For over 25 years, U.S.-based van Geldern Machine Company, Inc. has been providing mechanical engineering and design services, specifically custom machinery and tooling design, to a variety of industries.

At its inception, like the majority of design companies at that time, the CAD softwares of choice were 2D. Van Geldern soon began to look into 3D CAD software that would aid in visualizing their assemblies and designs and that was suitable for small businesses. They also realized that having the ability to show virtual versions of their designs could be of huge benefit to the company for securing new business.

 Upon viewing the tools that were then available, moving to 3D appeared to be a costly and time-consuming challenge that a small business simply couldn’t absorb. For example, the company was not in a position to delay any design time while transition from 2D to 3D. This made finding 3D CAD software that was truly easy to use — and wouldn’t require much of a learning curve —the guiding philosophy for selecting their next design tool.

A Rapid 2D to 3D Evolution with IronCAD

When first evaluating IronCAD, van Geldern designers were impressed that the tool could be used for 3D design without having to rely on (or be limited by, depending on your point of view) design intent and constraints. IronCAD was, in their opinion, the first real design tool that could easily allow them to create complex and accurate designs just by dragging and dropping components from catalogs and easily resizing those components using handles.

Once a design was complete, it was very easy to convey its intent to a customer due to the fully integrated rendering and animation tools included with IronCAD. IronCAD’s design tools function within the animation tools, making the learning curve short and easy to create assembly animations for instructions and creative animations to convey full assemblies.

As IronCAD evolved with fully integrated mechanical motion simulation, IronCAD’s animations further expanded to accurately show your designs in motion, allowing you to simulate various conditions.

The rendering tools make use of the same design tools for simple placement of images and decals, along with simple drag-and-drop materials and colors. Competitor CAD software platforms also offer this functionality but at a very high add-on price, making IronCAD a complete 3D CAD software for small businesses that delivers real value.

Plus, the added benefit of visualizing complex assemblies with built-in collision detection made IronCAD even more appealing.

With IronCAD’s power of incredibly easy design combined with rendering and animation tools at their disposal, van Geldern was able to take their design environment from rudimentary 2D to full 3D, complete with rendering and animation, and improve the value proposition of their company to their customers. This has allowed them to grow their business continuously for over 25 years.

“IronCAD’s ability to model without constraints has allowed us to design more rapidly,” says Steve van Geldern, Owner of van Geldern. “The rendering and animation features have allowed us to secure new customers and help prospects visualize their ideas. IronCAD is a great software tool and has been a fantastic business partner over the many years we have worked together.”

Taking Small Firm Design to the Next Level

If you have a small design firm and are looking for 3D CAD software for small business that will allow you to take your design practice to the next level, regardless of if you currently work in 2D or 3D, you owe it to yourself to download a free trial of IronCAD today.