Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all!!!

ARES CE gets a new major upgrade but...

Graebert released a new major upgrade for the ARES CE dwg-based CAD program. This new version comes with major changes and as the company claims it also has performance improvements. Unfortunately, the Linux version is garbage. It's impossible to run the software under Linux and in some cases even the installation isn't possible . I spent a lot of time trying different combinations of software and hardware. I tried Ubuntu 12.04 LTS 64bit and 13.10 32bit with both AMD and NVIDIA GPUs, with or without proprietary drivers, without any success at all. I also tried various workarounds but probably this is a problematic Linux release of ARES CE. It seems that Linux users have to wait for a fixed version in order to run the new release and test its new features under their favorite OS.

RibbonSoft released QCAD 3.4

A new version of QCAD has been released a few days ago. This new version contains some new features, like a new view mode and support for custom properties. Any Linux users that are interested in trying this CAD application, can download QCAD here. QCAD 3.4 will work just fine in any modern Linux distro.

Updated DraftSight V1R4 is available for download

The new release of DraftSight is now available for download.

DraftSight V1R4 comes with the already known features but with nothing new and exciting, for Linux users at least.

As usual 32bit .deb and .rpm installers are available for Linux users.

You can download DraftSight for Linux for absolutely free here.

How to create layered PDFs with DraftSight

We frequently export our DWGs in PDF format in order to share them or open them with another program. However, these PDFs have the disadvantage to merge the layers of our drawing. Exporting layered PDFs appears to be more useful in sharing because they are kind of editable, with visible structure and also we can further work them out by other programs easier.

Let's see how to create a layered PDF with DraftSight:

In your drawing at DraftSight open File --> Export --> PDF Export.

In the PDF Export dialogue box that appears you are able to choose where to save your PDF, the paper size and the Sheets you want to export: the whole drawing (Model) or a part of it already set in a layout (Layout), or both. Also make sure that 'Use layers in PDF file' under Options is checked.

 

Then open the PDF with Evince (or alternative you can use Adobe Reader) and from the side bar at the left choose Layers. And here they are! You can see them and turn them on and off.

DraftSight V1R3.2 is available for download!

The last few days a new release of DraftSight has been available for download.
V1R3.2 doesn't introduce any new features. It's a quality, bug-fixing release only.
You can download it for free and use it for free after a simple registration.
As usual, only 32bit installers are available for Linux users (both .deb and .rpm).

Lost in Support: VariCAD

VariCAD is a general purpose 2D/3D Mechanical CAD. It already has a native Linux port for many years and it's  very popular between Linux users.

Teigha Viewer and Teigha File Converter 3.09 have been released.

Newer versions of ODA's products are available for download. Teigha Viewer and Teigha File Converter have been updated to version 3.09. Both programs are available as 32bit .deb and .rpm files. 64bit Ubuntu users can install successfully these useful programs with the installation of ia32-libs package.

QCAD/CAM adds CAM functionality to QCAD 3 pro

RibbonSoft announced the availability of QCAD/CAM an add-on for QCAD 3 pro that adds CAM functionality on the existing CAD application.
QCAD/CAM allows you to export your drawings to the popular gcode format that can be used to control several types of CNC machines.
QCAD/CAM is available for Linux and you can download a free trial from here.

 CAM Export Configuration Dialog Box

The CAM pull-down menu

Lost in Support: QCAD pro

QCAD pro is a 2D CAD program that has Linux support for years. Its relevance for Linux users is very high since not only it had long been the unique reliable 2D CAD solution but also its GPL Community Edition is the base for LibreCAD.
QCAD pro comes in its latest version 3 with significant new functionality added, such as .dwg support, new script engine, .svg support and more.

Teigha Viewer and Teigha File Converter 3.08.2 are available for download

A new version of Teigha Viewer, the free .dwg .dxf and .dgn viewer provided by ODA, is available for download. The most exciting thing of this release is the availability of Teigha File Converter for Linux, a formerly Windows-only application, for rapid massive conversion of files to different versions of .dwg and .dxf formats.

Teigha File Converter on Ubuntu

Lost in Support: DraftSight

DraftSight, the free 2D dwg-based solution by Dassault Systemes, is an interesting choice for everybody.

New online part library for DraftSight users

TraceParts with this press release announced the availability of a new service exclusively for DraftSight users.
From now DraftSight users have access to millions of 2D drawings for standard parts from a variety of supplier catalogs.
After a simple registration DraftSight users can navigate to the online library and download any of the available drawings for free.

FreeCAD 0.13 is now stable

FreeCAD 0.13 is now the latest stable release of FreeCAD. This version has a lot of improvements and  a new Ubuntu PPA for stable releases.

• Release Notes
• Complete changelog
• Ubuntu Stable PPA

FreeCAD is an Open Source Parametric Solid Modeler. It has excellent community support, modular architecture and it's fully programmable via Python.

DraftSight V1R3.1 is now available !

Dassault released today an updated version for DraftSight. This new V1R3.1 version fixes 2 bugs in fonts:

- The display of .ttf fonts in model and paper space.
- The PDF export of .shx fonts (Capital E letter problem)

As usual 32bit only .deb and .rpm files are available.

If you experience any problems with the download page try the direct links provided in this post.

Direct Links for DraftSight Linux

The DraftSight's download page seems to have problems and the download buttons are not visible.

So if you want to download DraftSight for Linux you can temporarily use these direct links.

DraftSight .deb
DraftSight .rpm

P.S. You can find these links by viewing page's source code.

Happy New Year !!!

Happy New Year to all !!!