Wikipedia

LibreCAD

LibreCAD is a computer-aided design (CAD) application for 2D design. It is free and open-source, and available for Unix/Linux, macOS, and Windows operating systems.

LibreCAD
Other namesCADuntu
Original author(s)Ries van Twisk
Developer(s)Armin Stebich, Dongxu Li, Rallaz, Ravas and others
Initial releaseDecember 15, 2011;
12 years ago (2011-12-15)
Stable release
2.2.0.2[1] Edit this on Wikidata / 29 July 2023 (29 July 2023)
Preview release
RepositoryLibreCAD on GitHub
Written inC, C++, Lua
Operating systemWindows, macOS, Unix-like, Linux, Haiku
Platformx86-64
Included withCAELinux;
UALinux: Ubuntu Education Pack
PredecessorQCAD CE 2.0.5
Size40 MB
Standard(s)ANSI/ACME, ISO 3098, ISO 7200
Available in64 languages
TypeComputer-aided design
LicenseGPL-2.0-only
Websitelibrecad.org

Most of the interface and handle concepts are analogous to AutoCAD, making it easier to use for users with experience in this type of commercial CAD application.

History

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Around 2010, the QCAD Community Edition 2.0.5 was forked to start the development of what is now known as LibreCAD. Originally, the GUI was based on Qt3 libraries.[2][3]

CADuntu

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CADuntu — was the initial QCAD CE fork project name. It used for a short period of time and, after discussion with users, has been replaced by LibreCAD, to not be associated with Ubuntu and Canonical Ltd.

 
LibreCAD Welcome screen

LibreCAD 1

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LibreCAD 1 main feature was porting of GUI to Qt4, so it can run on several platforms in the same way.[4][5]

LibreCAD 2

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LibreCAD 2 with AEC drawing

LibreCAD 2 implements Qt5 and Qt6 libraries support.

As on 2024, LibreCAD development split into 3 branches:

  • 2.2.0.x — actual LTS release with bug fixes updates;
  • 2.2.1_rc — release candidate for the next release, with new features and code cleanup;
  • 2.2.2_alpha — alpha version of the future release, with many new experimental feature, not for regular use yet.

LibreCAD 3

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LibreCAD 3 test build screen

LibreCAD 3 — is an experimental fully rewritten from scratch LibreCAD version, designed to be GPLv3 compatible with LibreDWG, with Lua-scripting, Ribbon UI.

Development mostly done during 2018–2023 GSoC sessions, in the collaboration with BRL-CAD team.

Latest commits and test builds built in September 2023, and since development stalled. LibreCAD team is actually frozen this project, and are focusing on LibreCAD 2 and libdxfrw library development.

Version history

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Data taken from official website, project pages on Sourceforge and GitHub

Features

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LibreCAD is available in over 60 languages.[6]

It uses the AutoCAD DXF file format internally for import and save files, as well as allowing export to many other file formats.

File formats

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As of version 2.2.0, LibreCAD is capable of reading and writing the following file formats:

Open File or Import Block

Import Image

Save File

  • CAD: DXF (2007), DXF (2004), DXF (2000), DXF (R14), DXF (R12)
  • CAD font: LFF, CXF

Export

  • PDF (or sent drawing to printer for direct print)
  • Vector image: SVG, CAM (Plain SVG)
  • Bitmap image: BMP, CUR, ICNS, ICO, JPG, PBM, PGM, PNG, PPM, TIF, WBMP, WEBP, XBM, XPM

libdxfrw

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Due to the GNU LibreDWG library is released under GPLv3, it cannot be used by GPLv2-licensed LibreCAD (and FreeCAD)[7][8] because their licenses are incompatible.[9] A request also went to the FSF to relicense GNU LibreDWG as GPLv2, which was rejected.[10] The problem was eventually resolved by writing a new GPLv2-licensed library called libdxfrw,[11] with more complete DWG support, which is now also used in other software (e.g., in SolveSpace, that is also uses LibreCAD's unicode.lff font as built-in default font for UI and dimensions labels).

LFF (LibreCAD Font Format)

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Due to copyright issues with QCAD CE's fonts in CXF format, initially used in LibreCAD, it was decided to create own font format.

LibreCAD Font Format — is a plain text file fomat (with *.lff file extension) for single stroke vector fonts.[12]

There is a way to edit LFF fonts directly in LibreCAD or create fonts from fonts in other formats. Converters to LFF format are designed for the next formats:

  • TTF (TrueType fonts) — converter availalbe online on official site and as a CLI utility;[13]
  • JHF (Hershey fonts) — converter implemented as CLI utility;
  • Shx (Shapefile Index fonts) — converter designed by 3rd party developer.

LibreCAD Font Format adopted in SolveSpace CAD, and LibrePCB software designed FontoBene (*.bene) font format for PCB, which is derived from LFF.[12]

Usage

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LibreCAD is in use in many countries for education purposes at schools and universities, in production at firms and factories for design and manufacturing various items, architecture design, garden and landscape design, etc.[14][15][16][17][18]

In some countries LibreCAD, thanks to free licensing, is used for decreasing budget expences on software licensing by replacing commercial CAD at state and governmental organizations, public schools, etc. Also, LibreCAD is chosen in cases where there is no reachable official dealers of commercial software, or all available commercial CAD solutions are too expensive.

In some countries LibreCAD used to avoid international sanctions, for example in Russia it used to avoid international sanctions implemented for the invasion of Ukraine.[19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28]

LibreCAD has been included into CAELinux distribution, targeting engineers and makers.[29][30]

EU

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In 2011, for the e-LIFE education project, organized by European Commission for disabled people, there was a manual book provided with few chapters on learning LibreCAD and other free CAD,[31] which has been translated into Greek, Spanish, Slovak, Turkish and Romanian.[32]

Ukraine

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Since 1990s, most of the Ukrainian schools, universities and factories has been used licensed Russian CAD KOMPAS,[33] that is designed for GOST standards, but after the beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian War since 2014, and after sanctions on Russian software has been implemented by the President of Ukraine since 2017,[34] Ukrainian users are switching from KOMPAS to other CAD, including LibreCAD.[35][36]

During 2016—2019, in Ukraine there was reviewed and declined use of GOST standards, that is the base of the Unified System for Design Documentation, and since then most of GOST standards was replaced by State Standards of Ukraine [uk] and by adopted ISO standards,[37][38][39] which LibreCAD is adapted for.

At educational institutions of Ukraine LibreCAD often used in such courses like Geometry, Descriptive geometry, Technical drawing, Graphic design, Engineering graphics, Informatics, Mechanics, Analytical mechanics, Design and Technology, Materials science, Woodworking, Metalworking, Automation, etc.[14][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49]

Since 2019, LibreCAD is included in the list of permitted software to install on computers at departments of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine as the only CAD software permitted to use, according to SESU Head's Order №425 (Appendix 1, p.2), signed on 19 July 2019.[50][51]

Ukrainian scientists, researchers, design bureaus, freelancers, and single and small manufactures use LibreCAD.[52][53][54][55][56][57]

LibreCAD has been included into educational edition of the Ukrainian Linux distribution for schools UALinux: Ubuntu Education Pack [uk].[58][59]

USA

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In 2021, LibreCAD has been used for student research works challenge CELERE (Capillary Effects on Liquids Exploratory Research Experiments) organized by NASA for the collecting and choosing experiments on research into capillary action to be tested in low gravity conditions on ISS.[60] For the participants there was a handbook on LibreCAD use has been created and provided by employees of NASA Glenn Research Center.[61]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Release 2.2.0.2". 29 July 2023.
  2. ^ "LibreCAD the only major free Computer Aided Design program". Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  3. ^ Dube, Ryan (2 March 2012). "6 Tips To Get The Most Out of LibreCAD Free CAD Software". Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  4. ^ Wallen, Jack (27 January 2012). "DIY: LibreCAD offers basic CAD tools for free". Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  5. ^ "Review about Linux LibreCAD and Linux Inkscape". Archived from the original on 20 November 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  6. ^ "LibreCAD – Free Open Source 2D CAD". librecad.org. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  7. ^ Prokoudine, Alexandre (26 January 2012). "What's up with DWG adoption in free software?". libregraphicsworld.org. Archived from the original on 9 November 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2013. [Assimp's Alexander Gessler:] "Personally, I'm extremely unhappy with their [LibreDWG's — LGW] GPL licensing. It prohibits its use in Assimp and for many other applications as well. I don't like dogmatic ideologies, and freeing software by force (as GPL/GNU does) is something I dislike in particular. It's fine for applications, because it doesn't hurt at this point, but, in my opinion, not for libraries that are designed to be used as freely as possible." [Blender's Toni Roosendaal:] "Blender is also still "GPLv2 or later". For the time being we stick to that, moving to GPL 3 has no evident benefits I know of. My advice for LibreDWG: if you make a library, choosing a widely compatible license (MIT, BSD, or LGPL) is a very positive choice."
  8. ^ Larabel, Michael (24 January 2013). "FSF Wastes Away Another "High Priority" Project". Phoronix. Archived from the original on 9 November 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2013. Both LibreCAD and FreeCAD both want to use LibreDWG and have patches available for supporting the DWG file format library, but can't integrate them. The programs have dependencies on the popular GPLv2 license while the Free Software Foundation will only let LibreDWG be licensed for GPLv3 use, not GPLv2.
  9. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions about the GNU Licenses – Is GPLv3 compatible with GPLv2?". The official site. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
  10. ^ Prokoudine, Alexandre (27 December 2012). "LibreDWG drama: the end or the new beginning?". libregraphicsworld.org. Archived from the original on 9 November 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2013. [...]the unfortunate situation with support for DWG files in free CAD software via LibreDWG. We feel, by now it ought to be closed. We have the final answer from FSF. [...] "We are not going to change the license."
  11. ^ "libdxfrw". sourceforge.net. 6 March 2024.
  12. ^ a b "LFF Font Format". GitHub. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  13. ^ "LibreCAD – Font Converter". librecad.org. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  14. ^ a b "Development of Computer Skills to Draw in the LibreCad from Virtual Learning Environments". ouci.dntb.gov.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 15 August 2024.
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  16. ^ "Digital devices (bring your own) – Normanhurst Boys High School". normanhurb-h.schools.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
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  19. ^ "САПР-замещение: что использовать вместо AutoCAD?". ИТ Медиа | Продукты и технологии (in Russian). 9 June 2022. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  20. ^ "В российских вузах хотят запретить AutoCAD – CNews". CNews.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  21. ^ "Обзор бесплатных 2D САПР". Хабр (in Russian). 10 October 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  22. ^ "Импортозамещение, или как «Вертолеты России» сделали что-то не так". Habr. 3 April 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  23. ^ "После шести лет разработки вышла новая стабильная версия свободного 2D САПР LibreCAD — 2.2.0". Habr. 18 December 2022. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
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  28. ^ З.х, Оздоева; П.и, Бостанова (2022). "ЦИФРОВАЯ ТРАНСФОРМАЦИЯ НАЛОГОВОГО АДМИНИСТРИРОВАНИЯ В РОССИИ". Естественно-гуманитарные исследования. Vol. 44, no. 6. pp. 370–372. ISSN 2309-4788. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  29. ^ "CAELinux". www.caelinux.com. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  30. ^ "CAELinux". DistroWatch.
  31. ^ "E life handbook en". SlideShare. 5 January 2014. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  32. ^ "e-Life". elife-eu.net. Європейська комісія. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012.
  33. ^ "Число участников образовательной программы АСКОН в Украине достигло рубежа в 100 пользователей". edu.ascon.ru. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  34. ^ Порошенко, П. О. "УКАЗ ПРЕЗИДЕНТА УКРАЇНИ №133/2017". Офіційне інтернет-представництво Президента України. Archived from the original on 11 July 2020.
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  36. ^ Осадча, Катерина; Чемерис, Г. Ю. (2017). "Добір засобів тривимірного моделювання для формування графічної компетентності майбутніх бакалаврів комп'ютерних наук". Інформаційні технології і засоби навчання. pp. 70–85. ISSN 2076-8184. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  37. ^ "Мінекономрозвитку звільнило бізнес від майже 13 000 радянських ГОСТів". Міністерство економічного розвитку і торгівлі України. Archived from the original on 20 March 2016.
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  39. ^ "Інформація щодо скасування усіх стандартів ГОСТ та про використання ДСТУ. Каталог держстандартів України – Укрлегпром" (in Ukrainian). 18 January 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
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  41. ^ Слободянюк, О. В.; Слободянюк, Ю. О. (2019). "Аналіз графічних редакторів для розробки технічних креслеників" (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  42. ^ Слободянюк, О. В.; Кропив'янська, А. О. (2024). "Аналіз можливостей графічних комп'ютерних систем для виконання завдань з нарисної геометрії" (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 16 August 2024.
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  44. ^ "Спеціальність: Галузеве машинобудування (Industrial machinery engineering)". Світловодський політехнічний фаховий коледж ЦНТУ. Студенти знають сучасні програми для моделювання та програмування PowerShape, PowerMILL, FeatureCAM, ArtCAM, SolidWorks, AutoCAD, FreeCAD, LibreCAD, LaserGRBL, LaserCAD, VectricAspire та інші.
  45. ^ Troyanchuk, B.; Fedik, L. (23 December 2021). "Використання САПР у проектуванні систем автоматизації". Computer-Integrated Technologies: Education Science, Production (in Ukrainian). No. 45. pp. 39–43. doi:10.36910/6775-2524-0560-2021-45-06. ISSN 2524-0560. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  46. ^ "Відбулося засідання обласної методичної секції педагогічних працівників комп'ютерних дисциплін". НМЦ ПТО у Рівненській області. 18 October 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2024. Безушко О.А., викладач ВПУ № 29 смт Володимирець, ознайомив присутніх з досвідом використання системи автоматизованого проектування LibreCAD при вивченні предмету "Інформаційні технології" та представив розроблений ним навчальний посібник "Основи роботи в LibreCAD".
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  60. ^ "CELERE – Capillary Effects on Liquids Exploratory Research Experiments". NASA (An ISS Research Design Challenge). 2021. Students create their own experiments using Computer-Aided Design (CAD) with a provided template and tutorial for the freely downloaded version of LibreCAD Software
  61. ^ Hatch, Tyler; Hall, Nancy (21 July 2021). CELERE 2021 Tutorial (PDF). Glenn Research Center. It is strongly recommended that you go through all of this tutorial's steps at least once, especially if you are not familiar with LibreCAD!
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