Graebert expands cooperation with Dassault Systemes SolidWorks on Plugin for DraftSight Distribution

Graebert GmbH, of Germany, a pioneer in developing high-performance CAD solutions across desktop and mobile systems, has this month announced that it will continue to collaborate with Dassault Systemes SolidWorks with further expanded marketing for DraftSight™, a DWG-native competitor product of Autodesk’s AutoCAD. DraftSight is based on Graebert’s ARES Commander professional OEM CAD product line. The news was shared at the conclusion of the 2015 World Developers Tour with Dassault Systemes Solidworks.

Partnership Details: Graebert and Dassault Systemes

For its part Graebert is helping Dassault push DraftSight, which has thus far apparently rounded up over 3 million active users on the CAD platform. Dassault Systemes’ SolidWorks MCAD product competes vigorously with its primary nemesis Autodesk Inventor, but SolidWorks is by far the market leader. DraftSight is aimed at stealing away primarily 2D AutoCAD market share and Graebert’s technology has the juice to backup such competition. It helps greatly, that DraftSight starts at “free” with pay support and training packages added as options.

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As part of the DraftSight World Tour, the two companies were meeting with CAD developers throughout Europe, Asia and the Americas to talk up the value of developing and distributing DraftSight plugins that add market-focused functionality to the base DraftSight CAD package. Graebert says that DraftSight not only has the second largest CAD installed base (presumably behind AutoCAD) but offers powerful marketing tools to promote partner plugin apps directly to end-users.

Lessons from Apple

Apple largely invented the concept of “in-app” purchases, or at least made that idea and function tremendously popular and effective with its iOS app eco-system. DraftSight too has an “in-app” feature and “Plugin-of-the-Month” offers can show up directly within the home palette.

01 – ARES Commander for Mac and Windows by Graebert powers both CorelCAD for Mac and Dassault’s DraftSight for Windows and Mac.

Several key SolidWorks VARs have recently become official resellers of both DraftSight Enterprise and Professional for worldwide customers. During the several stops on the World Tour, developers and resellers of all sizes learned how to market their own plugins for DraftSight and discovered the unprecedented power and flexibility of the DraftSight API.

While DraftSight supports plugins developed in LISP or via a COM interface, the DraftSight API is a modern C++ development library that has been specifically developed for ISVs and their specific needs. One of its unique advantages is forward-compatibility, meaning that plugins created for one version of DraftSight will be easily supported by future versions.

Graebert’s Plugin CAD Store for DraftSight

Graebert also announced that its own online store now features 24 products, including the new CAD Blocks for DraftSight family, priced at 59.USD. A range of other plugins will go live in the store over the next weeks.  These plugins can be reviewed, downloaded and purchased here. https://www.graebert.com/pluginsfordraftsight

Developers interested to learn more about how to develop and market Plugins for DraftSight can contact draftsight@graebert.com.

About Graebert

Graebert GmbH is a leading developer of custom CAD software, solutions, and services. The company is recognized as a true innovator in the CAD industry and has more than 30 years of technology expertise, project management and consulting experience. In 2010, Graebert’s CAD systems became the first to support Windows, Mac & Linux with ARES Commander. In 2014, Graebert also released ARES Touch for Android, the first full-featured dwg-based CAD Solution for Android devices.

Graebert’s CAD platform is used by millions of professionals in different CAD Solutions including the acclaimed DraftSight from Dassault Systèmes. You can visit www.graebert.com/draftsight to further explore Graebert’s activities and services related to DraftSight.