Whenever you use an elevator, do you wonder how it was designed? Or, if you’re shopping for a new car, are you curious about who brought this impressive machinery to life? Being an employee of a large manufacturing firm, maybe you do. But the average consumer puts little thought into the hard work done by mechanical engineers to translate an idea into a functional, safe-to-use product. We often take it for granted that the elevator works correctly or that the car’s shape supports aerodynamism. It’s through numerous sketches, testing, and modifications that power-producing machines get to the final form we see them in. These laborious processes can be greatly streamlined using Computer-Aided Design (CAD) software fine-tuned for engineering teams.
In its MCAD SaaS for Large Enterprises & Manufacturing at Scale competitive ranking, ABI Research sized up the competitive landscape for mechanical CAD software targeting large manufacturers. In our assessment, the five leading companies were Siemens, PTC, Autodesk, Dassault Systèmes, and ZW3D. This post dives into the CAD software these companies provide for mechanical engineers.
What Is Mechanical CAD Software?
Mechanical CAD (MCAD) is a software solution that allows mechanical engineers to simulate the design of the products they are developing. The process is carried out using Two-Dimensional (2D) and Three-Dimensional (3D) models (drawings, animations, etc.) that capture various information about the proposed product design. Mechanical CAD software lets engineering teams optimize material use, dimensions, and other components to optimally design the product.
Here are the top options for industrial manufacturers looking to purchase CAD software for their engineers.
1. Solid Edge, NX, and NX X
As the largest company providing mechanical CAD software, German-based Siemens delivers these solutions through its Siemens Digital Industries Software portfolio. The products include Solid Edge, NX, NX X, and Zel X. However, our analysts did not analyze Zel X because the solution is geared more toward Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs), rather than large-scale industrial firms (we only assessed CAD software that is focused on large manufacturers).
In addition to the core products (Solid Edge X, NX, and NX X), mechanical engineers can also leverage software-adjacent solutions such as Teamcaster (Product Lifecycle Management (PLM)), Polarion (Application Lifecycle Management (ALM)), Tecnomatrix (process simulation), and Simcenter (simulation).
Siemens lets industrial-scale manufacturers deploy this mechanical CAD software on-premises and through a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model. Helping the company be deemed the overall leader in ABI Research’s competitive assessment is its extended capabilities (e.g., digital twins, injection modeling, sheet metal design, etc.) and full utilization of the cloud.
2. Creo and Creo+
Boston-based software provider PTC offers mechanical CAD software through its Creo and Creo+ products. These two software solutions were assessed as the most innovative in the competitive ranking, as they are proficient in supporting traditional CAD functionality and computer-aided additions. Creo is the on-premises version of the CAD software, and Creo+ is the SaaS version that large manufacturers can use.
One of the differentiators of PTC, due to its smaller size, is its unparalleled level of customer support. Engineers can expect quicker support ticket turnaround times compared to larger incumbent vendors, as well as frequent software updates to keep the Creo products running optimally.
3. AutoCAD and Inventor
Headquartered in tech-centric San Francisco, Autodesk has a firm foothold in the CAD software market. While the company offers several CAD software solutions for mechanical engineers, ABI Research focused on its AutoCAD and Inventor offerings in its latest assessment. Both of these industrial products were developed specifically for product design at large manufacturing plants.
Generally speaking, AutoCAD is less advanced than Inventor, but it does support many features like 3D modeling, dynamic blocks, change history, and support for Piping and Instrumental Diagram (P&ID). Inventor, on the other hand, supports more robust capabilities such as:
- Parametric modeling
- Assembly modeling
- Model-Based Definition (MBD)
- Building Information Modeling (BIM)
- Sheet metal design
- Design automation
- Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM) services (machine tool wear, advanced axing milling functionality, etc.)
It’s also worth mentioning that AutoCAD is deployed on-premises, while Inventor is deployed as a SaaS product.
4. SOLIDWORKS and CATIA
ABI Research ranked French company Dassault Systèmes as the fourth most robust mechanical CAD software company. Engineers can use the SOLIDWORKS, CATIA, ENOVIA, SIMULIA, DELMIA, BIOVIA, GEOVIA, and BETVIBES software products. However, our analysts placed the microscope on SOLIDWORKS (on-premises) and CATIA (SaaS) because these two products are cloud-based and tailored for engineers at large-scale manufacturers.
Both SOLIDWORKS and CATIA scored well in terms of ease of use, and each provides new users with ample training resources. Additionally, Dassault Systèmes can leverage its deep ties with CAD software ecosystem players and strong market share to smooth the implementation process of the products.
5. ZW3D
China-based ZWSOFT has four distinguished CAD software offerings for mechanical engineering teams: ZWCAD, ZWCAD MFG, CADbro (viewer), and ZW3D. It’s the last one, ZW3D, that is the company’s most versatile CAD software product, supporting cloud-enabled features via ZWCAD Touch.
Engineers that leverage ZW3D will appreciate the geometric modeling kernel, a capability largely lacking in the CAD software market outside of options provided by Siemens and Dassault Systèmes. Moreover, ZWSOFT uses in-house software to deliver solid-surface hybrid modeling, structural simulation, Finite Element Analysis (FEA), and similar computer-aided manufacturing services.
ZWSOFT primarily targets the Asia-Pacific region, with large-scale manufacturers like Hyundai, SAIC Motor Corp., and TAIYO TUDEN being clients.
Further Reading: To learn who the top mechanical CAD software vendors are and why, check out the free Research Highlight Selecting the Right Mechanical CAD Software Supplier for Large-Scale Manufacturing..
