MatterHackers MatterCAD - 3D Design Software

MatterCAD - Intuitive 3D Design

MatterCAD is a user-friendly 3D modeling application for Windows and macOS, offering an intuitive platform for creating and editing 3D models. With its clean interface and straightforward tools, MatterCAD minimizes the learning curve for both beginners and experienced designers. It features a comprehensive library of primitive shapes—like cubes, spheres, and cylinders—that serve as building blocks for complex designs. Users can easily manipulate objects through drag-and-drop functionality, direct movement, rotation, and scaling within the 3D workspace. Advanced editing capabilities such as Boolean operations and mesh editing allow for intricate customization without overwhelming complexity. Unlike its sibling software MatterControl, MatterCAD focuses solely on modeling and does not include 3D printing capabilities or support generation tools. This specialization makes it ideal for educators, students, hobbyists, and professionals seeking a streamlined modeling experience without additional printing features. Bring your creative ideas to life with MatterCAD's powerful yet accessible tools—download it today to enhance your 3D modeling projects.

Find out what you can do with MatterCAD's set of Design Apps - made to help you personalize and customize 3D prints - whether they are your own, or a shared, online file. Read all about it in our MatterCAD Design Apps article.

MatterCAD now comes with design capabilities that rival those of professional, pricey, engineering-grade modeling programs. Learn all about the new toolsets in our MatterCAD Design Tools article.

MatterCAD is free, and MatterCAD Pro Edition takes it further. Pro upgrades your 2GB Cloud Library to unlimited storage, unlocks advanced design tools including Gear Creator, Thread Creator, Autopilot, Mesh Repair, Mesh Hollowing, and Polygon Reduce, and gives you email and phone support from the MatterHackers team. Pro runs on the same Windows and Mac builds you already have — just log in to enable it.

Learn more about MatterCAD Pro Edition

MatterCAD runs on both Windows and macOS.

Windows devices must meet the following minimum system requirements:

• Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster processor
• RAM: 2 GB for 64-bit
• Hard Disk Space: 6GB
• Graphics Card: DirectX 9 or later with WDDM 1.0 driver
• Display: 800 x 600

Mac devices must meet the following minimum system requirements:

• Processor: Apple Silicon (M1 or later)
• Operating System: macOS 14 Sonoma or later
• RAM: 8 GB
• Hard Disk Space: ~500 MB free

Windows represents the most stable and current version of MatterCAD:

• Operating System: Windows 10 or later
• Processor: 64bit, 3 gigahertz (GHz) or faster processor
• RAM: 6 GB
• Hard Disk Space: 100GB
• Graphics Card: DirectX 9 or later with WDDM 1.0 driver
• Display: 1024 x 768 or higher

Recommended Mac system:

• Operating System: macOS 15 Sequoia
• Processor: Apple Silicon (M1 or later)
• RAM: 16 GB for large or complex models
• Hard Disk Space: ~500 MB free

MatterCAD shares the core design engine with MatterControl. You can watch this tutorial to help you get started designing in MatterCAD.

Read more about this tutorial here:
Designing an L-Bracket

And Here is a great article about turning 2D images into 3D objects.