ARES Mechanical is a specialized mechanical CAD editor for Windows designed to create and format 2D drawings in DWG format. The program combines familiar geometry tools with mechanical design features: it supports mechanical symbols, work with standard parts, and the preparation of engineering documentation.
ARES Mechanical can be considered a free alternative to AutoCAD Mechanical. Both solutions are focused on 2D design in DWG and offer tools for mechanical blocks, bills of materials, item balloons, and drafting drawings according to standards. At the same time, ARES Mechanical does not copy the AutoCAD interface and is designed for independent work with its own libraries, mechanical element structure, and drafting rules.
ARES Mechanical Features
- Creation and editing of DWG drawings using lines, arcs, circles, dimensions, hatches, and other basic engineering graphics elements.
- Creation of mechanical blocks for frequently used components. Such a block can contain the geometry and attributes required for subsequent inclusion of the part in documentation.
- Working with the structure of a mechanical drawing through specialized tools. Parts and assemblies are easier to organize according to the product structure, without turning a complex assembly into a collection of unrelated objects.
- Creation of parts lists and bills of materials based on drawing data. Component information can be used when preparing tables and accompanying documentation.
- Adding item balloons and labels to assembly parts. Item numbers are linked to drawing elements, helping maintain consistency between the image and the table.
- Using libraries of standard mechanical components. Ready-made elements reduce the amount of repetitive work when documenting typical assemblies.
- Using layers, object properties, and drafting settings to separate outlines, centerlines, dimensions, and auxiliary graphics.
- Preparing documentation in accordance with common mechanical drafting standards. Drafting settings can be adapted to the requirements of a specific project or company.
- Opening and saving DWG files, allowing drawings to be transferred to workflows that use other CAD systems.
ARES Mechanical is especially useful where a regular 2D editor is not enough: when developing assembly drawings, preparing parts lists, and adding item balloons, manual work is replaced with linked mechanical objects.
Advantages of the Editor
- Focus specifically on mechanical drawings. Specialized features are available alongside standard DWG editing tools, so there is no need to build a workflow from separate add-ons.
- Links between mechanical blocks, item balloons, and bills of materials. Changes to the assembly composition are easier to control when part data is stored within the project structure.
- Compatibility with the widely used DWG format. This is convenient for exchanging drawings between design departments and contractors using different CAD programs.
- Libraries of standard components help assemble recurring units faster and eliminate the need to redraw elements that have already been used in previous projects.
- The program is suitable for a gradual transition from conventional drafting to specialized mechanical design: the basic commands remain familiar to CAD system users.
- Free distribution makes ARES Mechanical accessible for educational tasks, small design projects, and preliminary drawing preparation without purchasing a commercial license.
Disadvantages
- ARES Mechanical is focused on 2D documentation, so it does not replace a full-featured 3D CAD system for modeling parts, checking mates, and building 3D assemblies.
- Users familiar only with universal DWG editors will need time to learn about mechanical blocks, product structure, and bill of materials generation.
- Files containing extended ARES Mechanical objects may require verification when transferred to another CAD system, especially if the receiving program does not support mechanical data and linked attributes.
- Formatting capabilities depend on the selected standards and project settings. A corporate template may require preliminary configuration of libraries and drafting rules.
- The program is not intended for tasks requiring calculation modules, full parametric 3D modeling, or automated engineering validation of a design.
When choosing ARES Mechanical, it is important to consider the nature of the work: its feature set is well suited to assembly DWG drawings with item balloons and bills of materials, while developing a 3D product model requires a different CAD solution.
ARES Mechanical was created for those who need a specialized tool for preparing mechanical drawings with DWG, mechanical block, and bill of materials support without moving to a complex 3D environment. The program is best suited for documenting assemblies, standard parts, and engineering documentation, and it is distributed free of charge.
What's new in the latest version 27.1.2155
Updated
- Added an empty option to the tolerance frame creation command, allowing the second geometric condition to be removed.
- Fixed editing of external references with a mechanical symbol attached to a dimension.
- Mechanical symbols, including tolerance frames, datums, and surface roughness symbols, are now correctly attached to dimension lines.
- Fixed the display of mechanical symbols attached to dimensions inside blocks.
- Fixed an error that occurred when attaching symbols to the top boundary of a tolerance frame containing a note.
- Fixed the operation of the primary accuracy parameter on the “Power Dimensioning” contextual tab when editing dimensions.
- The “Apply to” option in the dimension parameter reuse function now rejects incompatible constraints.
- The “Primary Text” button on the dimensions contextual tab is working correctly again.
- Improved the formatting of the dimension editing dialog box title.
- The prefix and suffix of alternative dimension units are now displayed correctly in the “Dimension Style” dialog box.
- “Limits” tolerances are now updated correctly along with the nominal dimension text when fit tolerances are enabled.
- The construction line perpendicular to two points now passes through the specified base point.
- Fixed the creation of a tangent construction line between two arcs: the line is no longer created as an extension of an arc.
- The construction line tool now takes polar tracking into account when selecting the starting point.
- In the automatic construction line command tooltip, the term “objects” has been replaced with the more accurate term “elements”.
- An “OK” button has been added to the automatic construction lines dialog, and the unnecessary “Execute” button has been removed.
- The centerline editing command no longer stops working after an unsupported element is selected.
- Fixed the default angles in the centerline cross creation command.
- The centerline cross creation command for holes now supports selecting elements with a window and crossing window.
- Hole centerlines now correctly reflect changes made in the settings.
- The fit table header is now displayed in the selected interface language.
- The note editor no longer allows the primary text of a dimension with a fit to be deleted.
- Fit tolerance tables now retain the specified decimal-place display precision.
- Double-clicking a block with extended data no longer starts fit table editing if the block is not such a table.
- Fixed attaching surface roughness symbols to tolerance frames.
- Lineweight scale parameters have been added to the surface roughness symbol editing dialog.
- When expanding a parts list using the “+” button, all rows are now displayed immediately.
- Component property expressions in parts lists now support all available functions.
- The section line identifier now accepts a wider range of characters.
- A welding symbol attached to a polyline inside a block retains its association with the polyline after the arrow grip is moved.
- Input fields in the nesting manager have been aligned, and the sheet length and width fields have been separated for more convenient operation.
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