The Open Design Alliance is offering a free trial of its Teigha development platform.

If you have ever thought about writing your own CAD software, now it the time. The Open Design Alliance (ODA) is making available a free trial version of Teigha, its development platform for engineering applications.

Teigha is the evolution of the software libraries originally developed by a coalition of CAD companies who wanted independent access to the .dwg format popularized by AutoCAD. Over the years it has evolved into a complete  development platform for a wide variety of engineering applications. Features include custom data access and editing, automation, general-purpose visualization and markup, and full-scale CAD capabilities.

“Teigha is a bit of a hidden gem in the engineering software industry,” says Neil Peterson, ODA President. “The new trial version makes it easy for prospective customers to see the merits of our product line before making a financial commitment.”

ODA is offering technical support during the 60-day trial period, but if you are serious about building your own CAD software, you might want to buy a copy of OpenCAD by Deelip Menezes. A bit dated (2012), but it walks the reader step-by-step through building a functional 2D CAD product, using ODA technology.

The trial access to Teigha is a fully functional and valid for 60 days. Teigha supports the use of .dwg, .dgn, and .pdf files, as well as the import and export of many other formats. It runs on all major desktop, server and mobile platforms, and is available for C++, .NET and Java developers.