AutoCAD

AutoCAD
Developer(s)Autodesk
Initial releaseDecember 1982; 43 years ago (1982-12)
Operating systemWindows, macOS
TypeComputer-aided design
LicenseProprietary
Websitewww.autodesk.com/products/autocad

AutoCAD is a computer program used to draw plans for buildings, machines, and other things. It is made by an American company called Autodesk. Architects, engineers, and other designers use AutoCAD to make technical drawings.

AutoCAD can be used to make flat 2D drawings and 3D models.

History

AutoCAD was first released in December 1982. It was made for early personal computers.

Before AutoCAD, most design programs only worked on large and expensive computers. AutoCAD was one of the first design programs made for personal computers.

By 1986, AutoCAD was the most used design program in the world.

The first version for Microsoft Windows came out in February 1993. The first version for macOS came out in 2010.

In 2016, Autodesk stopped selling AutoCAD as a one-time purchase. Since then, people pay each month or each year to use AutoCAD.

How it is used

People use AutoCAD to make drawings for many kinds of work. These include:

AutoCAD saves drawings in a file format called DWG. This format is used by many other design programs too.

Versions

There are different versions of AutoCAD for different needs:

Students and teachers can use AutoCAD for free.

References

  1. ↑ "Chapter 8: Autodesk and AutoCAD" (PDF). Cadhistory.net. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  2. ↑ "Chapter 2: A Brief Overview of the History of CAD" (PDF). Cadhistory.net. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  3. ↑ "25 Year retrospective: CAD/CAM/CAE". Computer Graphics World. 2011.
  4. ↑ "What happened to perpetual licenses?". Autodesk.com. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  5. ↑ "Term length for Educational Licenses". Autodesk. Archived from the original on 2020-07-19. Retrieved 2026-05-21.

Other websites