Designing is a plan or specification for the construction of an object, or it is the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype or product. Nowadays, we use computers to design our desired product or construction. This is called CAD, or Computer-Aided Design. AutoCAD is a commercial computer-aided design (CAD) and drafting software application, which is developed and marketed by Autodesk. AutoCAD was launched in December 1982 as a desktop application that was used to run on microcomputers with internal graphics controllers. Afterward, it came on mobile and web platforms. Architects, engineers, project managers, city planners, interior and exterior designers, graphic designers, and other professionals. Day by day new versions of AutoCAD were released and by 2021 it marked the 35th major release of AutoCAD for Windows and the 11th consecutive year of AutoCAD for Mac. AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT are available for English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Chinese (Simplified & Traditional), Brazilian, Portuguese, Russian, Czech, Polish, and Hungarian (also through additional language packs), so it’s largely accessible worldwide. Some industry-specific vertical integrations are developed for enhanced user experience such as:
• Advance Steel
• AutoCAD Architecture
• AutoCAD Electrical
• AutoCAD Map 3D
• AutoCAD Mechanical
• AutoCAD MEP
• AutoCAD Plant 3D
- Autodesk Civil 3D
Now, if we look into the variants of AutoCAD, they are as follows:
1. AutoCAD LT:
AutoCAD LT is the lite version of AutoCAD with lower capabilities and it comes at a lower price. It was released in November 1993. It was developed as Autodesk’s to target the entry-level customers and was priced at $495, which became the 1st AutoCAD product under $1000.
With hundreds of small differences, AutoCAD LT comes with some major differences from AutoCAD, they are:
• 3D Capabilities: AutoCAD LT is not able to create, visualize and render 3D models as well as 3D printing.
• Network Licensing: AutoCAD LT cannot be used on multiple machines over a network and lacks this premium feature of licensing.
• Customization: Customization with LISP, ARX, .NET, and VBA isn’t supported on AutoCAD LT.
• Management and automation capabilities with Sheet Set Manager and Action Recorder are not available.
• CAD standards management tools are not present in AutoCAD LT.
2. AutoCAD Mobile and AutoCAD Web:
AutoCAD Mobile and AutoCAD Web are account-based mobiles and web application which allows Autodesk registered users to view, edit, and share AutoCAD files via a mobile device and web using a limited AutoCAD feature set like drawing of lines, circles, and other shapes; creation of text and comment boxes; and management of color, layer, and measurements — in both landscape and portrait modes and using cloud-stored drawing files for better convenience.
AutoCAD WS was released with a version for iPhone users and subsequently expanded to include versions for the iPod Touch, iPad, Android phones, and Android tablets users. Autodesk released its iOS version in September 2010, therefore came with the Android version on April 20, 2011. The is available on App Store, Google Play Store, and Amazon Appstore (Android).
AutoCAD 360 (Web Version) is packed with new features such as a “Smart Pen” mode and linking to third-party cloud-based storage such as Dropbox. Having evolved from Flash-based software, AutoCAD Web uses HTML5 browser technology available in new-gen browsers like Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome.
3. Student versions:
AutoCAD is licensed for free, to students, educators, and educational institutions, with a 12-month renewable license. Licenses acquired before March 25, 2020, were a 36-month license, but it’s updated on March 24, 2020. The student version of AutoCAD is functionally identical to the full commercial version, with one exception to prevent its commercial use: DWG files created or edited by a student version have an inside bit-flag set (the “educational flag”). When a DWG file is printed or plotted by any version of AutoCAD (commercial or student) older than AutoCAD 2014 SP1 or AutoCAD 2019 and newer, the output comes with a banner on all four sides.
So, this most user-friendly and convenient design makes AutoCAD mostly a good-to-go option when it comes to the point of Computer-aided- design.