CAD can be complex. Design involves a wide range of different software, and takes place both at your desk and on-the-go. No matter your budget or your company’s needs, there are always ways to increase your productivity and efficiency. In this article,…
While it might be tempting to think of Computer Aided Design as a relatively recent innovation, most CAD programs we use today can actually be traced back to work begun over 50 years ago. As such, CAD has had a long…
Autodesk is a pioneer in 3D design, engineering and digital entertainment software. Though best known for its flagship product, AutoCAD, it has developed a vast range of software for the design, engineering and entertainment industries—not to mention hobbyists. But how much do you…
AutoCAD is arguably the most prevalent CAD software on the market—it’s used by professionals and hobbyists alike. If you work with CAD, you’re likely to already be familiar with some of AutoCAD’s most common file formats, such as DWG and DXF. However, these aren’t the…
Computer Aided Design (CAD) is integral and indispensable to a variety of industries, from engineering to design to architecture. The importance placed upon CAD means that CAD skills are increasingly necessary to open doors to prospective jobs. From CAD drafters to CAD engineers, there’s a…
GIFs are a popular file format, commonly used to exchange simple web graphics—you’ve probably received or sent a funny GIF or two to people you know at some point or another. They’re easy to send and they come with wide support….
Creating CAD models is a perfect way to discover the ins and outs of any part. However, sometimes we hit a wall—just what should we create next? No matter whether you’re a CAD beginner or an old hand, there are always times…
Anyone who has worked with CAD will know just how integral the software is to various industries—ranging from architecture, to engineering and even gaming. CAD gives us the ability to create designs for a range of purposes, from electrical drawings to…
The CAD industry is full of job prospects and opportunities for CAD beginners and experts—hundreds of companies and small businesses hire CAD designers, engineers and drafters on a daily basis. But many people nowadays are opting for freelance work instead—you can…
Whether you’re a CAD/CNC hobbyist or a professional, you’ll have undoubtedly worked with the DXF format at some point or another. It’s the gold-standard format of the CAD industry—it’s easy to share and it’s supported by practically every CAD program on…
AutoCAD is an integral part of the CAD industry—not just as a piece of software, but also as a necessary skill across many industries. Whether it’s drafting or engineering, you won’t be able to go very far without having the necessary…
Widely used across a wide range of industries, PDF is one of the most well-known file formats around. Practically every device on the market can support PDFs, making the format perfect for exchanging documents and design information. However, whilst PDF files are easy to…
One of the most commonly used image file formats, JPG files are ubiquitous in the worlds of online graphics and digital photography. However, they also suffer from a number of limitations—some of which are common to all raster file types, some of which are…
With the advent of CAD software, vector images have become an integral part of the design process. Nevertheless, you’re unlikely to create a design without working with raster images at some point. The issue comes in with trying to convert from…
TIFF is the gold standard raster file format in the design, engineering and publishing industries. TIFF stands for Tagged Image File Format, and is the go-to format for high-quality graphics. Despite its popularity however, the TIFF format has many limitations: it can…
Converting to DXF gives you the freedom to edit your designs in a huge range of software. As DXF is an open standard, it is supported by practically every CAD program on the market. This means that when you convert to DXF, you can guarantee that you’ll…
If you want to produce a vector representation of a raster image, you need to use a technique called image tracing. This involves drawing over the outline of your raster image with vector entities such as lines, polygons, bezier curves and many other vector entities. There…
At some point, all of us have laughed at a hilarious animated GIF or shared a beautiful JPEG photo. These are just a couple of examples of raster file types. Everyone who uses a laptop, tablet, cellphone or digital camera will come into contact with raster…
Whilst raster and vector files both display images, they do so in completely different ways. Raster images make use of thousands of individual pixels, displayed on a rectangular grid, to convey color information. Vector images, meanwhile, are made up of mathematically-defined paths, which act…
Anyone who works in CAD will be familiar with the DWG file format (especially if you’re a regular reader of our blog). Created to serve as the native file format for AutoCAD, DWG files are used by CAD users across many different industries. This…
