CAD Kernel History Explorer
Fifty-six years of geometry kernels in four views: a searchable timeline of launches, forks, and acquisitions; the family tree from BUILD and ROMULUS to today's products; which kernels sit under the MCAD market; and how the four survivors compare.
Looking for the lineage map or the quiz? They have pages of their own: Kernel Map and Kernel Wars Quiz.
Interactive timeline
Fifty-six years of kernel launches, forks, and acquisitions. Filter by kernel lineage or search for a product, company, or year.
42 of 42 events
1960s
- 1969
The CAD Group (Ian Braid, Alan Grayer, Charles Lang) works on the BUILD prototype at Cambridge
Romulus - 1969
Computervision launches CADDS-1, 3D wireframe only
CADDS
- 1969
1970s
- 1974
Shape Data Ltd is founded and develops ROMULUS in FORTRAN, based on BUILD
Romulus - 1979
Matra buys Datavision and starts selling Euclid-IS solid-modeling 3D CAD
Open Cascade
- 1974
1980s
- 1981
Shape Data is acquired by Evans & Sutherland
Parasolid - 1981
Dassault Systèmes launches CATIA V1 (2D and 3D wireframe)
Pre-CGM - 1982
Computervision launches CADDS4X with direct 3D modeling on a proprietary kernel
CADDS - 1985
Shape Data launches Parasolid
Parasolid - 1985
Three-Space Ltd is formed, with Spatial as a major investor
ACIS - 1985
Computervision launches CADDS5, proprietary kernel with direct and parametric modeling
CADDS - 1986
CATIA V3 ships 3D solids on a proprietary kernel
Pre-CGM - 1986
HP launches ME30, based on ROMULUS
Romulus - 1988
PTC launches Pro/ENGINEER on its proprietary Granite geometry engine
Granite - 1989
Three-Space launches ACIS 1.0
ACIS
- 1981
1990s
- 1990
EDS Unigraphics acquires Parasolid
Parasolid - 1990
CATIA V4 launches on a proprietary kernel
Pre-CGM - 1992
HP ME30 becomes SolidDesigner and switches to the ACIS kernel
ACIS - 1994
AutoCAD Release 13 ships 3D solids on ACIS
ACIS - 1995
Ex-PTC engineers Jon Hirschtick and Mike Payne launch SolidWorks
Parasolid - 1996
Intergraph launches Solid Edge
Parasolid - 1996
Matra Datavision introduces EUCLID QUANTUM
Open Cascade - 1997
Dassault Systèmes acquires SolidWorks
Parasolid - 1997
HP forks its own branch of ACIS for SolidDesigner
Proprietary (ACIS-fork) - 1998
EDS Unigraphics acquires Solid Edge from Intergraph
Parasolid - 1998
Spatial acquires Three-Space
ACIS - 1998
Dassault Systèmes acquires Matra Datavision's QUANTUM technology and builds on it for CATIA V5
CGM - 1998
PTC acquires Computervision
CADDS - 1999
Autodesk launches Inventor
ACIS - 1999
CATIA V5 launches on the CATIA Geometric Modeler (CGM)
CGM
- 1990
2000s
- 2000
HP spins off its CAD division as CoCreate
Proprietary (ACIS-fork) - 2000
Autodesk forks ShapeManager from the ACIS source just before Dassault buys Spatial
ShapeManager (ACIS-fork) - 2000
Dassault Systèmes acquires Spatial
ACIS - 2007
Siemens acquires UGS
Parasolid - 2007
PTC acquires CoCreate
Proprietary (ACIS-fork) - 2007
SpaceClaim launches with a direct-modeling-first approach
ACIS
- 2000
2010s
- 2010
Dassault Systèmes launches CATIA V6 with PLM integration
CGM - 2010
PTC rebrands the Pro/ENGINEER line as Creo Parametric
Granite - 2014
ANSYS acquires SpaceClaim
ACIS - 2015
Autodesk launches Fusion 360
ShapeManager (ACIS-fork) - 2016
Onshape launches, the first cloud-only MCAD system
Parasolid - 2019
PTC acquires Onshape
Parasolid
- 2010
2020s
- 2025
ANSYS SpaceClaim switches from ACIS to Parasolid
Parasolid
- 2025
Go deeper
The Kernel Wars series tells the story behind every branch of this tree, from graphics kernel anatomy to the future of implicit modeling.