How CADABRA compares.
Aura, generic text-to-3D, macros, and doing it by hand.
The short version.
| Approach | Strongest at | Falls down on |
|---|---|---|
| CADABRA | Editing real models, batch drawings, BOMs, legacy conversion, on your standards | CAD systems other than SOLIDWORKS, for now |
| SOLIDWORKS Aura | Conversational help inside the Dassault ecosystem | Producing releasable deliverables on your own standards |
| Generic text-to-3D | Fast concept shapes and visual exploration | Editable parametric output and company standards |
| Macros and the API | A fixed, repeated sequence on a stable template | Every variation, and the maintenance that follows |
| Doing it by hand | Judgment, novel design, anything ambiguous | Repetitive detailing and documentation |
The comparisons in full.
Against SOLIDWORKS Aura.
Aura is a conversational assistant inside the Dassault ecosystem. CADABRA performs the operations and produces the documentation, configured with your own drawing standards. Full comparison.
- Aura answers; CADABRA edits the model and generates the documents.
- CADABRA is configured with your title blocks, libraries, and rules.
- Both require a valid SOLIDWORKS license.
Against generic text-to-3D tools.
Tools that generate a mesh from a description are good at concepting. They are not modeling tools: the output cannot be dimensioned, revised, or released, and it knows nothing about your standards. More on that distinction.
- Use them for a shape you want to look at.
- Use CADABRA for a part you intend to make.
Against macros and the SOLIDWORKS API.
For a fixed sequence on a stable template, a macro is efficient and you should keep it. The problem is the long tail: every variation needs another script, and each one breaks when the tree changes. The full argument.
- Keep the macros that already work.
- CADABRA covers the automation you never wrote.
Against doing it by hand.
For novel design, ambiguous requirements, and anything requiring judgment, by hand is still correct.
- Judgment stays with the engineer.
Questions about evaluating CADABRA.
How is CADABRA different from SOLIDWORKS Aura?
CADABRA performs CAD operations and produces deliverables; Aura is primarily a conversational assistant. CADABRA is configured with your own drawing standards rather than being generic, and it both modifies the model and produces the documentation from it.
Why not just write a macro or an API script?
Macros work for a fixed, repeated sequence: they break when the feature tree changes, they need a developer to maintain, and each new variation is a new script. CADABRA resolves intent against the actual model at run time, so one prompt covers cases that would otherwise need a separate macro each.
What is text to CAD?
Text to CAD is turning a written description into real CAD geometry. A generic text-to-CAD tool produces a standalone mesh or a one-off solid. CADABRA does text to CAD inside SOLIDWORKS: the prompt resolves to native feature operations on the feature tree, so the result is a parametric, editable SOLIDWORKS body.
Does CADABRA work with Fusion, Inventor, Onshape, Creo, NX, or CATIA?
Not yet. CADABRA runs today as a SOLIDWORKS add-in. Support for other CAD packages is in development and you can join the waitlist for the one you use.
How accurate is it, and who checks the work?
You do. CADABRA performs real operations on your model and shows exactly what it changed, so every edit is reviewable in the feature tree. Revert deletes the features a run added. An in-place change such as a dimension value, and a feature the run deleted, are not taken back, and there is no file checkpoint, so save before a long run.
How much does CADABRA cost?
CADABRA has a free plan with no card required. Standard is $50/month for 5M credits a month and commercial use by one engineer. Professional is $120/month for 10M credits a month, DFM review, cost estimates and the Ultra and Max reasoning levels. Enterprise is custom priced and is the only plan with Drawings Mode, custom standards, SSO, zero-retention handling and a dedicated engineer. Every paid plan can be billed yearly at 10 times the monthly price. Students pay $20/month on the education plan at cadabrai.com/education.