CAD, BIM & 3D

CADDIT has released a free CAD application, based on ProgeCAD (which in itself uses IntelliCAD). It can be downloaded at http://www.caddit.net/progecad/smart.php and has to be registered. Beware that only non-commercial use is allowed. Some features of the commercial (but cheap) ProgrCAD are not available in the SMART version. As always, Windows-only.

Houdini Apprentice has been available for some time, providing a free but non-commercial version of Houdini procedural animation without cost (but with limitations). Recently, SideFX added the "Starving Artist Edition" to the apprentice program , providing HD-capability for animations (1920x1080 pixels) and watermark-free rendering. It will cost $99, which is cheap compared to the full commercial prices. It uses the same non-commercial file format as the free apprentice edition and is not usable for commercial purposes. Available for Windows and Linux.