Striker Systems

Since its founding in August 1985, Computer Design, Inc. has been devoted to the advancement of CAD and CAM software applications to address various aspects of mechanical design and manufacturing. As a provider of engineering services, these software products were originally developed by the engineers of Computer Design to enhance internal product and tool design productivity; however, the client demand for customized CAD and CAM applications on the desktop generated an expansion of the company focus to include software development. Due to the high demand for quality desktop manufacturing solutions, software development quickly became the sole focus of Computer Design.

The original software solutions developed by Computer Design used AutoCAD as the base graphics engine. The fledgling AutoCAD software, introduced by Autodesk, Inc. just three years earlier, showed promise as a desktop drafting solution, and offered a programming interface that fit the development needs of Computer Design. Computer Design became an Authorized AutoCAD Dealer in 1985 and began a cooperative development relationship with Autodesk.

Through 1989 Computer Design continued to offer systems integration and custom software development services and developed a wide array of software solutions. These included products for design and drafting, parametric association, various forms of unfolding and flat blank creation, stamping die development, roll form tooling, and CNC programming solutions including software to program turret punch presses, laser machines, plasma machines, waterjets, wire EDMs, mills, routers and spin-form machines. The development of these products within AutoCAD provided a unique CAD/CAM environment that offered a single, user friendly, affordable solution to run on the desktop.

In late 1989, Striker Systems was founded as the marketing division of Computer Design with the mission of establishing a worldwide software presence. Development and sales and marketing personnel were added to support this aggressive expansion and, in October of 1990, Striker Systems’ flagship products, Fab Professional and Die Professional, were introduced.

Striker Systems reached another product milestone in 1996 when a stand-alone version of the Fab Professional sheet metal fabrication software was introduced. Dubbed FabCAD, this latest solution was based on Autodesk’s newly released AutoCAD OEM software. FabCAD retained the advantages of being AutoCAD-based, yet operated independently of AutoCAD. This heightened the appeal to non-AutoCAD users and expanded Striker’s presence in these markets.

Today Striker Systems is an international leader in the development of metal forming and fabrication software solutions. With over 3,000 software products distributed worldwide, Striker Systems has become the leader in metal forming and fabrication solutions based on Autodesk technology.