A blog by Oleg Shilovitsky
Information & Comments about Engineering and Manufacturing Software

CNCCookbook – CAD market share trends 2017 / 2018

CNCCookbook – CAD market share trends 2017 / 2018
Oleg
Oleg
17 March, 2019 | 2 min for reading

CNCCookbook published 2018 CAD survey results. Check them here. I found a few interesting data points: (1) Significant growth of Autodesk Fusion360 and Solidworks; (2) A relatively flat position of others.

Check the following picture of 15 CAD products representing 82% of the market. The picture is also including a comparison of 2017 and 2018 results.

CNCCookbook represents a very specific, but an interesting niche of the market. So far, ~400 people answered on their survey.  Here is the key summary passage:

The two market leaders, Fusion 360 and SolidWorks continue to grow like crazy, although Fusion 360 has taken over the lead position from SolidWorks for the first time. It’s interesting to look at Autodesk’s combined share for Fusion 360, Inventor, and AutoCAD, because the latter two lost considerable share.  The combined share in 2017 was 35.4% and in 2018 it is 36.9%.  In other words, while Autodesk grew over all, most of the Fusion360 growth looks like folks moving off AutoCAD or Inventor and onto Fusion 360. Solidworks, OTOH, while no longer in the lead, grew by much more overall.  Most of the other players were flat to down.  The two leaders are slowly absorbing the market.

Because of a specific type of customers, some CAD systems aren’t represented (eg. CATIA). Also a dominance of Autodesk Fusion360 can be influenced by a rich set of Fusion360 features in manufacturing.

What is my conclusion? The dominance of Solidworks is not a surprise. This software is a de-facto standard for mechanical engineers. It is very interesting to see growing numbers about Autodesk Fusion360. Because this is a good place to watch disruption. CNCCookbook is representing only a specific niche of the market. But it is a place where disruption can be seen in a much better way in my view. What we can learn that you can change dominant positions by aggressive pricing and much broader feature set. Both the characteristics of Autodesk Fusion360. Just my thoughts…

Best, Oleg

Disclaimer: I’m co-founder and CEO of OpenBOM developing cloud-based bill of materials and inventory management tool for manufacturing companies, hardware startups and supply chain. My opinion can be unintentionally biased.

Recent Posts

Also on BeyondPLM

4 6
1 September, 2019

For the last few years, I’m following the implementation of the PLM system and related infrastructure at  Facebook. If you...

18 August, 2009

Short Prompt- what will take 3D on the cloud? I was reading interesting paper Pictures in the Cloud by Kenneth Wong....

22 May, 2014

Usually, it takes time and money to implement PLM system for a large company. This work requires understanding of customer...

17 November, 2024

Earlier this week, I attended the DXM 2024 (formerly PLM Innovation) event that took place in San Antonio TX. Organized by UK...

22 July, 2009

I’m continuing to provide my observation for upcoming Microsoft Office 2010 version. Today, I’d like to discuss two features related...

30 January, 2012

Cloud is hyping in 2012. Coming Facebook IPO can only supercharge the future of cloud computing. Last year Autodesk announcement...

20 July, 2025

The recent speculation around a potential Autodesk-PTC deal created a moment of reflection for the PLM industry. While the talks...

12 January, 2011

What is the most popular PLM system in the world? Yes, Microsoft Excel. In my view, every time PLM system...

14 March, 2013

PLM and ERP integration. Endless topic. My PLM blogging friends – Chad Jackson and Jim Brown decided to discuss it again at their Tech4PD video...

Blogroll

To the top