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===Founding===
===Founding===


GrabCAD was founded in Estonia in 2009 by current CEO, Hardi Meybaum, and Indrek Narusk <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.xconomy.com/boston/2011/08/23/from-estonia-to-boston-grabcad-looks-to-play-big-role-in-new-england%E2%80%99s-tech-future/|title=From Estonia to Boston: GrabCAD Looks to Play Big Role in New England’s Tech Future|publisher=Gregory Huang http://www.xconomy.com|date=August 2011}}</ref> as a marketplace to connect engineers with CAD-related jobs. GrabCAD evolved into a community for engineers to share CAD models and moved its HQ to Cambridge, MA in 2011. In 2013, GrabCAD released Workbench, a cloud-based product data management (PDM) solution. Workbench is used by companies big and small to support the design of physical products of all sorts - from basic screws to jet engine brackets at GE <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ge.com/about-us/openinnovation|title=GE Open Innovation|publisher=GE World Wide Partners http://www.GE.com|date=June 2013}}</ref>, to robotics that zap germs <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thisweekinmanufacturing.com/news/2014/12/5/workbench-keeps-xenex-engineers-focused-on-designing-germ-zapping-robots-not-managing-file-servers/|title=Workbench keeps Xenex engineers focused on designing germ-zapping robots, not managing file servers|publisher=http://www.thisweekinmanufacturing.com/|date=december 2014}}</ref>. According to the company site, GrabCAD was founded with the goal of bringing together all the tools engineers need to manage and share CAD files into one easy to use platform <ref>{{cite web|url=http://blog.grabcad.com/2013/06/letter-to-the-community-from-hardi-meybaum/|title=Letter to the Community|publisher=Hardi Maybaum CEO http://www.grabcad.com|date=June 2013}}</ref>.
GrabCAD was founded in Estonia in 2009 by current CEO, Hardi Meybaum, and Indrek Narusk <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.xconomy.com/boston/2011/08/23/from-estonia-to-boston-grabcad-looks-to-play-big-role-in-new-england%E2%80%99s-tech-future/|title=From Estonia to Boston: GrabCAD Looks to Play Big Role in New England’s Tech Future|publisher=Gregory Huang http://www.xconomy.com|date=August 2011}}</ref> as a marketplace to connect engineers with CAD-related jobs. GrabCAD evolved into a community for engineers to share CAD models and moved its HQ to Cambridge, MA in 2011. In 2013, GrabCAD released Workbench, a cloud-based product data management (PDM) solution. Workbench is used by companies big and small to support the design of physical products of all sorts - from basic screws to jet engine brackets at GE <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ge.com/about-us/openinnovation|title=GE Open Innovation|publisher=GE World Wide Partners http://www.GE.com|date=June 2013}}</ref>, to robotics that zap germs <ref>{{cite web|url=http://blog.grabcad.com/blog/2014/12/05/workbench-xenex-engineers/|title=Workbench keeps Xenex engineers focused on designing germ-zapping robots, not managing file servers|publisher=http://blog.grabcad.com/blog/2014/12/05/workbench-xenex-engineers/|date=december 2014}}</ref>. According to the company site, GrabCAD was founded with the goal of bringing together all the tools engineers need to manage and share CAD files into one easy to use platform <ref>{{cite web|url=http://blog.grabcad.com/2013/06/letter-to-the-community-from-hardi-meybaum/|title=Letter to the Community|publisher=Hardi Maybaum CEO http://www.grabcad.com|date=June 2013}}</ref>.


===Acquisition===
===Acquisition===

Revision as of 20:27, 18 December 2014

GrabCAD, Inc.
Company typePublic
Nasdaq: SSYS
IndustryMechanical Engineering
FoundedCambridge, Massachusetts (2009)
FounderHardi Meybaum (CEO / mechanical engineer)
HeadquartersCambridge, Massachusetts
Key people
Jon Stevenson
(VP of Technology)
Rob Stevens
(VP of Sales and Business Development)
Armen Zildjian
(VP of Sales)
ProductsSee "Products and Solutions"
Number of employees
55 (2013)
Websitegrabcad.com

GrabCAD, Inc. is a Cambridge, Massachusetts based startup that has created a cloud-based PDM solution that helps engineering teams manage, view and share CAD files.

History

Founding

GrabCAD was founded in Estonia in 2009 by current CEO, Hardi Meybaum, and Indrek Narusk [1] as a marketplace to connect engineers with CAD-related jobs. GrabCAD evolved into a community for engineers to share CAD models and moved its HQ to Cambridge, MA in 2011. In 2013, GrabCAD released Workbench, a cloud-based product data management (PDM) solution. Workbench is used by companies big and small to support the design of physical products of all sorts - from basic screws to jet engine brackets at GE [2], to robotics that zap germs [3]. According to the company site, GrabCAD was founded with the goal of bringing together all the tools engineers need to manage and share CAD files into one easy to use platform [4].

Acquisition

On September 16, 2014 GrabCAD was acquired by Stratasys [5]. Stratasys Ltd. is a manufacturer of 3D printers and 3D production systems for office-based rapid prototyping and direct digital manufacturing solutions. Engineers use Stratasys systems to model complex geometries in a wide range of thermoplastic materials.

Products and Solutions

Community

GrabCAD began as a Community where engineers could upload and download models from a free CAD library. Today, the Community consists of over 1,600,000 users and is nearing 570,000 [6] open source models. The Community also offers a range of challenges with prizes, from Ultimaker's "3D Printer Toy Design Challenge" [7] to GE's "Jet Engine Bracket Challenge" [8], as well as pro bono challenges like ModVic's "Steampunk Wheelchair" and the "Eyes to Hear" Challenge [9]. There is also a large and growing number of engineering tutorials available on the Community site.

Workbench

In April 2013, GrabCAD released Workbench [10], a cloud-based PDM solution that helps engineering teams manage, share, and view CAD files. The idea behind Workbench is to replace costly and complex product data management (PDM) solutions that engineering teams often use when versions and revisions become hard to track [11]. Workbench allows multiple engineers to work on the same files at the same time without overwriting each other's work. Workbench also lets engineers share files externally and with non-CAD users, without having to set up or maintain a server.

Workbench is hosted on Amazon's S3 secure server cloud architecture, and has a range of useful features [12] including:

  • Viewing of all major CAD file formats
  • File locking
  • Desktop app that sync files directly from local folders, as well as SolidWorks [13]
  • 3D model compare tool
  • Bill of materials management
  • Revision management
  • Partner spaces

Workbench users can easily view 3D models, as well as markup, explode, measure and pin comments - all directly in the browser [14].

Toolbox

Toolbox was released June 2013, which enables Workbench users to access third-party CAD applications that run on GrabCAD's platform [15]. Currently there are four apps available from Keyshot, Autodesk, IronCAD and Solid Edge, but GrabCAD is focused on drawing in new CAD application developers to grow Toolbox's usefulness to engineers.

See also

References:

  1. ^ "From Estonia to Boston: GrabCAD Looks to Play Big Role in New England's Tech Future". Gregory Huang http://www.xconomy.com. August 2011. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ "GE Open Innovation". GE World Wide Partners http://www.GE.com. June 2013. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ "Workbench keeps Xenex engineers focused on designing germ-zapping robots, not managing file servers". http://blog.grabcad.com/blog/2014/12/05/workbench-xenex-engineers/. december 2014. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); External link in |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ "Letter to the Community". Hardi Maybaum CEO http://www.grabcad.com. June 2013. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ "3D Printer Company Stratasys Acquires GrabCAD". Forbes. September 2014.
  6. ^ "CAD file counter". grabcad.com. July 2013.
  7. ^ "Ultimaker 3D Top Design Challenge". Rachel Park (website) 3dprintingindustry.com/. May 2013.
  8. ^ "GE challenges makers to design jet engine parts, 3D print complex components". 3ders.org/. June 2013.
  9. ^ "Eyes to Hear With: Easy to Manufacture CC Glasses". grabcad.com. April 2013.
  10. ^ "GrabCAD Workbench Officially Released from Beta". Scott Wertel engineering.com/. July 2013.
  11. ^ "CAD-PDM Integration, Transparency and Cloud Pain Killer". beyondplm.com/. January 2014.
  12. ^ "GrabCAD Workbench, Expanding Its Influence Across the Known World". Scott Wertel engineering.com/. January 2014.
  13. ^ "GrabCAD Workbench Professional now has SolidWorks add-in". cadcamstuff.com. March 2014.
  14. ^ "GrabCAD Launches Workbench Beta". John Hayes engineering.com/. April 2013.
  15. ^ "AutoCAD 360, Fusion 360 now part of GrabCAD Toolbox". deskeng.com. July 2013.
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