Although it got its humble beginnings on Autodesk Labs as a technology preview known as Project Cooper, AutoCAD Freestyle is officially graduating out of Labs. Overall, feedback from users has been voluminous and extremely positive.
Courtesy of my colleague, Noah Cole, here's some of what the users have had to say:
-
I used AutoCAD Freestyle to design my back yard, complete with an outdoor oven, spa, fire ring, cactus garden and caves for my two dogs. I found it to be intuitive and easy to use... in the end it only took me thirty minutes to create the design. Not only was I able to complete my first project quickly and efficiently after watching a few short instructional videos, I had a great time doing it. I've used similar products over the years, but never with such ease, success and satisfaction.
Steve Meachum, a retired truck driver from Phoenix. -
Because my colleagues do most of the design work on my projects, my main need is to review and mark up designs quickly and efficiently, Freestyle makes this possible. This product is a home run for peripheral users of AutoCAD.
Steve Nichols -
As an electrical contractor, I've found AutoCAD Freestyle to be a useful tool for project layouts, markups of existing drawings, and revisions. Its intuitive interface made it easy to get started and ramp up to productivity and it plugs right into our workflow.
James Ogonoski, Service Manger for Contract Service Enterprises, Inc. -
Many tradesmen and other construction team members lack access to or experience with AutoCAD. AutoCAD Freestyle has a friendly interface so I can easily share sketches with them and collect their input to reduce rework down the line. AutoCAD Freestyle is exactly what the construction industry needs. I'm very happy with the way this program works.
Joe Eliott
While Autodesk is primarily known for creating complex software for designers, architects, and engineers, it has a history of democratizing design technologies. The release of AutoCAD Freestyle demonstrates the potential of extending Autodesk technology to a greater ecosystem of users. The product is simple enough to use that Do-It-Yourselfers and hobbyists can use it to create professional-looking drawings and sketches, yet it provides specialty contractors and adjacent, non-CAD employees with a solution to meet their design needs, without the time-intensive, steep learning curve of industrial-strength design software.
AutoCAD Freestyle is now available for download from the Autodesk eStore at:
To learn more about AutoCAD Freestyle and to view demo videos, please visit:
Watching our little one leave the nest is alive in the lab.