Near the end of last year, Shapr3D revealed that the kernel in their 3D modeling iOS app had been replaced with Siemens’ Parasolid. This week, they’ve revealed their sketch engine has been replaced by Siemens’ D-Cubed–the same sketch engine used in SOLIDWORKS, Inventor, Solid Edge, NX, Onshape and others.

What does this mean? Shapr3D is now using the exact same dev components as the big boys. It also means, if you ever wanted something like a SOLIDWORKS on the iPad… well, the complete package is finally here. Forget that we’ve been thinking and talking about this since 2010 and that it’s now 2018. Someone finally did it and, as I predicted, it was a startup that has the tenacity and flexibility to get the shindigity done.

This is big in itself. But, along with the rollout of the new Sketch engine (that surprisingly hasn’t been covered anywhere online yet), they also have a new snap engine and edge/face move capability. Here’s what that last feature looks like:

Shapr3D ipad 3D modeling appShapr3D ipad 3D modeling appShapr3D ipad 3D modeling app

Also included in the update is OBJ export and inter-app drag-and-drop support. How does that last one work you ask? Here’s a video that shows the latest sketch features and the drag-and-drop used for an architectural application and used in conjunction with Morpholio Trace:

YouTube video

Without an iPad Pro, I’ve not yet been able to try the new features out and am anxious to see how it plays, so interested in what you think about it and how it compares to the desktop 3D modeling you may be used to.

You can find pricing and more info at Shapr3D.com and download the app on iTunes.

Author

Josh is founder and editor at SolidSmack.com, founder at Aimsift Inc., and co-founder of EvD Media. He is involved in engineering, design, visualization, the technology making it happen, and the content developed around it. He is a SolidWorks Certified Professional and excels at falling awkwardly.