Graebert GmbH has announced that ARES, its CAD program, will soon be available for the Mac. Now part of a closed beta process, the Mac version of the software is expected to ship in the second quarter of 2010.
ARES is the first CAD software designed to run natively across Mac, Windows, and Linux platforms and will be optimized for specific operating system features and capabilities, the company says. ARES also includes features such as built-in VoiceNotes for created files, 3D modeling support via ACIS libraries, and more. ARES will be initially available in 13 languages. A mobile version for the iPad is under consideration for the future, according to the company.
The company says that ARES will be typically 3 to 5 times faster in operations such as open and save than other CAD packages, and will include support for the DWG 2009 and DWG 2010 native formats. It will also feature AutoCAD-compatible command line and scripts, more than 400 new commands, drawing recovery, an XML-based, customizable interface with a built-in designer, print capabilities that include PDF, raster, and SVG, and support for formats such as DWG and DWF (2.x to 2009), SAT, WMF, SLD, ESRI SHP, and more. It is extensible with Lisp, C, Delphi, and C++.
ARES will ship in two versions: ARES for $495; and ARES Commander Edition for $995. The Commander Edition includes programmability and 3D support, but is otherwise identical to ARES.
The program will be compatible with OS 10.6 and 10.6 on Intel Macs only.