DesignSpark CAD Design & 3D Modelling Software

Computer-aided design (CAD) software allows you to digitally create 2D drawings and 3D models from zero. With CAD software, you can design, modify, and share designs, render realistic concepts, simulate real world performance, draft documents and much, much more.

What does that mean in real terms for your business? A complete overhaul of your manual drafting process to digital, rapid, cost-effective concept development, constant innovation, optimization of your production and faster products to market.

DesignSpark Mechanical is a brand-new specialist Mechanical CAD (MCAD) software built for mechanical engineers. With DesignSpark Mechanical, you can create billions of precise 3D modelling specifications for engineering and manufacturing projects to new levels of accuracy, consistency, and realism.

CAD software systems make it easy to develop precision 2D and 3D mechanical drawings ready for factory production, along with a complete package of support information, such as the manufacturing materials, technology, mould finishes, and tolerances required for production.

With a sophisticated CAD program like Design Spark Mechanical, you'll also have access to a variety of advanced and professional features (plan dependent) for 3D mechanical designs, from billions of product downloads, easy bill of materials creation, adaptable formatting, and plenty more.

Some of the applications CAD software can be used for include:

• Creating, preparing, and modifying models for 3D printing.
• Creating photorealistic renderings for presentation and marketing purposes.
• Creating a bill of materials (BOM) – a complete inventory of all the materials and components required to manufacture the products – for management of production and cost analysis.
• Importing standardised mechanical parts from linked databases.
• Various analyses, including thermal, vibration, motion, ergonomic, aerodynamic, and stress and buckling analyses, as well as mould flow analysis for injection molding.
• Various simulations including drop tests, fabrics, and inflatables.
• Advanced Geometric, Dimensioning, and Tolerancing (GD&T) for optimising production processes.
• Texture mapping and painting for video games, movies, and art.

The versatility of CAD 3D modelling software means it's used across variety of industries, including:

• Architecture
• Automotive
• Building engineering
• Civil engineering
• Construction
• Electrical engineering
• Manufacturing
• Mechanical engineering
• Rapid Prototyping
• Interior Design
• Fashion Design
• Jewellry Design

CAD integration has overhauled the traditional manual drafting process in the past few decades to make 3D modelling and product production faster, cheaper, and simpler than ever before.

CAD software offers the following benefits:

• Rapid concept development and manufacturing: you can put together accurate 3D model concepts quickly for early visualisation and prototypes. Coupled with rapid manufacturing technologies, CAD programs have streamlined the process from concept through to manufacture.
• Optimised production: state of the art 3D modelling software provides a virtual environment where faults and imperfections can be ironed out to minimise the gap between design intent and the manufactured product.
• New levels of visualisation for your clients: photorealistic renderings, animations, analysis, and simulations can be targeted at clients via presentations and marketing campaigns to boost your engagement.
• Broad scale usability: offering advanced features in an ever more simplified package, CAD software delivers complex 3D modelling specifications in a straightforward manner, enhancing the ability for those outside the CAD team to create manufacturing-ready models.
• Versatile application: a sophisticated tool capable of conducting every application in the drafting process, CAD software also runs across numerous formats, making it hugely versatile for use across various projects in a broad spectrum of industries and professions.

Go from concept sketch to prototype, and further

Tired of traditional CAD tools with parametric constraints? Unlock your creativity with DesignSpark Mechanical – a direct modeller that allows you to reshape your 3D models with a simple push or pull. Our easy-to-use toolset will help you save time, money, and create error-free geometry.

Start your prototyping journey with our free-of-charge Explorer software, and upgrade anytime to our Creator or Engineer paid subscription plans for advanced features.

Compare our subscriptions here

Generate a bill of materials and get instant online quotes

Get a complete inventory for your models to better understand your requirements and costs with our BOM generator, available across all free and paid DesignSpark Mechanical plans. All it takes to create a BOM in your desired format is the click of a few buttons. Then, request a quote as well as stock information in seconds through the RS Online or Allied Electronics websites.

Work with a variety of industry standard file formats

Switching from another CAD software to DesignSpark Mechanical? Pick up where you left off. Our 3D modelling software allows you to easily collaborate 3D PDFs and exchange files with other MCAD software, including STL, SKP, OBJ, and AutoCAD DXF. You can also get your model ready to print by exporting directly to STL, the most widely used format for 3D printing. This means you’ll have a functional prototype in a flash.

Create your own technical drawings with full GD&T and support annotations

Subscribe to our Creator or Engineer plans and you'll be able to share your 3D mechanical design across other programs, such as AutoCAD, CATIA, ArchiCAD, and others. DesignSpark Mechanical engineering software enables you to work with the standardized STEP and IGES file formats as part of these subscriptions – just one of the many advanced and professional standard features that make up the different packages we offer.

Take advantage of a market leading global hosting partner

DesignSpark Mechanical is provided in partnership with TraceParts S.A., a premier supplier of 3D digital content for engineering applications. It provides free access to millions of CAD models and thousands of supplier catalogues.

Make things easier with customisation

To improve productivity while using DesignSpark Mechanical, you can tweak and customise things like command shortcuts, design views, rendering, application colour scheme, and interface. The enhanced usability of DesignSpark Mechanical means you don't need to leave the full design process in the hands of your CAD team. Our CAD software isn't just for CAD experts, and customisation options make it easier to build understanding across your business.

Create precision models with quality CAD tools

Our engineering design software comes with a built-in set of powerful tools to analyse geometry for the size, shape, and quality of bodies. Conduct analysis and simulations to better understand your models and create accurate visualisations that can be used for your clients. H3: Advanced sketching

With DesignSpark Mechanical, you can create intricate designs using equation-driven and constraint-based sketch modes. Find out how to use Equation and constraint-based sketching in DesignSpark Mechanical here.

Make your creations look realistic

Produce impressive high-quality prototypes when you take advantage of the different graphics styles available in the Display tab. This allows you to add a degree of realism to your design, aiding visualisation and closing the gap between design intent and the final manufactured product.

You can get started with DesignSpark Mechanical for free today by signing up to our Explorer plan. Our CAD free software package offers you unlimited downloads from millions of 3D models, schematics, and footprints and will always be free with no hidden fees to worry about.

Download DesignSpark Mechanical Explorer for free

Looking for advanced features?

Then look at our monthly subscription and free plans. Our paid Creator plan allows for unlimited projects and design size and offers our 3D Mirror tool among other features. Our paid Engineer package includes everything you get in our free Explorer plan, plus a number of other professional standard elements. All plans come with discussion forums and learning materials.

Sign up for a 7 day free trial to DesignSpark Mechanical Creator today

Sign up for a 7 day free trial to DesignSpark Mechanical Engineer today

Want to know more about what DesignSpark Mechanical has to offer? Use our tutorials to learn the basics of DesignSpark Mechanical here, or take a look at our support FAQs and Mechanical forum to get all the answers you need.

We have made our subscriptions as flexible as possible, this includes offering the ability to pause your subscription at any time and select the length of time (1, 2 or 3 months) that you would like to pause for.

Upgrading is really simple, and can be done at any time via the My subscription tab in your account area.

At any time within your free trial, you can cancel your subscription and revert to the Free Explorer membership tier