Best Mechanical Engineering Software for OpenBOM

SOLIDWORKS is the industry-standard 3D CAD and product development solution, trusted by millions of designers and engineers worldwide. For over 30 years, SOLIDWORKS has empowered innovators to transform ideas into real, manufacturable products through intuitive modeling, simulation, and collaboration tools. The 2026 release introduces groundbreaking capabilities including AI-powered drawing automation, fastener recognition, and the AURA AI virtual companion. Integrated with the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, it enables seamless cloud collaboration and data-driven decision-making. From startups to global manufacturers, users rely on SOLIDWORKS to accelerate design cycles, improve accuracy, and reduce time to market. It’s the complete ecosystem for taking any product from concept to production.

CATIA is the world's leading solution for product design and experience. It is used by leading organizations in multiple industries to develop the products we see and use in our everyday lives. CATIA delivers the unique ability not only to model any product, but to do so in the context of its real-life behavior: design in the age of experience. Systems architects, engineers, designers, construction professionals and all contributors can define, imagine and shape the connected world. A Social design environment built on a single source of truth and accessed through powerful 3D dashboards that drive business intelligence, real-time concurrent design and collaboration across all stakeholders including mobile workers. An Instinctive 3DEXPERIENCE for both experienced and occasional users with world-class 3D modeling and simulation capabilities that optimize the effectiveness of every user. An Inclusive product development platform that is easily integrated with existing processes & tools.

Onshape by PTC is the leading cloud-native CAD & PDM platform that runs on any device, anywhere-requiring zero IT. Onshape is for product design companies who are fed up with the errors, time waste, and hidden costs of outdated file-based CAD & PDM.

Fusion 360 unifies design, engineering, electronics, and manufacturing into a single software platform. Get integrated CAD, CAM, CAE & PCB on a single development platform. Also includes EAGLE Premium, HSMWorks, Team Participant, and access to consumptive services, such as generative design, cloud simulation, and cloud rendering. Engineer products with a comprehensive set of modeling tools. Ensure form, fit, and function of your products with various analysis methods. Create and edit sketches with sketch constraints, dimensions, and a powerful suite of sketch tools. Edit or repair imported geometry from non-native file formats. Make design changes without worrying about time-based features. Create and edit complex parametric surfaces for repairing, patching or designing geometry. Create history-based features, including extrude, revolve, loft, sweep, etc., that update with design changes.

Siemens NX software is a flexible and powerful integrated solution that helps you deliver better products faster and more efficiently. NX delivers the next generation of design, simulation, and manufacturing solutions that enable companies to realize the value of the digital twin. Supporting every aspect of product development, from concept design through engineering and manufacturing, NX gives you an integrated toolset that coordinates disciplines, preserves data integrity and design intent, and streamlines the entire process. A generative design process is one that engineers can adopt to quickly develop new products based upon meeting design constraints. It is an iterative process that produces fast results the engineer can refine via constraint variation to narrow in on the best design to meet the requirements.

Professional-grade 3D CAD software for product design and engineering. Inventor® CAD software provides professional-grade 3D mechanical design, documentation, and product simulation tools. Work efficiently with a powerful blend of parametric, direct, freeform, and rules-based design capabilities. Work with anyone, anywhere no matter what CAD software they use. Use cloud-based design reviews to collect feedback from key stakeholders wherever they are. Follow the entire product development lifecycle with one data model. Design efficiently using specialized tools for sheet metal, frame design, and tube and pipe. Enable design, documentation, and process automation powered by iLogic. Access Inventor API to create your own add-ins. Go further by investigating Forge Design Automation API for running your job processes in the cloud.

Imagine, design, create, and innovate your products better with Creo, 3D CAD/CAM/CAE software, and solutions for product design and development. Now, more than ever, product design and manufacturing teams are expected to create products more efficiently and cost effectively, without sacrificing innovation or quality. Fortunately, Creo delivers the most scalable range of 3D CAD product development packages and tools in today’s market. Creo 7.0 has breakthrough innovations in the areas of generative design, real-time simulation, multibody design, additive manufacturing, and others! Take your products from concept to digital prototype efficiently, precisely, and intuitively with Creo—on the cutting edge of CAD for more than 30 years. With Creo 7.0, PTC amply demonstrates its skill at adding compelling new features to an already robust tool-set using smart partnerships to extend its capabilities even further.

KeyCreator is the legendary manufacturing-oriented workhorse 3D/2D CAD software that has seen it all and remains the go-to problem-solving tool for leading suppliers and designers. Discover the most compatible, efficient, and agile drafting solution available. Direct read of native drawings from the most comprehensive list of any drafting software; CATIA V5 & V4, PTC Creo, Siemens NX, SolidWorks, Solid Edge, DWG/DXF & CADKEY. Full control to revise drawing views, revision blocks, and add dimensions without the original CAD software. Automated drawing views and custom borders created as layouts in the main file. Comprehensive options to adjust view contents and look. Quickly add section, detail, and shaded isometric views. Easy-to-learn, professional-grade detailing. All style settings in dialogs. No complex set of variables and settings to remember. Import solids from any major CAD program and rotate, slice, and measure.