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v9 AutoDesSys form•Z FREE

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AutoDesSys form•Z FREE
  
AutoDesSys form•Z FREE

Now anyone can jump in and get started with 3D digital modeling and 3D printing,form•Z is free for all!!

With form•Z FREE anyone can jump in and get started with 3D digital modeling and 3D printing.  form•Z is free for all!!

form•Z free is a great way to start exploring the power of design with 3D solid modeling. This version has no restrictions for professional, academic, or home use. With form•Z free you can quickly create your own 3D solid models that can even be 3D printed. The models can also be presented using sun studies, real-time rendering effects, sectioning, and dimensions. form•Z free features a subset of the tools found in form•Z pro and form•Z jr with the same easy to use dynamic interface. form•Z free uses the facetted portion of the solid modeling engine found in form•Z pro. The solids data format maintains an accurate representation of 3D models which is ideal for 3D printing. form•Z free includes a self-guided tutorial, on-line manual and a series of youtube videos all help you get started using 3D modeling.

Download the FREE version by clicking Trial Downloads on this page or navigate to our Downloads page (listed under Standalone).

  • Available for macOS X 10.11 or later (including Big Sur and Apple Silicon using Rosetta 2) and Windows 7/8/10.
  • Surface Modeling tools including Booleans, NURBS, and Subdivision Surfaces.
  • Native support for 64 architecture on OS X allows for more content creation.
  • Imports SKP, KMZ, DWG, DXF, DAE, OBJ, SAT, STEP, and STL files.
  • Exports SKP, DWG, DXF, SAT, STEP, DAE, and STL for 3D printing.

A comparison chart of the form•Z pro and form•Z jr features can be found on the Details tab.

MODELING COMPARISON CHART

form•Z 9 Pro


form•Z 9 Pro logo

form•Z 9
Jr


form•Z 9Jr logo

form•Z 9 Free


form•Z 9 Free logo
Accurate robust internal representation of data including 3D solids, surfaces, trimmed surfaces, NURBS and parametric representations.
ACIS modeling engine provides advanced smooth modeling capabilities and reliable internal data representation.
Interactive drawing tools that allow for the direct creation of any shape including lines, splines, NURBS curves, arcs, circles ellipses, and polygons
Interactive 3D primitive creation (Cone, Cylinder, Sphere, Torus).
Advanced 3D primitives. Interactively create Paraboloid, Hyperboloids and Hyperbolic Paraboloids.
Sculpting tools use realtime Booleans to interactively Reshape (push/pull), Offset Segment, Offset Outline, Imprint.
Deformations alter the shape of an object with the Bend, Bulge, Taper or Twist methods while keeping them a solid accurate object.
Advanced Deformations include Bend Along Path and 3D Morph operations.
The Billboard tool enables the quick placement of an image as a texture in 3d.
Basic Rounding allows for the rounding or beveling an edge of an object.
Advanced Rounding and Blending give much more control over rounding operations and offers blending between faces of objects (fillets).
The Cap tool constructs surfaces across opening in a model. The Cover and Uncover tools convert a wire object to a surface or vise versa.
Lofting tools include ruled, guided, path and branched lofting.
The Derivative tools allow for the construction of an extrusion, convergence or a wall object from (all or a part of) an existing object.
Advanced Derivative tools include point clouds, derivative from parts of objects. The frame tool derives a structure such as a truss or space frame from the edges of an object.
Unfold enables a model to be unfolded (flattened) with tabs and labels for fabrication and easy assembly. The projection tool flattens an object onto a plane.
Revolve is used to derive a revolved or lathed object from a profile (source shape) and an axis.
Helix and Sweep are powerful modeling operations that derive a new shape from the volume that a source object creates as it follows a path.
Advanced Sweep tools (Two Source Sweep, Two Path Sweep, Boundary Sweep, Draft Sweep) offer more flexibility and power the sweep capabilities.
Offset Surface makes a new surface parallel to the original surface. Thicken (shelling) converts a surface into a solid of a desired thickness.
Skinning is a powerful method to create surface or solid objects from a set of source shapes and a set of paths. There are tools for Smooth Skin, Meshed Skin, and Cross Skin.
Booleans allow for the creation of new forms through the Union, Intersection, or Difference of 3D solid objects.The Split, Slice, Line of intersection offer similar capabilities for surfaces.
Stitching enables the joining of surfaces and the creation of solids for a closed set of surfaces.
The Section tools allow for the creation of 2D and 3D sections of models.
Advanced Meshing tools give real control over facets of a model. These include the 3D Mesh, Polygion Mesh, Reduce Mesh and Polygonize tools.
Displacement creates a 3D object by added relief to a meshed surface based on an image creating the effect of the image being pushed through the surface.
Architectural specialty tools include: Stairs, Spiral Stairs, Roofs and Terrain Models.
Architectural specialty tools include: Switchback Stairs.
Engineering specialty tool include; Gears, Screws and Bolts.
Advanced creative design tools to enhance form generation. These tools include Point Scatter, Surface Scatter, Volume Scatter, Voronoi Diagram, Delaunay Triangulation, Wrap Objects and Parametric Map.
Components make it easy to place commonly used items in a model from a library of objects. A set of libraries is provided and users can create and share their own library of objects that they create. Tools are included for placing, creating, exploding, replacing and creating components.
Doors and Windows are special components that make an opening in a wall when placed in the model.
Basic line editing tools: Close, Trim, Join, Fillet.
Advanced line editing tools: Extend, Connect, Remove Point, Insert Segment, Tangent Line, Perpendicular Line.
Measure tools for distances and angles within and between parts of the model. Calculations of surface area and volume of objects.
Mass Properties calculations include weight, principal axis and moments of inertia.
NURBS Loft and Reconstruct.
NURBS curve tools: Curve Create, Reconstruct, Blend, Merge, Extend.
Advanced NURBS curve tools : Curve Convert, Attach, Split, Insert Knot, Edit Curve, Blend Curve to Point, Convert to Arcs NURBS by Formula.
NURBS surface tools: Surface Lofting, Boundary, UV Curves Convert, Nurbs by Cross Sections, Reconstrcut, Curve Extract, Blend, Merge, Extend.
Advanced NURBS surface tools: NURBS by Formula, Split, Edit Surface, Insert Knot.
Surface analysis allows you to inspect smooth surfaces in order to detect any imperfections or discontinuities in the surface. The following analysis types are offered: Zebra Stripes, Environment Map, Draft Angle, Curvature Map Normal Map, Porcupine Plot
3D Text Creation, Editing and Search and Replace.
Advanced 3D Text tools: Text Along Path, Parallel Text, and Text Between Two Paths.
Dimensions (Linear, Angular, Radial Leader Line and Notes.)
The transformation suite of tools includes Move, Rotate, Uniform Scale, Independent Scale, and Mirror. These can be applied to objects, lights, cameras and guides as well as object parts.
The Extend tool allows you to expand an object to an adjacent object.
Advanced transformations such as transformation macros that allow for a set of transformations to be defined and then re-applied to any object in the project.
The Align/Distribute tool aligns them or distributes a set of objects based on a variety of optional criteria.
The Place Along Path and Place On tools create copies of objects along a path or on the faces of an existing object.
The Object Doctor tool analyzes objects for problems such as duplicate points and other hard to find problems commonly found in some models created in other applications.
The Project Doctor analyzes the objects in a project and identifies potential problems such as duplicate objects.
3D Print Prep tool identifies and fixes problems in a model that would prevent the model from being sent to a 3D printer.
Hatch attributes for objects. A hatch is a graphic technique used to create effects on surfaces for illustration purposes.
Line Weight and Line Style attributes for all objects.
Subdivision Surface Modeling. (Basic editing, Conversion to NURBS)
Subdivision Surface Modeling. ( Advanced editing and Conversion to NURBS)
Sketchfab support
Augment support
3D Connection Support
Copy Attributes

INTERFACE COMPARISION CHART

form•Z 9 Pro


form•Z 9 Pro logo

form•Z 9
Jr


form•Z 9Jr logo

form•Z 9 Free


form•Z 9 Free logo
Smart interface that senses what you intend to do and protects you from unwanted actions. This includes automatic picking and automatic guides that assist in accurate drawing.
Fully dynamic generation of parametric 2D and 3D forms that retain their personality allowing them to be manipulated at any time in the design process.
User defined guides allow for easy creation of 3d construction lines that do not interfere with the model.
Snapping allows for accurate alignment of objects to grids, guides and other critical features of a model.
Frequently used tools appear right at the cursor location in the favorites heads up display or can be accessed via key accelerators.(Fully customizable in Pro)
User definable key shortcuts for all tools and actions.
Favorites for all tools and actions.
Manuals and tutorial videos accessible directly from all tools.
Self-guided tutorials provided to get up and productive quickly.
Dynamic clipping planes allow for non-destructive cutting of models. This real-time dynamic interface allows for complete inspection of a design.
Sun Palette enables the quick evaluation of natural light in a building on any given day or time. Quickly create animation of the sun light through a day or an entire year.
Create web ready VR interactive panoramic and 360 VR presentations of your design.
Workspaces group related tools and palettes together making it easy to switch between tasks. User defined workspaces allow for creation of custom workspaces.
Interface customization. Icons can be completely rearranged into a user-designed layout.
Icon size and tinting can be changed to your own desires.
Custom attributes and information management your attributes, assign them to objects and generate reports based on the attributes in the model.
Select by criteria makes it easy to select objects in a model based on characteristics or attributes. Selection sets make it easy to work with a set of objects repeatedly without needing to manually re-select each one.

LAYOUT COMPARISON CHART

form•Z 9 Pro


form•Z 9 Pro logo

form•Z 9
Jr


form•Z 9Jr logo

form•Z 9 Free


form•Z 9 Free logo
Includes separate form•Z Layout application.
Predefined Title Block library with customizable Title Block dictionary.
Layout sheets can be used to compose different views of a model and/or sections and/ or construction details together with notes and dimensions and have it printed to send to the construction site.

ANIMATION COMPARISON CHART

form•Z 9 Pro


form•Z 9 Pro logo

form•Z 9
Jr


form•Z 9Jr logo

form•Z 9 Free


form•Z 9 Free logo
The animation palettes offer full control over the time line, animation hierarchy and animation controllers. These allow for full control of the animation of objects, lights and cameras including all of their inherent parameters.
Animation Tools: Keyframe, Animate Along Path, Animate Entities, Animation Group, Reverse Animation, Replace Animation.
Extract Animation is a unique way to create new objects by capturing the state of an object over time as the object is changed by an animation that is applied to it.
Animated deformations change the shape of an object over time. The following methods are offered: Shear, Taper, Twist, Bulge, Radial Shear, Radial Bend, Linear Wave, Circular Wave, Disturb Points, Disturb Normals, Spread.
Animation can be generated to movie files with effects such as super sampling, blur filters and motion blur.

RENDERING COMPARISON CHART

form•Z 9 Pro


form•Z 9 Pro logo

form•Z 9
Jr


form•Z 9Jr logo

form•Z 9 Free


form•Z 9 Free logo
Wireframe, shaded work, shaded full, hidden line.
RenderZone plugin Support
Network Rendering
Interactive light tools for placing lights of a variety of types in the scene.
Imager batch rendering
form•Z Lab Plugin

3D FILE FORMAT COMPARISON CHART

form•Z 9 Pro


form•Z 9 Pro logo

form•Z 9
Jr


form•Z 9Jr logo

form•Z 9 Free


form•Z 9 Free logo
FMZ (form•Z format) : the FMZ file format is the form•Z format for all 3 aplications
3DS (3D Studio)
ARTL (Artlantis 3.0)
ARTL (Artlantis 4.0)
FACT
DXF
DWG
DAE (Collada)
FBX
KMZ (Google Earth)
IGES
LWO (Lightwave)
OBJ
3DM (Rhino)
PLY
SAT
STEP
SKP (Sketchup)
STL
VRML
ZPR(Z Corp printers)

IMAGE FORMAT COMPARISON CHART

form•Z 9 Pro


form•Z 9 Pro logo

form•Z 9
Jr


form•Z 9Jr logo

form•Z 9 Free


form•Z 9 Free logo
AVI
BMP
EPS
ILS (Illustrator)
JPEG
EXP (Piranesi)
PNG
MOV (Quicktime)
Targa
TIFF

Mac

– Mac OS 12 (Monterey)**
– Mac OS 11 (BigSur)
– Mac OS 10.11 through 10.15.

** Python 2.7 must be installed to support Python scripting.

 

Windows

– Windows 11, Windows 10 (64-bit).
– 64-bit editions of Windows 8 and Windows 7 are supported but not recommended.

 

OpenGL:

A video card that supports OpenGL version 3.2 or later is required. For best results, a video card with a minimum benchmark score of ~1500 is recommended, and for larger files, ~3500 or better is preferred. See this link for details: Video Card Benchmarks

form•Z v9.1.0(#A399)  Change log

What’s New

  • Support for OS X 11 (Big Sur) and machines using Apple Silicone(using Rosetta 2).
  • “Auto SelectMulti View” is a new option in the “Window” pull-down menu. When enabled, the active frame of a multi view display is automatically selected as the mouse enters the frame. When disabled (which is the default), a mouse click in the desired frame is required to make it active (as with v8 and earlier versions).

General

  • The screen now updates properlyduring RenderZone image now updates properly during rendering.
  • Hidden Line rendering progress bars have beenimproved.
  • Material previews do not re-render in Material parameters palette when changing the active material.
  • Section tool nowworks properly when 2 Click Face/Outline Selection is enabled.
  • Guide Snapworks better under certain situations when the grid snap is alsoenabled.
  • Edit Cone of Vision no longer resets Undos.
  • Edit Cone of Vision behaves properly after “Reset All Workspaces”and Importing workspaces.
  • Measurement tools no longer leave artifacts on the screen.
  • The Working units Angle option for Positive Angle Direction works using Clockwise as expected.SKP import handles files that contain improper material names.
  • Undo after a Symmetry operation works as expected.
  • In Project Settings->Appearance, thepreviews for project color schemes now display properly.In palettes with groups, Collapsing/Expanding a selected group now works as expected.
  • No longer caught in an loop when 2 materials have the same name.
  • Changing the display mode back to Shaded or Wireframeafter RenderZonenow works properly.
  • The Shaded render “Fit In Window” background option now work properly.
  • Colladatranslator (DAE) now handles files that contain discreet face colors (common in filescreated by Artios CAD).
  • Various performance, localizationand stability improvements.

Macintosh

  • Hiragana character entry behaves as expected.
  • LWO export now works properly.

Windows

  • Items can be reordered in nested palettes as expected.
  • Palettes in Palette Dock can be nested in any order.

Layout

  • Certain Dimensions now display as expectedwhen zoomed in close.

form•Zv9.0.6.1 (#A286) Change log

General

  • Certain .fmz file contain reference objects now open as properly.
  • The “X” field of the input palette is no longer active at unexpected times.

Macintosh

  • Cut/Copy/Paste now works in palettes with list of names (Objects, Layers etc..).

form•Z v9.0.6(#A283) Change log

New stuff

  • SKP translator updated to import/export SketchUp 2020 files. Plus:
    • Import performance significantly improved.
    • Objects will be surfaces by default unless “Construct Solids” is enabled (which is now on by defaultfor new installations).
    • Import now maintains layers and materials properly.
    • Non-Roman characters file names now supported for import and export.
    • Japanese characters in layer name and Material names are now supported.
    • Import now includes wire objects.
    • Exporting files withmetric units works as expected.

General

  • Contour Sections no longer affected by manipulating corresponding Transform Controller
  • Conflicts resolved that would cause Key Shortcuts to stop working.
  • Arc 3 can be inverted with the CMD/Ctrl (Mac/Win) key.
  • Objects created by Duplicate (Edit menu) remain selected.
  • Reference Files window displays correct name.
  • DXF export and import now supports Non-Roman characters in the file name.
  • Exporting DAE and KMZ files works properly

Windows

  • Check for Update works as expectedno on systems with certain Windows settings.
  • Alt key tap key works as expected

Draft Layout

  • Grid Snap now works as expected when combined with the Guide snap

Python scripting

  • unfold.py script now works as expected.
  • Scripts are maintained in the Extensions menu and are sorted properly.
  • The getLayer() and setLayer object method has been improved.

Z v9.0.4(#A12A) Change log

New stuff

  • “Dynamic” is a new option in the ExtendSegmenttool options. When selected, the extensionis made dynamically using theprojection of the cursor position onto the tangent from the end of the object.

General

  • Components with Flat/Cubic/Spherical decal controls now render properly in RenderZone.
  • Save a Copy as to v8.x now works properly for files with embedded components.
    The objects palette is now updated properly after Components are exploded.
  • Changing the name of a view or layer to an existing name, no longer leads to repeated messages about the duplicate name.
  • The fillet tool is applied to the selected point for certain objects.
  • Import from Drafting now groups the imported objects properly.
  • Exiting the Cone of Vision,no longer disturbs the palettes under certain conditions.
  • Certain Sub-d tools no longer automatically apply unintended symmetry

Draft/Layout

  • Frames are now properly updated whenthe linked Model file is changed.
  • The title blocks folder is selected by default when choosing a title block.
  • The offset outline tool now works properly on closed shapes.
  • The Image and Image fit tools now track the cursor properly when placing images.

Python scripting

  • Python scripts now work properly on some Windows 10 machines that previously did not recognize Python.
  • A new method(material)has been added to the “face”object to retrievethe material assigned to the face (face.material).
  • The “object” method getLocalOrigin()now returns the proper value
  • fz.pickList()now returns a valid empty list when nothing is picked.
  • fz.viewList(), fz.materialList() and fz.lightList() now returns a valid empty list when the project does not contain any of the respective objects.
  • fz.revolve() angle parameter now works properly.Object methods edgeCount(), edge(), edgeList() now work as expected.
  • A number of sample scripts have been updated.

form•Z v9.0.3(#A123) Change log

New stuff

  • “Superimpose” is a new option inthe Underlay options of the Reference Plane Parameters palette. When selected, the underlay is Superimposed in shaded views instead of depth sorted. This is most useful when combined with the transparency slider to see the undelay image through a shaded image.
  • “Give GuideSnapsPriority” is a new option in the snap options Palette. When selected,Guide Snaps are given priority over object snaps(when both are enabled). That is if the cursor is close to both a guide and a snappable point/edge/face, the location will be snapped to the guide rather than the point/edge/face. When this option is disabled, the opposite rule is applied. This option is now on by default by popular request as it makes the guides more functional in shaded rendering modes.The option can be controlled with a key shortcut as well(Key Shortcuts manager).

General

  • Export of hidden line images to pixel based formats (TIFF/PNG/JPG etc.) now works properly.
  • Underlay images no longer disappear when switching from wireframe to shaded full and the back to wireframe on machines with certain graphics cards.
  • Components with Flat/Cubic/Spherical texture map controls now render properly in RenderZone.
  • Using Reduce Mesh tool no longer crashes on certain objects.
  • Files with mirrored components now show the components properly when saving and re-opening the file.
  • Curve and Surface Formula tools mow show all the formulas in the Interface
  • View navigation in the Decals and Classic Texture Map dialog now works properly.
  • The “Pick By” and “Assign” options in the Classic Texture Map dialog now workproperly.
  • Door/Window componentsare now are placed at the proper depth.
  • The Section tool now properly honors the Status of objects (Ghost or Delete).

Windows specific

  • The Transform tool no longer crashes when entering a second value for the Scale option.

Draft/Layout

  • Printing or exporting to PDF no longer misses some elements.
  • Printing or exporting to PDF now includes title blocks properly.
  • Printing from draft space now works as expected.Image elements no longer have a border when printed or exported to pdf.
  • The Layout content tools no longer become randomly dimmed.Layout frames now update properly when the model is changed.

form•Z v9.0.1(#A107) Change log

General

  • When the favorites menu is invoked (Space bar by default), pressing the space bar again will open and position the tool options palette on the screen at the location of the favorites tools. This makes for an easy way to access the Tool Options without needing to navigate to the location of the palette. The palette is returned to its original state when the mouse moves out of the newly positioned tool options palette or the favorites menu shortcut is selected again.
  • Pop-up Tool Options is a new key shortcut available in the Palettes group of the Key shortcuts manager. This invokes the tool options at the mouse location as with the favorites menu without needing to go through the favorites menu first. There is no default key combination assigned for this option.
  • The color popup in the Attributes tab of the Inspector now works properly when clicking on the arrow indicator.
  • Export PSD no longer generates empty files under certain situations.
  • The palette dock is now maintained in the Cone Of Vision environment.
  • Shaded work and shaded full now show the proper color when Copy and paste of objectswhich have materialswith matching names.
  • Certain geometry no longer causes a crash when using object snaps and the mouse rolls over the object.
  • Create Reference File no longer includes references to other attached reference files in the newly created reference file.
  • Create Reference File now warns when replacing a reference file that is already being referenced by the project.
  • Create Reference File now handlessingle object reference files properly.
  • Docking and undocking certain palettes now works properly.
  • Editing Components in the project window has been improved.
  • The parameters tab ofthe inspector now works properly with components.
  • Components placed with the “Place on Active Layer” option now explode properly.
  • The “Getting Started” tutorials are now accessible fromthestartup screen again.Holding CMD and dragging docked palette will allow precisionplacement/force placement

OS X specific

  • Installer now works better on OS X 10.15.3
  • Animations played in the form•Z window now display properly.
    Closing the Inspector palette, no longer leads to crashes.
  • Changing the direction of the Arc 3 againworks with tapping commandkey.

Windows specific

  • Hide palettes no longer leads to extra margins shown around the palettes when un-hiding.

Draft/Layout

  • Title blocks now work as expected.
  • The place image tool now works as expected.
  • Components update properlywhen a layout file is opened.
  • Paste from Model/Paste from Draft have been improved.
  • Compounds from v6 files are now converted properly.

form•Z v9.0.0.3(#A0F0) Changelog

General

  • The on-line manual has an updated interface including and better Index and search features and loads properly from the application.
  • The Action palette shows theactive tool as expected.
  • The “Keep Proportional”option now works properlyin the place componenttool and the Component parameters of the Inspectorpalette.
  • Editing object names that are inside groups in the objects palette now show in the proper locations.
  • Resizing a palette while editing a text field no longer causes top edit field to move to the wrong location.
  • A detached Modeling tool palette can now be reinserted in the dock by dragging the palette such that the cursor inside the dock while pressing the Command (Mac OS) or ctrl (Windows) key.
  • Preview renderings for RenderZone or V-Ray for form•Z no longer hang or crash when clicking in the Materialsor Material parameters palette before the preview rendering is complete.

Windows

  • SpecificThe icon for “Delete Component” and “Delete Library” now shows properly.
  • Drag and drop now works properlyin the Objects palette.

OS X specific

  • Switching to another application and back to form•Z when there is more than one project open, no longer switches she active project.
  • the “options” button in the export file dialog no longer crashes on 10.14 and later.

Draft Layout

  • Import from Modeling now available in File menu of Draft Layout app. This converts the model to drafting space using the current view or optional parameters defined in the new Import from Modeling options.
  • Import from Drafting now available in Modeling appimports the drafting space of a .fml file onto the current reference plane of the model.
  • Title blocks now show properly after loading a layout file.Switching between layout and Draft spaces refreshes the window properly.


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