D which has some advantages on large and complicated design projects. AutoCAD supports a number of APIs for customization and automation. These include AutoLISP, Visual LISP, VBA, .NET and ObjectARX. ObjectARX is a C++ class library, which is also the base for products extending AutoCAD functionality to specific fields compatible with other Autodesk offerings such as Architecture, Electrical, Civil 3D and third party AutoCAD applications. This gives Autodesk an added degree of flexibility. Autodesk has a student version which is offered at significantly discounted rates.

Sketch Up: Google Sketch Up is free for the basic package and easily downloaded. That makes it a favorite for basic design needs in the beginning stages of a project. For those who need a little more, Sketch Up Pro is as easily accessed but costs and there are no obvious standard discounted student prices, although education licences are available. The software was initially designed for architectural, civil, and mechanical engineers as well as filmmakers, game developers, and related professionals, and it has stayed true to its original market’s requirements. Sketch Up also allows placement of models within Google Earth. In addition Google provides a 3D warehouse where software users can contribute models and also search for and download free models created by others.

Open Source CAD

These modelling and design programs have come a long way since they were first developed as simple entities constituting lines, polylines, circles, arcs, and text to create slightly more complex objects on computer. These days’ simple tools can produce wondrous results and engineering and design students can spend more time creating and less time drawing than ever before.  Often these programs are unbelievably cheap at student rates but again, for those on a budget, a number of open source options include HeeksCAD, CADEMIA and QCAD to name a few.