So a while back, on [email protected], I did a writeup on some CAD packages, focusing on (VERY) basic single-part design. Basically, I tried to make the same boolean’d solid with a pocket/hole and some chamfers and fillets. One of the ones that I used is a commercial suite from a small German publisher that’s basically one step up from shovelware.

They do, however, have one quirky offering that has some value at the right price. BeckerCAD 3D Pro is a rebranded build of the entry-level version of “Caddy++” from a little shop called DataSolid. I don’t know enough AutoCAD to say, but Caddy++ (and therefore BeckerCAD) seems to operate much like what I’ve heard about AutoCAD, but with more of a focus on 3D. It seems like the vendor probably got a kernel license years ago so they keep maintaining the software and using it when their customers balk at Catia pricing, which they also sell as a VAR. There also seems to be a niche market for event planners, and some revenue from the sublicense for MuT to sell BeckerCAD, which itself began life as a totally different 2D package popular in Germany in the late 80s.

TO BE CLEAR, BeckerCAD is not a top of the line program. It is closed source. It is Windows only. Its UI and documentations were translated in a somewhat half-assed manner. One of the missing functions from Caddy++'s higher tiers is the parametric history tree. Its workflow is quirky AF and weirdly focused on selecting and deselecting 2D elements. Exporting a nurbs solid without buying into Caddy++ itself requires FreeCAD and a plugin. Like a lot of it, its camera controls are from another era, though you can make them work for you.

For now, it’s also 20 euros for a permanent license, and I had no issue purchasing and downloading from the US.

Unlike Ashampoo’s “3D CAD Pro” this is actual mechanical CAD software, though dated and weird. The 2D functionality is pretty mature and not too hard to follow, and while there is no history tree, sketches are not consumed and can be modified and re-extruded if you don’t get too deep into a flawed workflow. There are some limited direct editing tools as well (this is one of the main differences between “pro” and “not pro”). At 130EUR, it’s not a very good deal in the sense that you’ll probably still want something else in your arsenal and so why pay that much instead of directing the money to something else, but at 20 it might be, especially if you speak German (I do not).

EDIT: As a final note, I wouldn’t recommend the non “Pro” version. Besides the direct modeling, it removes STL export, forcing you to do the FreeCAD workaround or work with OBJ files, and removes some other helpful features like splitting lines or splitting solids along a plane. Pro is flawed and dated. non-Pro gets back into shovelware territory.