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.

New version for ARES CE

Graebert released an updated version for ARES CE. This new version comes with various new tools and fixes. A complete changelog is available here.
As usually .deb, .rpm and tar.gz versions are available for testing with or without registration (some features like saving and printing are not available in the unregistered version).
Unfortunately there is no native 64bit Linux version yet.
Also a special offer is valid until January 5th 2013 so you can buy ARES CE at the discounted price of 495€.

Lost in Support: ARES CE

ARES CE is one of the available dwg-based AutoCAD-like programs for Linux.
It's a commercial application that costs  795 € and has a Linux version since October 2010.

Ubuntu 12.04 LTS and .dwg-based CAD

After the installation of the new Ubuntu 12.04 LTS I tested the installation of all the available .dwg based CAD applications.

New version for ARES CE

A new version of ARES CE for Linux is available. New commands in solid drawing/editing , a new plugin manager, and Voice notes are some of the new features in this version (2011.8.1080). You can download and test this version for free from Graebert's website.

 ARES CE

The new plugin manager.

If you want to buy ARES CE you might be interested on their Christmas offers.

This new version was installed without problems on Ubuntu 11.10 32bit.

Christmas offers from Linux CAD vendors

Graebert and VariCAD have some special Christmas offers for their products. So if you plan  to buy ARES CE or VariCAD this is the right moment. Varicad has a 20% discount until December 28, so you can buy VariCAD for 399€ (Normal price 499€) or VariCAD with one year upgrade for 479€ (Normal price 599€).
Graebert's ARES CE  now costs 395€ instead of 795€.

An unexpected solution for 3D dwg files

One of the biggest problems in computing is data sharing, meaning how to share your data between different programs. Especially if you work with CAD you need to share your geometry with raster image processors (GIMP,Krita etc.), vector graphics applications (Inkscape,Karbon, etc), 3D graphics programs (Blender,Wings 3D etc) or FEA software (Salome,Elmer,Gmsh,  etc). Proprietary formats make data sharing extremely hard.

Adding custom hatches on ARES CE, Bricscad and DraftSight

Adding a custom hatch on ARES CE, Bricscad and DraftSight is quite different than on AutoCAD. You cannot link a folder that contains the custom hatches in program's settings. However adding one or more custom hatches isn't difficult.

How to work with pdf files with ARES CE,Bricscad,DraftSight and Librecad

Importing PDF files is a missing feature from all Linux CAD packages. However there are some very interesting and simple workarounds to bypass this problem.

Forcing 32bit packages on 64bit Debian/Ubuntu/Mint

A very common problem for someone who plays with CAD on Linux is the mismatch between the package's and the system's architecture.
My suggestion is to use 32bit OS with ARES/Bricscad/DraftSight
but this is not always possible.
Some reasons are:

• You have already installed a 64bit OS and you don't want to perform a new clean install of 32bit OS
• You have already bought a commercial application that is 64bit only like Abaqus, NX, Maya.
• Your common tasks include stuff that perform much better on 64bit architecture, like rendering, and you don't like to loose this benefit.

So let's take a look how to fix this simple problem:

Application Review: ARES Commander Edition for Linux (Part II)

Continuing from Part I

Application Review: ARES Commander Edition for Linux (Part I)

ARES is a newcomer in Linux world. Released on October 2010 is one of the two -the other is Bricscad- Autocad-like .dwg based applications that are available on Linux.

5 Reasons to use 32bit Linux with ARES and Bricscad

ARES and Bricscad are the 2 dwg-based Autocad-like programs that are available for Linux. Both are available for 32bit OS. It is easy to install a 32bit application on 64bit Linux but I believe that using a 32bit OS is better.
Some reasons are:

How to unlock the power of Linux (Part I)

Well I decided to write a few posts about how to unlock the power of Linux while you are using it for productive purposes. Linux has the benefits that is highly customizable,stable, secure and can run well on older computers.

CADopia moved from ITC to ARES. May we expect a Linux version ?

CADopia, an old member of IntelliCAD Technology Consortium, moved  to ARES as base for their products.
As you already know ARES is available for Linux. May we expect a new entry on Linux CAD software?

Tip: Change the toolbar's icons size on ARES

Well the first thing I dislike on ARES is the size of the icons. I think that they are too large. I don't know why they choose to use so large icons
but I think that is a very bad idea.
Let's see how to change the icons size to normal.

How to install Graebert's ARES Commander Edition on (K)Ubuntu 10.10 64 bit

Well as the title says here you will learn how to install ARES on a 64bit Ubuntu system

Screenshots of CAD apps

Here are some screenshots of CAD applications running on Linux (Ubuntu 10.10)