DesignSpark Mechanical brings 3D design to all engineers

Developed in conjunction with SpaceClaim, the platform is free to download and is believed to bring major benefits to design engineers, allowing them to overcome the ownership costs associated with traditional 3D CAD tools. Martin Keenan, head of applications strategy, commented: "We're providing a solution that will help all engineers. All engineers share common challenges; they are 'time poor' through decreasing time to market. So what if electronic designers could do some mechanical design early in the design cycle? This tool is designed to meet the needs of everyone in the design process." DesignSpark Mechanical features direct modelling, in which simple gestures enable real time editing. This, says RS, makes it possible to create geometries and to explore ideas and product concepts in 3D. All basic designs can be created using four basic tools – pull, move, fill and combine. Windows keyboard shortcuts such as cut/paste and undo/redo are also supported. What's more, DesignSpark Mechanical's STL output format enables direct export of designs to 3D printers.