ZWSOFT is celebrating the fifteenth anniversary of its flagship product, ZWCAD, by releasing a new product, ZWCAD Classic, to reward customers and users for their years of support. ZWSOFT seems to keep a keen eye on the CAD market and its customer feedback.
Daniel Huang, ZWCAD product manager, states, “A great CAD software company should not only know what designers currently need, but also what they are going to need. A great piece of CAD software should not only be highly compatible, but also meet different designers’ needs.”
Image from ZWCAD website featuring rendering capability. (Image courtesy of ZWSOFT.)
The company stands behind its belief in research and development, with more than 20 percent of the corporation’s revenue recirculating to these sectors. ZWCAD promises to keep increasing that amount to meet the ZWSOFT development strategy. ZWSOFT products seem to have been successful over the last 20 years, judging by their numbers: more than 320,000 clients in more than 80 countries. Its main products are ZWCAD+ and ZW3D.
In looking at ZWCAD Classic in more detail, one of the things I found most interesting was its compatibility with other types of CAD software. Architects working in today’s BIM-driven environment need to be able to communicate easily with other trades involved in a project and often those other trades are using a different software package.
ZWCAD Classic lists two-way DWG compatibility and API support (LISP/VBA/ZRX), which means it should seamlessly integrate with AutoCAD, Revit and other BIM design tools. Other features that architects would find useful to speed up workflow and design efficiency are tools such as Render, Image and Hatch.
As for rendering, ZWCAD Classic provides a rich variety of materials, multiple light types and environmental settings. The Image tool allows the user to attach raster images to drawings to communicate designs utilizing any of the following image formats: BMP, TIF, GIF, JPG, PNG, PCX, TGA and ECW. The hatch tool helps to make great presentations by filling in an enclosed area or object with a solid fill, gradient fill or a predefined hatch pattern.
About the Author
Jeffrey Heimgartner has more than 20 years of experience in the computer-aided drafting and design field. He manages the Lincoln, Nebraska-based drafting and design firm, Advanced Technical Services. His main responsibilities include managing the CAD team, sales, scheduling and coordinating projects, drafting and design, as well as marketing and all IT functions.
Jeffrey earned his bachelor’s degree in Industrial Technology with an emphasis in Computer Aided Drafting and Design from Wayne State College in Wayne, Nebraska. He has a background in farming and construction and has authored many published industry-related articles.