
The transition process can be daunting, especially when hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of 2D files need to be migrated, and even more so if you’re unfamiliar with designing in 3D. Many companies, especially those which have been in business for many years, have built foundations on 2D CAD systems but also recognize the host of benefits offered by transitioning to 3D. Use Case #3 – Transitioning to 3D Can Be Scary Plus, you’ll receive world-class support for both products from the technical team at Hawk Ridge Systems should you ever need it. Entities can be copied and pasted directly from DraftSight into SOLIDWORKS sketches and, even more importantly, the SOLIDWORKS Product Data Management (PDM) system is integrated into DraftSight for proper file management and revision control. If your company already makes use of SOLIDWORKS 3D CAD, there’s even more to love! Since both SOLIDWORKS and DraftSight are developed by Dassault Systèmes, there’s a significant amount of interoperability between them. You can even save to older file versions and work with dynamic blocks created in AutoCAD, allowing you to speak the same language as your collaborators, avoid costly mistakes, and reduce design time. Even if your company already has a 3D CAD solution in place, having a 2D solution such as DraftSight on hand allows you to open, review, and edit any DWG or DXF file, regardless of which program it originated from. Okay, probably not all of them, but many organizations employ vendors or collaborate with other companies (or even other departments within their own company, for that matter) who use 2D CAD for one reason or another. If you happen to be questioning the capability of DraftSight as compared to a juggernaut like AutoCAD, be sure to take a look at our webinar, " Is DraftSight a Viable Alternative to AutoCAD?" Use Case #2 – All Your Friends Are Using It While there are certainly open source 2D and 3D CAD modeling programs available for those who don’t wish to pay at all, they’re typically not developed and supported by a powerhouse like Dassault Systèmes. Speaking of price, DraftSight is also cheaper (and more capable, for that matter) than many 2D CAD programs, including AutoCAD LT.
