Cobalt (CAD program)

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Cobalt

Cobalt's integral ray-tracing capabilities afford the designer detailed control of a wide variety of surface properties, including the amount of dimpling in the polished sandstone table. Shown here is a high-end espresso tamper with an integrated bubble level
Developer(s)	Ashlar-Vellum
Stable release	11 / 4 February 2019; 5 years ago (2019-02-04)
Preview release	12
Operating system	Microsoft Windows, macOS
Type	Computer-aided design
License	Proprietary
Website	www.ashlar.com/3d-modeling/3d-modeling-cobalt.html

Cobalt is a parametric-based computer-aided design (CAD) and 3D modeling program that runs on both Macintosh and Microsoft Windows operating systems. The program combines the direct-modeling way to create and edit objects (exemplified by programs such as SpaceClaim) and the highly structured, history-driven parametric way exemplified by programs like Pro/ENGINEER. A product of Ashlar-Vellum, Cobalt is Wireframe-based and history-driven with associativity and 2D equation-driven parametrics and constraints. It offers surfacing tools, mold design tools, detailing, and engineering features. Cobalt includes a library of 149,000 mechanical parts.^[1]

Cobalt's interface, which the company named the "Vellum interface" after its eponymous flagship product, was designed in 1988 by Dr. Martin Newell (who created the Utah teapot in 1975 and went on to work at Xerox PARC, where the WIMP paradigm for graphical user interfaces was invented) and Dan Fitzpatrick. The central feature of the Vellum interface is its "Drafting Assistant," which facilitates the creation and alignment of the new geometry.

Cobalt has received praise for its free-form surfaces on solid modeled objects.^[2]