gCAD3D is a freely distributed, open source and cross-platform piece of software that provides users with a 3D CAD/CAM (Computer-Aided Design and Manufacturing) application for GNU/Linux and Microsoft Windows operating systems.

Key features include an integrated 3D OpenGL viewer, integrated NC processor, a program interpreter for NC commands and geometry in three-dimensions, as well as a programming interface for remote control.

It comes with a programming interface for plugins, and supports importing and exporting to a wide range of file formats, including VRML-1, Step, SVG, DXF, and Iges.

It allows users to prepare, create, visualize and analyze data, easily interact with call models like HTML and HREF, call programs, change model parameter, change the viewport, display 3D models and images (bitmaps), as well as 2D draftings.

The application supports dynamic generation and modification of 3D models and drafts, analysis and creation of geometric objects, connect graphic objects with interactions, interactive dialog functions, and manually generated commands.

This is a freeware application that requires the libc 2.4 or newer library, GTK+ 2 or GTK+ 3 toolkits, as well as the OpenGL/Mesa 3D libraries on GNU/Linux platforms. No dependencies are needed on the Microsoft Windows operating system.

On Linux is available for download only as DEB files for the Debian GNU/Linux and Ubuntu Linux distributions, supporting both 32-bit and 64-bit instruction set architectures. On the other hand, only the 32-bit hardware platform is supported by the Windows executable.

In conclusion, gCAD3D is a decent 3D CAD-CAM application that provides users with many attractive features and support for multiple operating systems. Unfortunately, it is not an open source software and it’s not included in the default software repositories of important Linux distributions.