Alibre Design Xpress is a rich and capable 3D solid modeler for creating mechanical parts, assemblies and 2D drawings – and is free. Certain more elegant features, like 3D sketching and part Booleans, can be found in the paid versions of the Alibre Design product family. Alibre Design Xpress equips the person needing basic 3D design capabilities.

Easy to Use and Learn

The genius of Alibre Design Xpress lies in its inherent ease-of-use. Those that are new to 3D will find the tutorials, help and user interface intuitive to learning how to build 3D designs. Those that have used 3D CAD previously will be delighted at the functionality and richness of features.

Built-in Training

Alibre Design Xpress has a rich set of integrated tutorials that you can use to learn the product quickly. These are the same tutorials included in paid versions of Alibre Design. Furthermore, you can opt to attend online training classes a-la-carte or with a subscription. Or you may order a product or training manual for self-guided study.

Alibre Design Xpress Features

Part Modeling

• Intelligent sketching with automatic constraint capture (i.e., horizontal, vertical, perpendicular, etc.)
• Feature-based modeling with parametric history
• Powerful feature creation tools: sweeps, lofts, helix, holes, etc.
• Mirroring and pattern creation

Assembly Modeling

• Assembly constraints: mate, orient, align, etc. with auto-constrain mode
• Exploded views
• Interference checking, measurement tools, physical property calculator

2D Drawing and Detailing

• Automated generation of 2D drawings of parts and assemblies
• Bi-directional associativity – change the model and the drawing updates and vice versa
• ISO and ANSI standard templates
• Orthographic views including front, top, right and iso with hidden line display
• GD&T symbols
• Redline markups

Support and Training

• Online help
• Integrated tutorials
• Alibre Design Xpress User Forum access

System Requirements

Recommended Operating Systems

• Windows XP Professional or Home Edition
• Windows 2000 Professional SP2 or later

Other Supported Operating Systems*

• Windows ME
• Windows 98 SE or later

* Windows Me & Windows 98 SE are not recommended for use in production work. We strongly recommend switching to Windows XP or Windows 2000, which are better suited to the demands of production 3D design.

Software Requirements

• Internet Explorer 4.01 SP2 or later (6.0 or later recommended)
• Microsoft Virtual Machine
• Microsoft DirectX 9.0c

Hardware Recommendations

• Intel Pentium or equivalent processor: 800 MHz or faster
• 512 MB RAM
• 1024 x 768 screen resolution
  (800 x 600 for laptops)
• Video Card with DirectX 9.0c support: 64 MB or higher
• 16-bit or high color
• 150 MB available hard disk
• 800 MB Virtual memory
• CD-ROM drive (to install from CD)
• Mouse or pointing device

Additional Recommendations for assemblies of 500 or more parts

• Intel Pentium or equivalent processor: 2 GHz or faster
• 1024 MB RAM
• 1000 MB Virtual memory