IMSI/Design’s TurboCAD 16 and DoubleCAD XT—Same Code Base, Two Separate Products

DoubleCAD XT, a brand new product IMSI/Design premiered in February,  and TurboCAD 16, the latest release of IMSI/Design’s bread-and-butter CAD package, may share the same source code, but they’re expected to remain separate products, according to Bob Mayer, the company’s COO.

“Many people wondered what would happen with TurboCAD once we started shipping DoubleCAD,” said Mayer. ” We’re pleased to announce TurboCAD Professional Version 16 ... what we believe may be our strongest TurboCAD upgrade ever.”

From IMSI Design’s product literature hailing DoubleCAD XT as an “AutoCAD LT work-alike,” you can easily deduce whom the company is targeting. (In the development phase, IMSI/Design went so far as to call the software A/CAD LT, but the prospect of a head-to-head confrontation with Autodesk prompted the name change to DoubleCAD XT.) It’s selling the Pro version for a modest $575 (roughly the cost of AutoCAD LT upgrade), but it also offers standard DoubleCAD XT as a free download.

By contrast, IMSI/Design’s TurboCAD is a 2D-3D (some might argue it’s 2.5D) package, populated with drafting tools, surface and solid modeling tools, and rendering functions. The latest release comes in four different flavors for Windows users: Platinum Edition ($1,495); Pro Edition ($1,295); Mechanical Edition ($1,395); and Architecture Edition ($1,395). For Mac users, TurboCAD is available as Mac Pro ($499); Mac Delux 2D/3D ($129); and Mac Designer ($69).

TurboCAD 16 is powered by Spatial’s ACIS modeling kernel (updated to version 18) and LightWorks rendering engine (updated to version 7.9). Like DoubleCAD XT, TurboCAD supports SketchUp files. In the announcement, IMSI/Design wrote, “supplemental rendering, lighting, and materials information is imported if the SketchUp model has been rendered with IMSI/Design’s IDX Renditioner product, a plug-in to SketchUp.”

But don’t expect DoubleCAD XT and TurboCAD to become one.

“Their interfaces are aimed at two different markets,” explained Mayer. “TurboCAD is our 3D modeling solution; DoubleCAD is positioned to appeal to people who are familiar with the AutoCAD interface. TurboCAD offers a more ‘modern’ GUI. Obviously, AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT also include more modern GUIs; however, we still find that the ‘classic’ interface is still the most preferred way to do 2D drafting and detailing. Further, the TurboCAD line will always be our retail channel CAD solution, whereas DoubleCAD is strictly aimed at CAD professionals and resellers.”

“Free” is a double-edged sword. DoubleCAD XT download is, no doubt, getting the AutoCAD LT crowd’s attention, but what if it also catches the eyes of the 2D TurboCAD Designer community?

Mayer responded, “Designer is primarily sold as a retail channel product, and we just don’t see that significantly overlapping with free, online downloads.”

Somehow, I get the feeling IMSI/Design is carefully monitoring the sibling rivalry between its free and paid products.