Alibre Atom3D

User Interface

Simple and Powerful

Why the Interface Matters

There shouldn't be a tradeoff between power and simplicity. Alibre Atom3D's interface is simplified and streamlined and presents the core modeling tools in an easy-to-learn way.

The Home Window

The home base of the software - a control center to start new designs, access recent files, explore training and documentation, manage add-ons, and change options.

Dedicated Workspaces

Cramming every tool into a single place is crazy and makes it really hard to learn. We've split the tools into major functional chunks: part design, assembly design, and drawing creation.

Each workspace has just the tools it needs and nothing it doesn't. This lets you get up and running faster and stay focused on the task at hand.

The Ribbon

The ribbon interface is the primary way to interact with the software. Each workspace has its own ribbons, but all are consistently laid out and similar tools are always in similar locations. You can basically learn a few and then you'll intuitively know the rest.

Each ribbon is carefully crafted to maximize efficiency while also being easy to navigate. Quick visual cues let you rapidly find the tools you need. Hovering over icons displays rich tooltips with pictures.

Various examples of different toolset ribbons including part modeling, assembly, and sketching.

Search Ribbon

If you can't find something, search the ribbon and see results with both icons and tool names.

Customize Ribbon

Choose between several themes to make the ribbon your own: Gray, Blue, or White.

Minimize Ribbon

If you want to maximize screen real estate, you can minimize the ribbon and expose it only when needed.

Mouse-Centric Popups

Mouse-centric, context-sensitive smart menus serve up the commands most commonly used for your selection. When you don't have to move the mouse or touch the keyboard to find a tool, your efficiency skyrockets.

Sketch Popups

Selecting 2D sketch figures dynamically changes the popup suggestions based on what you've picked. You can apply constraints, dimensions, mirrors, offsets, patterns, etc. or select the 3D feature for the sketch right at the mouse. It's insanely fast to use.

Drawing Popups

Selecting items on a 2D drawing dynamically changes the popup suggestions as well. Click on a view to manage hidden lines, change scale, insert or hide hole centers and callouts, or change the view type. Clicking on dimensions or figures lets you configure them on-the-fly by adjusting their values, tolerances, or layers.

The Explorer

Each 3D and 2D workspace has an Explorer. This is the heart of your design - the recipe for what you see on the screen. As you add new things to your design, they will show up in order here. You can roll back in time, edit anything with ease, and set important data.

The size and contents of the Explorer can be customized. Never use Redlines? Hide them. Having to squint to see things? Make the Explorer bigger to fit your 4K monitor.

Lots of Options

You can customize many aspects of the software if you want - from how big things are on the screen to colors to layouts and much more. Spending a little time making your favorite tweaks can make design tasks a dream.

Many options have image previews that give you a really good sense of what the option changes, instead of a huge sea of checkboxes. Or, leave it all alone and have a cup of coffee instead.