CorelCAD was a DWG-based (AutoCAD compatible) drafting product with added support for CorelDRAW. Image courtesy Alludo.
January 23, 2024
CorelCAD, a DWG-based (AutoCAD Compatible) drafting software product noted for its native support of the CorelDRAW vector graphics format, has been discontinued. Alludo (formerly known as Corel Corporation) has told customers with perpetual licenses that tech support will continue.
CorelDRAW was one of the first vector graphics programs on the market for PCs and remains popular. The company launched CorelCAD in 2011 when it noticed many customers needed to work with both illustration-style graphics and CAD drawings. The software’s ability to work with STL files for 3D printing was also a plus for technical illustrators.
Vector graphics software is a type of digital design software used to create graphics that are made up of paths, curves, and shapes instead of pixels. Other popular vector graphics software includes Adobe Illustrator and open source Inkscape.
The essential CAD technology used in CorelCAD was supplied by Graebert, a German software developer who sells its own CAD products and also supplies drafting technology to other vendors. PTC Onshape and Dassault Systemès DraftSight are two of many CAD products that use Graebert technology. By seat count of all products using Graebert technology, only Autodesk AutoCAD has sold more copies in the 2D (drafting) software market.
A notice on the Alludo website recommends customers turn to Graebert. “Alludo is encouraging CorelCAD users to explore an alternative ARES CAD software solution for ongoing support and new releases.” The release notes ARES is “powered by the same engine as CorelCAD.” A recent update of ARES Commander adds import and export of the Corel graphics formats CorelDRAW (*.cdr) and Corel DESIGNER (*.des).
Graebert is offering all CorelCAD users with an active perpetual license a temporary deal to convert to ARES Commander: three months of free technical support for CorelCAD and three years of the ARES Trinity bundle (PC/tablet/online) for $350.
It is typical for a subcontracting vendor like Graebert to offer its technology with a time-based use license, such as five years. While neither company is commenting on the cancellation of CorelCAD as the end of their business relationship, it is likely the contract license was up for renewal and Alludo’s new leadership no longer found enough value in continuing CorelCAD.
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About the Author
Randall S. Newton is principal analyst at Consilia Vektor, covering engineering technology. He has been part of the computer graphics industry in a variety of roles since 1985.
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