Types of CAD software explained for UK and NI businesses

The four types of CAD software are 2D CAD for flat technical drawings, 2.5D CAD for extruded profiles cut on CNC (computer numerical control) machines, 3D CAD for three-dimensional models, and BIM (building information modelling) for data-rich construction models. ProfileTree, the Belfast digital agency, helps Northern Ireland businesses turn those files into product animation and 3D viewers for their websites.

Computer-aided design, or CAD, is software that replaced the drawing board, letting designers draw and change plans on screen. For most SMEs, the choice of package sits with an engineer or an outside supplier, but the finished file often has a second use that nobody in the business has considered. If you are looking at animation Belfast options for a product launch, a 3D model built for manufacture is often the best place to start, because the animator does not have to rebuild the product from photographs.

This guide explains each type, the specialist sub-types that product businesses meet, what each costs to run and which sectors use which. For a wider view, see our guide to how CAD software is used across UK industry.

The four types of CAD software

CAD packages are usually grouped by how many dimensions they work in, with BIM added as a fourth type because it stores data as well as geometry. Most businesses only need one or two of the four, and knowing the difference stops a team paying for capability it will never use.

2D CAD

2D CAD produces flat, measured drawings such as floor plans and electrical schematics. It is the quickest type to learn and remains the standard wherever a clear dimensioned drawing matters more than a lifelike model. AutoCAD is the best-known 2D package in UK architecture and engineering offices, largely because contractors and suppliers already know how to open and mark up its files.

Outside the drawing office, 2D CAD principles sit behind a lot of everyday marketing material. Floor plans on property listings and wiring diagrams in user manuals are both 2D CAD output, and the vector approach (shapes defined by maths, not pixels) is the same one that keeps a logo sharp at any size. Our guide to vector graphics in Adobe Illustrator covers that side for websites.

2.5D CAD

2.5D CAD draws a flat profile and gives it a fixed depth, which is exactly what a laser cutter or CNC router needs. It pairs with CAM (computer-aided manufacturing) software, which turns the drawing into the cutting paths the machine follows. It cannot handle complex curved shapes the way full 3D CAD can, though for flat-pack furniture and sheet metal parts it is usually all a workshop requires.

That matters for the small makers across the UK who now sell direct to customers online. A joinery workshop cutting cabinet panels gets accurate cutting paths from 2.5D CAD without the cost or learning time of a full 3D system.

3D CAD

3D CAD builds complete three-dimensional models that can be rotated, cut through and measured from any angle. It takes longer to learn and needs a more capable computer than 2D or 2.5D CAD, and it produces the most useful file for marketing. SolidWorks and Autodesk Inventor are widely used for engineering-grade product development, while Autodesk Fusion and SketchUp give teams without an engineering background a lighter route into 3D.

Because a 3D model already holds the exact shape and size of a product, it can be rendered (turned into a photographic-quality image) from any angle and in any finish. A retailer changing a fabric range can produce new product images from the model without booking a studio shoot for each colour.

BIM (building information modelling)

BIM is the fourth type, and it goes beyond geometry. A BIM model records what each element is made of, what it costs, when it will be installed and how it connects to the rest of the building, and the whole project team works from the same shared model. Revit is a widely used BIM platform in UK practice, often paired with AutoCAD where a project still needs standalone 2D drawings.

In the UK, BIM work follows the ISO 19650 series of standards for managing information over the life of a built asset, and the UK BIM Framework sets out how those standards are applied here. Many public sector clients now ask for BIM capability at tender stage, so a construction or architecture SME that can show it and explain it plainly in its bid documents starts from a stronger position.

Mechanical and electrical CAD for product businesses

Product companies often meet two further labels: MCAD (mechanical CAD, used for physical parts and assemblies) and ECAD (electrical CAD, used for circuit boards and wiring). They are specialisms within 2D and 3D CAD more than separate types, and most physical products involve both.

The split matters when the files are reused for marketing. A launch video for a device usually needs the MCAD model, because that holds the casing and the way the parts fit together. A technical explainer for installers is more likely to need ECAD drawings, which show the wiring and connections clearly. Before commissioning any content, ask your engineering team or supplier which of the two they hold.

CAD software examples by type

The table below matches common packages to each type and to the marketing use each kind of file supports. Prices change often and vary by licence, so check the vendor’s UK store before you set a budget.

Tinkercad is free, and SketchUp has a free web version for basic modelling. Autodesk Fusion also has a free personal-use licence, but it does not cover commercial work, so a business that sells what it designs needs a paid plan.

Choosing a type of CAD software for a small business

Start with the output you need and work back to the software. A business that needs measured layouts needs 2D CAD, a workshop cutting flat parts needs 2.5D CAD, a firm developing physical products or wanting renders needs 3D CAD, and a construction firm bidding for public work needs BIM. Once the type is clear, decide whether you need the software in-house at all.

Subscription licensing and cost

Most major CAD packages, AutoCAD included, are now sold on a monthly or annual subscription, so the real question is how often the software will be used. A design team working in CAD every day justifies a subscription without difficulty. A firm that needs a handful of renders each year for its website is usually better served by a freelancer or agency that already holds the licence, because it pays for the work and not for idle seats.

Cloud CAD for distributed teams

Cloud CAD runs in a web browser, so nobody has to install the software or match licence versions to view a model. For a Northern Ireland firm working with a supplier in Dublin and a contractor in England, that is often worth more than extra modelling power, because everyone comments on one live file and nobody emails versions back and forth. Autodesk Fusion and Onshape are two well-known examples of cloud-based 3D CAD.

File formats that travel between suppliers

Native files, such as an AutoCAD DWG or a SolidWorks part file, hold the most detail but open reliably only in the software that made them. Neutral formats such as STEP (a standard exchange format that most CAD packages can read) move between packages with less loss, which helps when several suppliers share one design. When you commission renders or animation from someone outside the business, ask which format they want before anyone exports anything, and keep the native file as the master copy.

Which sectors use which types of CAD

The right mix depends far more on sector than on business size, and the three sectors below show how differently the same software can be used.

Manufacturing and engineering

Manufacturers usually work in 3D CAD for product development and 2.5D CAD for anything cut from sheet. Many already hold detailed SolidWorks or Inventor models of their current range that have never been used outside the factory. Those models are often the cheapest route to product images and animation, because the expensive part of the job, building an accurate model, is already paid for.

Architecture and construction

Architecture and construction firms increasingly work in BIM, particularly where public or large commercial clients require it. Smaller practices gain most by being clear about when a project needs full BIM in Revit or a similar platform and when 2D drawings in AutoCAD will do, since over-specifying the software adds cost without winning the tender. A BIM model can also produce walkthrough visuals for a bid, which explain a design to a non-technical panel more clearly than a set of drawings.

Interior design and bespoke furniture

Interior designers and bespoke furniture makers tend to use both 2D and 3D CAD, with 2D for space planning and 3D for showing a client finishes and configurations before anything is made. This is one of the clearest cases of a single file paying for itself twice, once in the workshop and once in the sales conversation.

How a CAD file becomes renders, 3D viewers and animation

A finished CAD model is a marketing asset as well as a technical one, provided it goes through the right conversion step. There are three common routes from the design file to the website, and each needs different preparation.

Product renders

Rendering software takes the 3D model, applies materials and lighting, and outputs photographic-quality images. One model can produce every colour and finish in a range, along with lifestyle scenes for a homepage or catalogue, without a new photoshoot for each variant.

Interactive 3D viewers

A manufacturing model is too detailed and too large to run in a browser, so it has to be simplified and converted into a web format first. glTF and its single-file version GLB are the standard formats for 3D on the web, and USDZ is the format Apple devices use to place a model in a room through augmented reality. Shopify’s 3D model standards checklist asks for GLB files of about 4 MB per model, which shows how far a factory file is usually cut down. Once converted, the model can power a viewer on a Shopify or WooCommerce product page that a customer can rotate and zoom.

Product animation

Animation works from the same model, moving a camera around the product or showing its parts assemble in sequence. It is most useful when a product has not been manufactured yet, or when what matters happens inside a casing where no lens can reach. Our article on product video for online retailers explains where filmed video and animation each fit on a product page.

“Animation earns its place when a camera cannot show the thing, such as the inside of a machine or a product that has not been built yet. A manufacturer in Northern Ireland that already holds CAD files has done the hardest part of that work, because the model exists. If a phone can film the product well, film it, and animate what a camera cannot show. That is the advice ProfileTree gives every business that asks about animation.” Ciaran Connolly, founder of ProfileTree

ProfileTree is a Belfast web design and digital marketing agency, founded in 2011 and based at the McSweeney Centre. It works with businesses across Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK and Ireland on animation and websites.

Checking whether your business already holds usable CAD data

Before buying any software, find out what design data the business already has. Four questions settle it quickly.

• Does the business, or a manufacturing partner, hold 3D CAD models for its current products?
• Have those files ever been used for anything other than manufacturing drawings?
• Does the website rely on studio photography that renders could supplement or replace?
• Does anyone in the marketing team know the files exist?

If the answer to the first question is yes and the last is no, the files are almost certainly an underused asset. The next step is to ask whoever holds them which format they are saved in, because that decides how much conversion work any viewer or animation will need.

Turning your CAD files into marketing content

If you already hold 3D CAD models, the useful next step is a short conversation about what the files could produce for your website and sales material. Our buyer’s guide to 2D and 3D animation explains how to choose an animation style and what affects the cost. If the aim is an interactive product viewer, our website development team can check whether your files and your platform will support one, and what conversion they would need first.

FAQs