Autodesk, maker of CAD programs AutoCAD, 3DS Max and Maya, has announced a new addition to its family of products: Autodesk Inventor Fusion. It is an amazing “prosumer” extension to their line and you should download it right now. Why, you ask?

1. It Works on a Mac

It is appropriately named “Fusion” since the only thing that has seemed more unlikely than useful CAD on a Mac is cold fusion. It works natively, so there's no need for Parallels, virtual machines, or any of the other kludges that have been required in the past. Inventor Fusion is honest to goodness, parametric CAD awesomeness that even Steve Jobs would have been glad to see.

2. It’s Free

The product is currently in a “Technical Preview,” which means you can download it for free until the end of the year. Its companion, AutoDesk Inventor, currently retails for $7,295, so this is a deal you should take advantage of right away.

3. Parametric Editing FTW

Most CAD programs for the web or Mac are surface modelers (Rhino/Blender) or 3-D drawing programs (SketchUp/TinkerCad). Parametric tools offer designers the ability to create “parent” components, edit any features of the parent, and have changes cascade into “child” components. For instance, say you designed a device that required 12 screw holes, but had to change the size of the screw halfway through the design process. With parametric tools you change one instance and the alteration would propagate through the 11 other references in the model. With other programs you’d have to change each hole individually.

4. Well Designed Interface

The UI designers at AutoDesk deserve a big round of applause. Most CAD software looks like it was designed with the style guide from Windows 95 as the only aesthetic input. Inventor Fusion won’t win any Apple Design Awards, but it is one of the best-looking, easiest to understand, and fun to use products in the class. I’ve never used an Autodesk product before, but within a couple minutes I had crafted my first 3-D printable masterpiece.

5. Fully Featured Design Tool

Inventor Fusion derives its name from the fact that it is the first 3-D modeling package that allows users to switch between solid and surface modeling. This app enables robust mechanical engineering and spontaneous artistic expression with the same tools. It can natively export .STL files, the key file type needed to 3-D print or mill objects. It can import DWG files, making it easy to design things in Adobe Illustrator or similar vector-based programs and turn them into three-dimensional objects. There are very few things a hobbyist will need to do that this software can’t support.

One warning, CAD programs take hundreds, if not thousands of hours to become expert on. I’ve been using a competitive product, Solidworks, for years, so I understood the basics going in. If you are coming to this with little experience, brace for frustration. It takes time to learn, but the payoff is enormous.

Many people in the “maker” community were worried when Autodesk acquired DIY community Instructables last year. But this new release shows they alone are willing to provide tools for the Mac’s creative user base. This release could be a huge boon for the hobbyist 3-D printer crowd and is a milestone in the next industrial revolution.