KeyCreator Reviews

KeyCreator as a yacht design tool offers a perfect blend of both freeform surfacing and mechanical design abilities. I've used this software since its inception over 35 years ago for marine design and everything that goes into making a yacht or boat work. And its never let me down. Its fast and agile software that allows for a very quick and intuitive design process.

Not a dislike but more of an enhancement request. I'd love to see some features like Kinematics for calculating load paths, cage editing of surfaces and a simpler animation configuration that would allow for manually moving/testing motions during the design process without formally initiating "animation". Kind of like animation on the fly so to speak. I'd also like to see a direct translator to work with KeyShot for rendering work.

Its considerably less expensive than SolidWorks and offers more horsepower. Additionally, I have clients who use SolidWorks and they come to me for work they simply can't do efficiently......or without spending thousands of dollars more for more advanced modules. Couple that with the benefits and speed of direct modelling and its a winner.

Yacht Design. Mechanical Design. Detailing of all related components for manufacture. The benefit is the simplicity of this software's operability and its ability to think outside the box. I can use it in ways I'm quite sure the developers never thought of. Its flexible.

I can work with "ANY" Cad , native or imported as if it were my own, instantly.

I can out preform co-workers in several aspects of design, very easily, and as much as I would like to say / think its me ????????? It is the ease of the software to learn and to use...... Hotkeys are amazing tools that accent a good design practice.

There is a MAJOR downfall - sort of-.

1) Well, ---- design and changes are SO easy and fast to do, you tend to do them live during a design review meetings. After customers see how fast and easy changes are they expect faster turn around times and less cost.

I DO NOT dislike any portion or aspect of this software.

You will complete more for a lower cost.

I tackle design concepts concurrently while completing final Prototype / Production weld tools daily. The benefits are endless / limitless.

* I can import almost ALL cad formats and work with them as if I drew them.

* I can modify geometry very easily and effectively

The speed and simplicity with which you create designs. I don't have to worry about "design intent", or spend countless hours pre-thinking the build (so as to put features in the "proper" order). Nearly as quick as an idea comes to mind, the model begins to takes shape. It's also nice to know that I can remove part of the model without having to worry about the model crashing, because of broken "parent/child relationships".

But probably the most helpful (and over looked) tool within KeyCreator, is the ability to do simple, 2D drafting. This means I can draw a quick concept sketch, to figure out the right geometry, before extruding, lofting, revolving, etc. This is often a lot faster than grabbing a calculator and "doing the math". It's all about "time to market", right? The faster you can perfect the design, the faster you can move that design to market. You can't design any faster that "Direct".

By the way... I'm proficient in Solidworks also. I'll take KeyCreator any day.

I've run into issues in the past, mostly with KeyCreator's layout mode. But really, I haven't had a complaint in quite some time. So either Kubotek has cured the bugs, or I've figured out what I'm doing. Whichever, I've been very please with the product over the last few releases.

Don't rely on the developer's "canned" demos when investigating which CAD software to go with. The reason being, is because these demos have been done so often, they could do them in their sleep. They have the steps down pat and, therefore, LOOK impressive. The real test is to have them create one of YOUR parts, from scratch, on the spot. Choose a part that isn't too taxing, but not too simple, either. You want to see what the software will do, without making the rep sweat... too much. Take a 2D drawing in with you and ask them to "model this". Ideally, take two, or even three, drawing revisions of the part. Start off with the original. Then, when that is completed, ask them to make each revision, in order. Now you'll get a true idea of which CAD system is faster, easier... and better.

I work in a custom molding shop. We originally started using Cadkey in 1997. But in 2003 switched (against my wishes) to Solidworks. However, I've kept my single seat of Cadkey/KeyCreator current (At my own cost, I might add.). And it's a good thing too. Because we get customer CAD models, from various CAD sources, all the time. Only KeyCreator allows me to revise and modify these customer models as needed, when needed. Customers are often surprised how quickly I can revise a part and get it back to them for review.

And if a model comes in that needs healing, well... you can try it in other CAD programs. But I won't promise the same kind of success you'd get from KeyCreator.

And lastly, KeyCreator is head & shoulders above the competition when it comes to speed. I can create a model in a fraction of the time it would take in a parametric modeler. Again, speed is king.

The program is by far the easiest I have ever used and the translators are amazing. I can easily import a CAD file from a competing software and edit features, holes, etc. in the model as if it was created in KeyCreator! There are no special settings for this, it just works.

A number of the sub packages you would expect from CAD software (sheet metal for example) are either lacking or non existent however I will admit that these continue to improve.

If you are on the fence about purchasing an easy to use CAD package, look no further. There are no parametrics to deal with just straight forward modeling in an easy to use package for a price that is not off the chart.

The software is so simple to use and get up to speed on that we can literally teach anyone to use it in a few hours. I have trained new employees with little or no CAD experience to use this software in a few hours and after a week on the job they are deigning things all by themselves.

The best thing is ease of use and no history constraints. Working with customer part data is simple, quick, and sometimes effortless. Mould designs can be very quickly produced, and re-using components from previous designs are a snap.

Just one thing, and its not much, it is the esthetics of the "Layer/Level" tab. I wish you could customize it with separators and colours, and bold text for parent levels, etc... When their is lots of levels, and child levels, etc... it is often hard to distinguish where you are with only 2 alternating colours. Thats it.

Don.t think twice about it, Keycreator is the one to rule them all.

Mould design, Part design, and pneumatic machine design. With keycreator we can prepare all cnc data models quicker and better than any cam software, for us we do this then tanslate to the cam software, and very quickly create tolpaths with the models and curves pre defined.

The ability to design in direct modeling is a big plus, importing many file types is a must for me. Functions like prune are great (but needs improvement).

Older interface, needs to improve almost all functions to use dyna handles, and reduce amount of clicks to accomplish commands. Although direct modeling is overall superior, the lack of any parametric capabilities and history does take away some capabilities that would be very useful in mold design.

It's great product, but good useful development is a bit stagnant at the moment. Increased improvement in surfacing tools and solids quality is badly needed. They need to stop focusing on more obsolete type functions. For example, last release touted improvements to dimensioning and arrow heads. We don't care about this stuff anymore, we need stronger 3D tools and any dimensioning an notes enhancements need to be to make dimensioning in 3D with model shaded better for use in PPT presentations.

Being able to import anyone's data is key.

I use KeyCreator on a daily basis to both create models from scratch as well as edit customer supplied models. The tools available in KeyCreator to manipulate both original geometry and customer supplied models are like a Swiss army knife. There are a robust set of tools to create simple sheet metal parts as well as complex parts destined for our 5-axis CNC machining center. I like that KeyCreator offers a full array of translators so that no matter what file format we receive from a customer we are able to work with it.

Where KeyCreator falls short is in its layout tools. There are occasional issues with dimensions becoming disassociated with geometry that has been manipulated in model mode. I also wish there were more robust tools for creating section views or showing slicing/cutting plane views. Sometimes there are unexpected results when using the unfolding tools in KeyCreator, but they can usually be solved by addressing a single bend at a time instead of a group of bends all at once.

There is a vast library of on-line, on-demand, tutorials called KeyCreator University. Don't miss out on these! They are an excellent resource whether you are a new user or a power user. I recently used the University lessons to learn how to model the motion of gears on a project that I was working on, and I was very satisfied with how easy it was to learn a set of tools I had previously been unfamiliar with.

Importing different file types to be able to manipulate models for 5-axis machining is probably the biggest benefit we have realize by using KeyCreator. Designing fixtures for welding, drilling, and other operations is another huge benefit of using KeyCreator That being said, we primarily use KeyCreator for sheetmetal flat pattern development, and it does a great job at that.

I can design the way I want to. Some designs use a lot of external references (parts from vendors that I don't want modified). Some use a lot of custom parts. Also all of the the 2D details reside in the same file as the model so I don't have to manage a huge database when the project gets large. Editing designs when a customer makes changes very rarely requires a complete redesign or start from scratch.

Animation is sometimes hard to setup. I rarely do animation but in the past year I had a clamping fixture that had to work in a sequence. Even after going through the video's I was never able to get the sequence to complete.

Compare features, find something similar to the majority of the work you need to do and compare designing it with the software you are considering. Ask experienced users to look at what you are doing and consider their feedback. Ultimately you will be responsible for using the software so it has to fit the way you work.

I design and build custom equipment for manufacturing. Rarely are the machines even close to the same but there are always parts that I can copy and paste from one design to another and with direct editing get what I need fairly quickly.

I like KeyCreator's ease of use and customization. The free form modeling is a powerful tool for me. I use it to easily create contoured parting lines for complicated molds. There are times when I am in a meeting that I take engineers models from other cad systems and change them right in front of them to make them moldable. They tell me "that would have taken me hours to change, and you just did it in minutes."

It's not free! I would like to see it offered more in educational settings. There is not a lot of user group activities that I am aware of.

KeyCreator doesn't do everything, but it does quite a bit. You will be very suprised at how much it can do.

I am able to design plastic injection molds quickly. KeyCreator gives me an edge over my competition. I get things out on the shop floor fast.

What would I consider to be great about this program, The very simple layout, very easy to maneuver and remember where everything is located. Compatibility is a must and I have not found a program that has so many other programs that work together fluidly

the program does everything I need it to do, therefor no problems yet.

The Price pays off in the long run, but if you only need certain aspects of the program then you probably should buy the top package.

accurately depict and design molds that we scan and create.

Creating tooling tags, setting up the design or layout on KeyCreator then I'm able to transfer the exported DXF file to a CO2 laser program with ease.

I like the powerful and flexible set of Geometry Creation Tools in Keycreator.

This allows us to work with any customers geometry using the built in translators. I am always able to translate and edit the geometry from any drawings for use in our CAM systems for machining.

It might be surprising to some since 3D is all that is usually talked about today but one of my favorite things about KeyCreator is it's powerful 2D capabilities.

Much of our work still requires perfect 2D geometry. I was totally surprised that while some other very popular CAD packages are great at 3D they are very poor at 2D.

I am able to extract and edit 2D geometry for all our needs easily and efficiently as well as take 2D geometry and build a 3D model from it.

There are more flexible and powerful assembly tools in other packages but those packages are also more expensive.

Evaluate CAD software on the basis of your needs and what you intend to do.

All the flashy ads for CAD software are great but if it doesn't do the job for you it's no good.

Interoperability with our Customers designs. We are able to take their concept files and edit them for the final design which we create here in our shop.

We are able to solve many complex Engineering Challenges by drawing in both 2D and 3D and use that geometry to machine actual parts.

-Easy and friendly interface for the new users or beginners to be able to get used to the product leading to better service production.

- Very powerful drawing components, and also perfect in management of files. Excellent in creating 3D tool and simple in editing.

-Quick 2D drawing and detailing ability and production of professional designs and medels especially for Mechanical services.

-User can customize KeyCreator to fit any project styles depending on the industry involved and Importing of solid models.

-Efficiency of their customer support and response is another thing i love about this software and its the fastest in translating.

-KeyCreator its the most appropriate in designing, but Importing process needs a very experienced user.

Perfect software for modelling and designing of different models but its recommendable to trained on this product for better production.

-Quick and simple drawing and modeling of Mechanical services. Production of quality final result for large and small projects, among more benefits.

KeyCreator has been an amazing teaching tool for my Middle and High school classes. With the customizable toolbars, it's easy to get kids from a basic understand the tools to getting them to explore some of the more detailed nooks and crannnies of the program. The commands and the ability to translate files allows for interdisciplinary applications in art, graphic design and mathematics, and the ability to design for 3d printing is smooth.

Animations and textures can be a little tricky to figure out and apply.

This is a great product, I can't recommend it highly enough.

It is cost effective for my budget and easy to use by kids as young as 12

Like the logical self-intuitive geometrically based interface that comes at an affordable price. In working with clients have also had to engage with Solid Works, AutoCAD, NavisWorks, AutoPipe and other modelling programs which I dislike because there's a lot of non-intuitive add-ons which are difficult to remember if you're not using them all the time. Even with some of these other programs, I may also create a parallel Key Creator model as a check on the spatial information.

Have always found it a bit of a challenge updating settings when moving to a later version. Better now than it used to be.

Key benefit has been the 3-D modelling of new equipment prior to building it in the workshop. I've never had an unforeseen problem in manufacture when key features have been fully modelled earlier. It's much easier to sort the problems on screen before any fancy materials get wasted.

The biggest two advantages of KeyCreator both relate to its ability to use imported data from a multitude of sources. They are, its very good translation abilities, and its direct modelling approach. Just the thing for contractors who don't have the luxury of using only their own data, but are constantly using data obtained from sundry sources. And excellent even if you only use your own data.

KeyCreator cannot fully use all the resources of a powerful computer (multiple CPU cores, top level graphics cards). Greater performance is a key requirement

Very good and capable CAD product, easy to learn and use and with some big advantages over opposition products.

Complex solid modelling and design problems, mainly in injection moulding. KeyCreator is a very good package to solve these problems.

Keycreator's ability to be able to bring in complex surface and solid model geometry from any neutral solid and create tooling. KC allows us to turn CAD models into CNC machined aluminum tooling better than any other CAD program we have ever worked with.

We are a job shop, so we deal with all of the popular CAD programs, and Keycreator handles them all nicely.

The only real down side to Keycreator is that it does not have the high end rendering capabilities commonly found in other packages like Solidworks, but it does not come with all of the associated headaches of history based design either, so we stick with Keycreator because we like geometry based design.

Don't be fooled by the hype of history based modelers like Solidworks and CATIA. Keycreator allows you to get in and work on other designers geometry and quickly and accurately create tooling and fabricate parts.

Keycreator is cost effective and efficient.

We are a job shop, and have to handle many new models each year. Keycreator allows us to rapidly design and fabricate tooling with extremely complex geometry with relative ease.

I like the versatility that KeyCreator allows in CAD design. I can make changes to my model separate from a model tree which I really like. The surfacing functions in KeyCreator are really great! I also like that through the years KeyCreator has been continually improving their software and there is a lot of room for growth with the foundation that they have.

There are occasions where a standard part or design would be better suited for a model tree file construction and certain features of the design process would be better if they were parametric. Such as adding holes as features that don't destroy the underlying solid. I feel that the animation package leaves a lot to be desired as its a little clunky and could be made more user friendly. I also feel that the software still needs to be a lot faster than it is. Designers are making ever more complex part designs and as those file sizes are growing the software gets laggy despite having one of the best graphics cards on the market.

Depending on your design needs KeyCreator is a great choice. It is great if you want flexibility of design and freedom to make changes without struggling with a parametric model tree.

KeyCreator is very suitable for mold design because it allows the freedom to build the parting surfaces, cavity, and core shapes very quickly with more design intent. This is thanks to the surfacing capabilities and freedom of design.

For my needs - primarily structural and mechanical design ( plus detailing) Keycreator has a wide set of tools that allow me get my designs completed quickly. I was able to learn primarily w/o training - on the job - when I changed positions and Keycreator was the tool of choice for the new job.

Some of my product design could be benefited by animation of the function. I find the animation capability lacking.

There are many choices available today - make a good evaluation of your needs before selecting any design tools. Keycreator is good for me but it may not be the choice for everyone.

Product design - see info in previous questions

Library of frequently used components - improved inventory optimization.

Down and dirty...very easy to learn and use. I've used other CAD software and there is just too many "bells and whistles" that are not needed. I simply love the layering making it very nice to identify parts and the sub-parts.

It is not as powerful with solid radii. I have to log out of it on occasion because the part starts loosing visible parts. I really do not have many complaints at all. Keycreator is just great for FAST design

Use it....great software

The ease of design,,,I can design something 40% faster than my co-workers using brand-X software.

The platform can open any file, and work with it as if it was native. Speed of making changes is 90% faster than any other program. it is super stable and crashes 1-2 times a year. (And you know what you did to make it do that...) Support is super responsive.

The FEA suite was discontinued... Very sad only. I use FEA every day, so I must keep an older version installed next to my latest version.

Best platform if you make rapid changes, and deal with other platforms.

I am able to work seamlessly with all my customers which all use different platforms. I can edit, and return any CAD sent so there is no ambiguity with what I want done.

I like the ease of use along with the powerful functionality.

We have designed over $50 million worth of equipment using KeyCreator with great success.

We use it to model as well as detail very complex mechanisms.

There is nothing I dislike about KeyCreator. Added functionality such as a high-end animation package would only add cost. KeyCreator does perfectly well for what it is marketed to do.

Gets you right where you need to be as far as productivity and profitability

As a small company we were able to afford 7 seats. The reasonable AUC cost is a big deal in running a cost-effective operation.

The direct modeling software is easy to use. When I took this job after college and had to learn this software, I was surprised at how quickly I picked it up. The seamless ability to model in 3D and 2D is fantastic.

The software doesn't have the support or user base of the larger CAD programs. The updates and new versions often have bugs (one update would crash every time we would print), and tutorials or help online is non-existent.

Make sure that direct modeling suits your needs better than paramatric modeling.

The ability to recreate old 2D prints that only exist on paper or pdf in Keycreator, and then using that to create 3D models has greatly helped us deal with the old drawings that our customers often send us.

The software is very easy to use. It is based on the old CadKey software and you can still use the old menus if you want to.

It is also customizable using macro's to do 1-click menu items for repetitive tasks.

On the last update, when i imported my settings, some did not seem to work the same as they did in the last version, primarily in layout mode.

It is easy to learn and use. and has very good translators so you can import from almost any other cad program.

I use KeyCreator to design new products as well as converting all of the old 2D AutoCad files into 3D solid models. This has allowed us to do renderings for our customers to show them realistic layouts for their Dog Parks.

I used AutoCAD at my old job. I was able to pick up with KeyCreator fairly easily. The learning curve was shallow as opposed to steep.

Some of the functions are 180 degrees backwards, from other CAD systems, in regards to the order you select the parts. This is easily overcome by familiarizing yourself with the software and taking the time to actually read the prompts as opposed to just clicking as you would with AutoCAD.

Slow down and read the prompts if you are switching from another software.

We use the software mainly to reverse engineer components for existing machinery. Having KeyCreator has greatly minimized our human error on the shop floor when trying to fit new parts to existing machinery.

The ease use, we are a custom metal fabrication shop and this works real well for both creating drawings as well as translating AutoCad drawings from customers.

There are still a few bugs to be worked out in the new release but, overall there in anything to dislike.

Be aware the the Essentials class the Keycreator offers does not teach the basics, as far as CAD goes, it is more a graphic Design 3D class anymore.

Have not any business problems

The program is very easy to use and extremely easy to custom to you. The program is also very useful for editing or adding to new or existing geometry.

The program occasionally is too customizable, sometimes the program alters the tool bar setup on accident if I drag it when I am trying to work faster. It would be nice for a lock function on it that is easy to use

The data translation function is super nice, it is also great for creating or altering geometry

The program is most useful for us to create center-lines so that we can import them into another program to assign beam properties to it. The most useful program we have found for that use

The user friendly interface provides a great platform for modelling complex products. The "Direct CAD" style KeyCreator software provides the freedom to make drastic design changes at any stage of the design phase of a project. Concept changes have never been easier! The interoperability between various CAD systems is a added advantage for a contract shop or freelance design facility.

It would be great if KeyCreator could add some emphasis on developing its reverse engineering capabilities as the use of 3D Scanners and 3D Printers are rapidly becoming common practice in the manufacturing industry.

Capable CAD/CAM software at a reasonable price.

KeyCreator is a cost effective CAD solution that provides an all round CAD solution and excellent "bang for your buck"

What I've seen this software do is startlingly amazing. Also, file sizes are cut in half. No worries about history. It's like no more karma, the past doesn't matter. Move forward from here!

The saying "Beauty is skin-deep" is backwards with KC. The beauty lies beneath a truly ugly exterior. There's incredible power here, but it's not easily accessed and taken advantage of. A clean UI would do wonders for this software. I realize most CAD and other complex software has troubles with UI but this needs professional help. I look forward to UI improvements in future versions.

The learning curve is formidable. The UI is outdated and user-hostile. The tutorials have errors and omissions (imagine learning your ABC's with errors and omissions). The help system looks like it was generated with an automated indexing routine and laid out like an open source project. Some of the YouTube videos are awe-inspiring, but the basics are not clear at all.

I've used solid modeling software for 20 years and needed to move up to a more powerful package. I took almost 2 years to decide on direct modeling with KC. No regrets, but these are the issues I'm up against as a beginner. Software this powerful deserves the resources needed to make it easy to learn and use.

If you use a Mac like I do, get Windows running in BootCamp and get familiar with that if you aren't already. BootCamp is free, included in MacOS and lets you run Windows on a Mac. Also, you can download Windows 10 free from Microsoft and run it without authenticating unless and until you want to personalize it. I've found that I've been able to personalize quite a lot in Windows 10 without authentication. Basically you get to set it up and try it for an unlimited amount of time for free.

Get Windows 10 up and running and get a feel for it before installing KeyCreator. There is a daunting learning curve in KeyCreator and struggling with a new OS will make it worse. Get your mouse and keyboard working properly and get familiar with the new setup.

Keep it simple and use the Edge browser and a pdf reader. You'll need it for reading the tutorials.

I tried Parallels to run Windows on top of Mac (to run Windows in a window in a Mac) but the basic version of Parallels isn't suited to this powerful software. It won't access large amounts of RAM (I have 32 GB) and it's slow. Time Machine backups slow things down even more, and if you have automatic cloud backups like SugarSync, it can bog down even worse. I had other issues with Parallels and until they remove the restriction on how much RAM it will use, and remove some marketing schemes to get you to install unnecessary software, I cannot recommend it for using KeyCreator.

Once you have BootCamp, Windows, and KeyCreator installed your Mac can run like a Windows PC or like a Mac, but not both at the same time.

FIY, you can use a thumb drive to move existing CAD files from the Mac partition to the Windows partition using .sat or .obj or any other suitable format.

Once you have your system situated you can get going on tutorials whether you have a demo version or purchase KC outright.

My CAD files became large and complex, and history trees were failing so I'd have to start from scratch to fix things. There were other issues too. The first thing I did after installing KC was import a huge assembly with some gnarly geometry. Success! The file now opens and saves more than 20X faster than before and is ready to be worked on without regard to history!

I started to explore all the new tools at my disposal but quickly realized I need to go through tutorials to be able to do real work. That's when I hit the wall.

Compared to what it was 15 years ago, KeyCreator has really improved in compatibility and HW requirements.

From time to time floating licenses get locked by an user for no apparent reason, freeing one has not being that easy. I would expect if a user disconnects from the netwrok then the seat should be available again, specially if the user logs in and out. That's somethign which doens't happen.

They should gve it a try. It has gone a long way improving compatibility and product stability.

Compatibility with different CAD SW has increased, that has helped us keeping costs low. We design mufflers for the automotive industry.

I most like the functionality of the program, the ease in which you can model and create drawings. As compared with other programs like Wildfire/Solidworks often the "top-down" design structure inhibits a user from creativity on the fly.

It's no so much as dislike as a complete relearning of the a design mentality. It's almost too easy to create and change things in Keycreator, that's really saying something if that's my dislike.

I've recommended this software to several colleagues and former co-workers. If you need a software that can be as quick as you in it's design intent and not hinder your creativity this is the software for you!

As mentioned I'm fairly new to the software, I've used other modeling software for the past almost 20 years. Mainly Pro-e/Wildfire and Solidworks but without having any formal training I've been able to learn this software on the fly and feel I'm fairly proficient in a matter of months really.

We started with Cadkey v3 during the last century. Keycreator is the successor and is much more powerful.

We have the flexibility to work with very basic 2D geometry or advanced 3D Solid Modeling. The ability to create and modify any geometry and convert to a CAM system is priceless to me.

Automation Tools are not as advanced as some other packages

Give it a try.

We are a Tool and Die Shop and receive a lot of different drawings from our customers. We are able to create, translate, modify and convert drawings and geometry to whatever is needed for machining and manufacturing.

I have been using Keycreator since it was Cadkey and I like that they have kept the original menus for those of us who want them. Unlike Microsoft that changes icon and locations with every release, these menus and icons have remained consistent since the 90's.

I would like more of the translators to be free instead of upgrades.

They could also do a bit better job when importing AutoCAD dwgs., but it works pretty well.

Works better than AutoCad and is easier to use than SolidWorks

I use KeyCreator for all of our design work as well as making all of our production drawings and renderings for customer presentations.

It is simple yo use, straightforward and gets the job done pretty quickly for 90% of the 3D solid modeling you need to do. Can read/write to many differing formats, has a lot simple but nice features.

Lacks some of the associativity of newer systems. Like on a 4 curve surface-change a curve and you need to recreate surface--the surface is bot associated with the curve so does not change as curve changes.

Really good price for what you get.

Very good solid modeler but no associativity (which is +/-)

Good 2 d drawing package

Easy to use.

Files can be a bit memory hogs

Great Import/Export features

Mostly 3D solid modeling of automotive components. Can handle up to a decent size assembly.

I started using KeyCreator back in the early 90's when it was Cadkey. I thought it was quite easy to use, as I basically self taught myself. It does a very new job on solid models.

I wish it did a better job with surface data. A lot of times we receive math that is surface instead of solid, and I have a harder time manipulating the models.

We redesign parts using the software, and provide models back to our customers.

Currently using KeyCreator 2017 V15.5.0. It is very quick and easy to use.

It is being used to create and modify models of parts and creating Process Instruction for shop floor. I have been at Sinteris for 19 years and have used CADKEY/KeyCreator since day one.

Nothing to dislike. It is a cheaper and effective product than some of other more expensive CAD software in the industry. Would definitely recommend KeyCreator to anyone that needs a highly functional software without breaking the bank.

Use everyday to create and modify models of parts and creating Process Instruction for shop floor.

Very efficient and productive. Easy to make changes. That also the impression of my son who was using Solid-works during his graduation in Mechanical engineering. (unfortunately KeyCreator is not given for free in Israel Technion)

Support is very poor. I have difficulties in large hybrid assemblies, usually when upgrading to the latest version. Several times opened a Help request in the Support site, never got any response. (only support I got was

Best software, needs better support.

Machine design

We like how this software still has the ability to work as it did 20+ years ago for 2D drawings yet its modeling ability is good enough to keep up with modern day needs

The fact that they need more people using it, i very seldomly find anyone else using it, i do know a lot of folks using the 20+ year version (CadKey) who never stepped up to this one.

It is a really good Translator across the various CAD programs used by the various suppliers we have, then it's exports are able to be pulled in by those suppliers.

The ease of translating various CAD formats to the CKD formats, along with the ability to export as well. This is a very nice feature.

The inability to translate sheet bodies into solids. This would make the work much easier

ease of drawing, solids are great.

Eases quoting to our customers. Allows us to recommend improvement for manufacturability to them.

UI is very user friendly, so very easy to find commands for a beginner.

There is synchronous modelling which is usually found in all the high end software.

It would be nice if we can have a search option to find commands by names.

We use this tool extensively to edit complex profiles and re size existing components.

Easy interface to work with. Graphics are amazing! Multi part translator is great to work with!

Some graphic glitches and some automatic dimension re association issues.

Work in progress but it is wonderful to work with and support is amazing when you need to ask any questions.

Primary design software for our design department. Aerospace engineering.

I like the ability to go from 2D to 3D in a snap. The software is very intuitive and the processing flows easily. It takes just minutes to have a solid of a complex part, which then can be laid out simply.

There is a learning curve but what software doesnt come with that. Intersecting threads with angles can be tricky but there are ways to work around.

This is a great company that strives to improve its product and lead the industry. Very worth your time and money to try it out.

Being in the tool room I get to handle many unique problems and get lots of opportunities to improve our processes. Currently I am also serving on the safety committee and this software helps in building guarding. I enjoy using the 2D when facing clearance issues. I use the 3D on everything else, gauging, jigs, tooling, furnishings, etc. You name it, I draw it.

Ease of designing special tooling and tracking layout in plant in 3d

Plant layout is very large lots of gig so I jam up on some of the big 3ds

Great tech support, very quick response to any questions or needs.

Allowing to animate 3d tooling so others will buy into the fix or project

The ease to change a part and make little tweaks without having to do extrudes and cuts to make it bigger or smaller. Also the ease to making the hole size a different tap or bore.

I like how fast the software completed what you need. You could want different colors of specific parts and have them on different levels so they can be turned on and off easily. This is something that would have taken a long time to do in Solidworks. With KeyCreator you are a few clicks away and you will have what you want. Specially the masking option you can choose what you want selected and what color to select fast.

I so not have much to dislike about the product. I am still learning how to use it and come from a Solidworks background, but so far I have nothing to report that I so not like.

Great software and easy to use. Just need to learn it because it is a little different than if you were to be using Solidworks or NX.

It is a lot easier to use though, and assemblies are ALOT smaller creating less load time and need for higher end graphics cards or bigger faster computers to run the assemblies.

Solving issues with Dies in metal stamping, and designing new dies for presses. I have realized the files are smaller and open much faster than a large assembly would have in solidworks.

Freedom from constraints, ability to use models from any source.

Same freedoms reduce some abilities that come from other approaches. There is always a price to pay.

Consider the flexibility and ease of use

We take models from a variety of customers and must be able to work with them regardless

The ease of using all the different solid shapes, and being able to import products into my drawings.

Having to helix and build threads ID and OD would like a thread library where I could take a base type and make it my own and blend it like the machining process would do. Also to have Lathe programming capabilities for NC Machinist.

I can invent specialized tooling and machinery, draw and import components and be sure of their fit before I go out and build it.

Very easy to use and very powerful for it price. This CAD tool has all the features found in Solidworks and allows us to create very complex solid models. It can also read just about all other files from other CAD tools.

The Bill Of Material feature not so good

I would recommend this tool to comapnies that dont need the power of Solidworks or ProE but want the same functionality

We are able to prototype and modify parts quickly

How it handles auto cad dwgs and translate them. It comes across just as it appears. Translating Cadkey 97R2 prts come out looking the same as drawn, line styles and all.

It doesn't put out a Cadkey 97R2 prt files. I have been using Cadkey since 1991.

Go for it, ease of use and the agility of the program makes it a no brainer

Being able to handle auto cad dwgs without having to save down first with True View.

I like how easy it is to move from my 2D flat to my 3D part. Once I get my flat drawn and verified I can copy it to a new layer, thicken it and form it up, following the same steps I know my Brake team will follow.

I like how easy it is to create drawings and multiple layouts for my production team. I can follow the entire production path from flat sheet metal to formed with hardware and screen printing just by adding another layout.

I can modify my part by just opening the geometry and changing what I need to change. I don’t need to worry about which feature happened in what order. It is fast and easy.

I also like KeyCreator University. KCU is great for finding out how to deal with a new issue.

Very little. The sheet metal tools could be better, but they are always improving and they are better than anyone else’s I’ve used. I find that in general, the things that cause me issues are frequently setting issues or there is another way to handle it the is explained in KCU.

Do your homework. Talk to your machine support people, others in your industry and look at the forums. Then when you begin bringing possible vendors in, have them take one of your parts and process it as you will. Anyone can make a demo look good. They are designed that way. Have it processed in front of you and compare what each had to do. After that it will be in pricing.

I work in custom sheet metal for the power distribution and networking industries. Our customers normally bring us their product to produce. What we have to do is find a way to make their product in our skill set. The better the sheet metal tools in our CAD system, the further ahead in the game we are.

The sheet metal tools in KeyCreator are pretty good and getting better. From my own experience and the people I have trained in KeyCreator, it is about the most intuitive CAD system out there.

This is the most user friendly software on the market. It's so easy, I taught myself! The ease of changing models is the biggest plus for me whether it's my own or a customer's that we imported. The options for import are very comprehensive.

I would like to see a larger fastener library. We are a job shop and we process a very wide variety of items out of the norm. It would help speed up drawing detailed unique parts.

I would highly recommend this anyone who wishes to improve productivity, reduce scrap and retain more money. I have used other software products and this is by far the best I have used.

We are picking up jobs that we used to pass by with the confidence we have gained with Keycreator. It has increased our profitability also by reducing rework and scrap. I also like how it works with our cam package. Another benefit is the ability to import and export so many file types.

Easy to use and has every feature you could ever need

animation could be much better and when editing splines, they seem to change shape. I brought this to the attention of keycreator. They replied acknowledging the issue but did not hear anything after that.

easy to learn

quickly detail a cad model