

While Inventor targets a somewhat smaller, more niche market, AutoCAD has started to specialize as well, and although they each take a different approach, both programs can be utilized for complete drafting processes. While Inventor does not seem like it would directly compete with AutoCAD, both are computer-aided drafting programs that are advertised as making the user’s design process easier in overlapping ways.

It focuses on 3D modeling and the user’s ability to test those models before creating prototypes – a valuable addition to manufacturing processes that don’t have the time or money to waste on bringing to life models that don’t actually work.

The program is an application made for 3D mechanical design, simulation, visualization, and documentation. That’s where Inventor comes in.Īutodesk released Inventor in 1999 to integrate 2D and 3D design data into a single environment. As a software company, it’s expanded beyond AutoCAD with other programs that tackle other aspects of the different industries that depend on design. The program has continued to branch out as design needs to evolve in the real world.īut Autodesk has not sat on its original laurels since AutoCAD’s release. While AutoCAD still uses 2D as its basis, recent versions in the last five years have added 3D capabilities meant to give its users a full spectrum of design possibilities.ĪutoCAD has also started offering modules that pertain to specific industries that depend on drafting as their base process, such as engineers who build electrical systems. This combination made CAD accessible for more price and skill points, paving the way for its current range of uses.ĪutoCAD originally offered only 2D drafting (2D drawing) capabilities – basically, it started as a computerized version of an engineer’s desk, pencil, and measuring tools. And for a good reason its AutoCAD program was the first commercially available CAD software for home computers that were just starting to take off in the 1980s. In the world of computer-aided drafting, Autodesk looms large.
