Finding out what specific applications are present in Autodesk’s many Design Suites, with all their versions and editions, can be a difficult task. This is why we have prepared several handy contents tables for you!
Autodesk Design Suites – overview table
This table provides a basic idea of the general contents of Autodesk’s Building Design Suites, Product Design Suites, and Plant Design Suites. For a detailed list of all apps across 5 different Design Suites click here.
1 Structural Detailing is available only until version 2015
2 in Product Design Suite versions 2013-2016
3 ReCap is not available in suites older than version 2014
4 in Premium and Ultimate Plant Design Suites Revit is actually Revit Structure
5 in Product Design Suite versions 2013-2018
6 SketchBook Designer is included only until version 2014
Autodesk Design Suites – comprehensive tables
If you would like to compare the apps in more detail across all Autodesk Design Suites, we have prepared 2 interactive tables for you – one which you can sort by app and one which you can sort by suite.
Autodesk programs and toolsets in a nutshell
AutoCAD
AutoCAD is widely used for 2D technical drawings and 3D design creation. It’s the fundamental Autodesk program for many professionals in the fields of construction, manufacturing, and design, such as architects, engineers, industrial designers, and product designers, to name a few. The aforementioned specialists appreciate its versatility and ability to create drafts, designs, electrical circuits, plumbing schemes, ground plans of buildings, and more.
AutoCAD Architecture
AutoCAD Architecture, as the name implies, is specifically geared towards architects. Its intuitive environment, specialized components and standards, and various options for displaying changes, zones and spaces facilitate architectural drafting and documentation and help professionals in the field manage their projects more efficiently.
AutoCAD MEP
AutoCAD MEP (mechanical, electrical and plumbing) specializes in providing the necessary objects, workspaces, layer standards, and component and system managers to easily draft, design, and document building systems, including HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning). What’s more, keeping track of all systems throughout the building construction lifecycle is made easy thanks to the built-in drawing version management.
AutoCAD Mechanical
AutoCAD Mechanical is a design and drafting toolset focused on the specifics of the manufacturing industry. It includes libraries of standard parts, tools for automating common mechanical CAD tasks, and features for streamlining mechanical design processes.
AutoCAD Electrical
AutoCAD Electrical is the go-to toolset for designing electrical controls systems thanks to the automation of common but otherwise time-consuming tasks such as numbering of wires and tagging components, and generating reports. Drafting productivity is additionally facilitated by the rich library of electrical symbols included in this product.
AutoCAD P&ID
AutoCAD P&ID enables process plant designers to radically improve their productivity compared to what used to be a long and time consuming process. It’s used for creation, modification and management of schematic piping and instrumentation diagrams and provides useful tools to automate and streamline various aspects of P&ID workflows.
AutoCAD Plant 3D
AutoCAD Plant 3D is a toolset aimed at speeding up and automating P&ID drafting and modeling in 3D that lets users create isometric drawings directly from the 3D model, complete with industry-specific standards for plant design.
AutoCAD Raster Design
AutoCAD Raster Design lets architects and designers easily clean up, edit, and enhance scanned drawings and plans in a familiar AutoCAD environment – thanks to its powerful raster editing and raster-to-vector conversion tools.
AutoCAD Structural Detailing
AutoCAD Structural Detailing is aimed at helping structural engineers create steel and reinforced concrete detailings and adjust them to local building codes, and its two-sided connection for data exchange with Robot Structural Analysis and Revit Structure ensure a smooth and efficient project workflow.
Alias
Autodesk Alias, also known as Alias StudioTools, AliasStudio, and Alias Design, is an industrial design software that provides sketching, concept modeling, surfacing, and various visualization tools for product, industrial, and automotive design.
Inventor & Inventor Professional
Autodesk Inventor is a CAD software dedicated to industrial and mechanical design which allows users to create, simulate and visualize 3D product designs with professional-grade engineering tools, to work within specified standards and parameters, and to produce accompanying documentation for the finalized project.
Navisworks Simulate & Navisworks Manage
Navisworks Simulate is a project review software product which lets engineering, architecture, and construction professionals review integrated models and data with stakeholders in order to gain better control over the outcomes of their projects. Navisworks Manage expands on the capabilities of Navisworks Simulate with tools like Clash Detective that further improve project monitoring.
ReCap
Autodesk ReCap (which stands for “Reality Capture”) is a software for processing native point clouds from laser scans, used by architects and engineers to survey, plan, construct and renovate infrastructure and building projects.
Revit
Autodesk Revit is a Building Information Modeling (BIM) software offering a multi-disciplinary and collaborative approach to design and construction projects. With all the powerful features for architecture, MEP, and structural engineering unified into a single interface, Revit serves as a helpful tool for project teams to cooperate and achieve better outcomes.
Showcase
Autodesk Showcase is a design visualization software aimed at the project presentation needs of architects and designers. It provides tools for demonstration, evaluation, and comparison of the aesthetic qualities of 3D models and their alternative versions.
SketchBook
SketchBook, also known as SketchBook Designer or SketchBook Pro, is an Autodesk software aimed at digitizing the idea generation process, documenting the early stage of product design and easily communicating it to other departments. It’s most commonly used for creation of concept drawings, presentation of different color alternatives, and generally jotting down ideas on the go.
Vault
Autodesk Vault is a product data management (PDM) tool integrated with several Autodesk products (i.e. AutoCAD Mechanical, AutoCAD Electrical, Revit and Civil 3D). It helps design teams track workflow and maintain version control in multi-user environments in order to further improve productivity.
3ds Max & 3ds Max Design
Autodesk 3ds Max, formerly known as 3D Studio and 3D Studio Max, is a professional 3D computer graphics program for design visualization, games, and 3D animation. Its primary users are specialists from the entertainment industry, but it also finds use in the arsenal of CAD designers and architects.
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