Tips for Picking the Perfect 3D CAD Viewer for Your Needs

3D CAD viewers come in all different shapes and sizes, and it can be difficult to find good information about which option is right for you. There are companies that are lying about programs just to trick you out of your money, and others that get paid to write good things about specific companies.

We don’t do either of those things. At CAD/CAM Services, we’ve been providing outsourced engineering work for over 35 years, and we know this industry inside and out. We’ve tried a lot of popular 3D CAD viewers, and sadly a lot of them fall short. However, we found that Glovius does more than other programs, costs less, and has more versatility.

In this guide, we’ll teach you more about 3D CAD viewers, how to pick the perfect one, and why Glovius is a great choice for so many companies. This isn’t a sponsored post, and we aren’t getting paid for our opinions on this.

What Is a 3D CAD Viewer?

A 3D CAD viewer is a type of software that lets you open and manipulate a CAD part without needing an expensive piece of CAD software. For instance, you would be able to open a drawing of a cabinet that was made on SolidWorks without needing access to SolidWorks.

In some viewers, you can move around the model, pull dimensions, look for interferences, and potentially even convert files into other CAD file types.

Who Uses 3D CAD Viewers?

3D CAD viewers aren’t super common for mechanical engineers or designers, since they’re using CAD programs like NX, Creo, CATIA, and SolidWorks to do their work. Plus, you can’t design a new part in a CAD viewer, you can only view complete models.

In our experience, CAD viewers are great for a few different groups of people: Design reviewers and managers might want to pull up a model and check it out without making engineering changes. Machine shops can use viewers to open customer models to grab dimensions that aren’t called out in the manufacturing drawings.

Another group that commonly uses CAD viewers is sales and marketing teams. If you need to grab a quick visual, you can open it on a 3D CAD viewer and get to work.

Considerations for Picking the Perfect 3D CAD Viewer

If you look around the internet, you’ll see tens of different CAD viewers that are available. We’ve used a lot of them, and sadly a lot of options are junk. We’ll help you pick the perfect 3D CAD viewer for your needs, but we need to start with some considerations to think about:

Pricing

Pricing is probably the first thing you should consider. From what you’ll see, there are really three cost categories: free, paid, and high-end.

Free software costs nothing to use, but it usually has limited functionality and very few features. Free viewers are sometimes made by the same CAD company as an accompanying software for non-technical folks to look at models. For instance, Autodesk makes AutoCAD and Inventor for modeling, but they also make a free CAD viewer called Autodesk Viewer. It can only open certain file types, and it has an incredibly limited functionality.

Paid software is usually between $300 and $2,500 before you start getting into the high-end category. These paid programs have more functionality, work with a wider range of CAD files, and are a lot smoother to use. It’s just like CAD programs: the free ones are tough to use and annoying, the paid ones are much better, and the really expensive ones are super sleek.

High-end CAD viewers can easily cost upwards of $50,000, but they are some serious pieces of software. Some can preserve intelligence tree info, do full-scale conversions and file translations, and work with almost any CAD file you can think of.

Functionality

The next question is how much functionality you need. Some viewers will only let you open a file and move the part around. As you step up in price towards the more expensive options, you unlock added functionality like:

• Compare models to each other
• Check for interferences between components
• Convert from one file type to another
• Import and export a wider range of file types
• Added cloud access or mobile functionality
• Cut and slice models to see inner workings

CAD Software Compatibility

One of the bigger considerations is to make sure the viewer works with your CAD program. There are plenty of options that work with native CAD files, but less powerful programs will require you to first convert your CAD file into a more universal file type like an IGES or STEP.

Some 3D CAD Viewers to Think About

We mentioned that there are dozens of different 3D CAD viewers to pick between, but in our opinion, there are five really good options: Glovius, 3D-Tool, TransMagic Pro, CAD Exchanger, and CADViewer.

All five options are pretty strong contenders, and they have their own list of pros and cons for each option. For a quick comparison at a glance, check out this table:

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Our Clear Favorite 3D CAD Viewer: Glovius

When you break it down and think about how much power you get for the price, it’s clear to us that Glovius is the best option. It offers cloud-based sharing and works really well out of the box. It works with most of the major file types, including CATIA, NX, Creo, SolidWorks, and Inventor native CAD files.

It allows you to measure parts, look for collisions, analyze part thickness, and add section views. This software is great for manufacturers, sales departments, engineering managers, and design reviewers.

Conclusion

If you want to learn more about Glovius, check out our in-depth review of it here. We stand behind Glovius and we think it's a great piece of CAD viewing software. With over 35 years of outsourced engineering experience, we know a thing or two about high-quality CAD viewers. If you need more CAD help, then let our team help with the small or big parts of your next 2D or 3D CAD project. Get a free quote today.