Create stunning photorealistic images and videos from any CAD system, real life photo, or even a quick napkin sketch.
IMAGE RENDERS COMPLETE IN 60 SECONDS.
Autodesk VRED is professional 3D visualization and virtual prototyping software for automotive and industrial design. Its desktop authoring workflow brings CAD and other 3D data into a visualization scene for material work, lighting, cameras, variants, ray-traced stills, animation, and interactive or immersive review. VRED supports both real-time visualization and ray tracing, so teams can assess a design while preserving a scene that can be refined and rendered again. It is most useful when the product data, material decisions, and review experience need to remain connected to an editable 3D scene.
Autodesk VRED is built for a complete virtual-prototype workflow: import and organize 3D product data, establish cameras and lighting, work with layered or measured material workflows, manage variants, and review the result in real time or with ray tracing. A well-composed VRED viewport is also a useful handoff point for RENDERCAD. Capture the exterior, cabin, component, or product angle that communicates the design, then use RENDERCAD to explore a more polished still for an early review, sales conversation, or marketing direction without rebuilding that view in another scene. Use VRED when the result must remain an editable, scene-based asset for material evaluation, variant review, animation, or immersive collaboration. Use RENDERCAD when a fast image-led iteration is enough and the current VRED view already contains the essential form and composition.
VRED gives visualization specialists control over imported CAD and 3D data, scene hierarchy, cameras, lighting, layered materials, ray-traced output, render passes, animations, and variant combinations. Its real-time and ray-traced modes make it suitable for virtual prototype reviews where a team needs to inspect the same product from multiple views or preserve a scene for further decisions. That depth is valuable, but it also means preparing geometry, materials, environment, and output settings in a dedicated desktop visualization workflow.
RENDERCAD starts from the strongest visible view instead of the scene graph. Export or capture a clean VRED viewport or render preview, keeping the product silhouette, camera angle, major color blocks, and intended context clear. Describe the desired image treatment and use the result for concept exploration, stakeholder decks, product storytelling, or a marketing-style still. It does not replace VRED when exact material response, configured variants, dimensions, camera continuity, animation, or immersive review must be validated. Keep the VRED scene and approved design data as the source of truth, and review generated imagery before using it for decisions that depend on exact product specifications.
Screenshot the CAD viewport you already have, render in the browser, and download a client-ready still or video without exports, plugins, or GPU setup.
Modeled by CADSharp in Onshape. Rendered with RENDERCAD.
Add, change, or remove referenced objects with the stroke of a brush.
RENDERCAD uses a maintained selection of image-generation models for different rendering tasks. Results can vary by model and input, so compare generated output with the source design before relying on geometry, materials, or dimensions.
| Feature | RENDERCAD | Autodesk VRED |
|---|---|---|
| Engine | Generative AI | Real-time visualization with CPU and GPU ray tracing |
| Output | Images + Video | Ray-traced stills, render passes, animations, interactive presentations, and immersive review visuals |
| Resolution | HD / 4K | Scene and export settings determine final image resolution |
| Image Speed | Image renders complete in 60 seconds. | Interactive previews; final output varies by scene |
| Video Speed | Videos complete in 2-5 minutes. | Supports animation output; export time varies with scene complexity and rendering mode |
| Scene Set Up | No separate local scene | Prepared 3D scene with imported data, materials, lights, cameras, variants, and review settings |
| Input | Screen Snip | CAD and 3D model data prepared for visualization, plus scene assets and material data |
| Materials | 2,600+ Textures | Layered, multi-pass, Substance, MaterialX, MDL, and other supported visualization materials |
| Backgrounds | 1300+ Backgrounds | Tool-dependent |
| Conditions | 40+ Effects | Tool-dependent |
| References | Up to 6 Per Render | Varies |
| Hardware | Cloud (None Required) | Desktop workstation with cloud and streaming options |
| Install | None | Desktop VRED installation and compatible graphics hardware for the selected workflow |
| Cost | from $9/mo | Autodesk subscription licensing |
Compare the workflows side by side and choose the one that fits the next task.
Skip a separate local scene build. Pick a condition, material, and background while RENDERCAD handles the image-generation step. Image renders complete in 60 seconds.
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RENDERCAD™
Use the browser workflow directly, capture a selected view with the desktop app, or start from the browser extension.
Get StartedCommon questions about RENDERCAD and this workflow
RENDERCAD avoids much of the scene, shader, and local-renderer setup used by traditional rendering tools. Users still need to prepare a useful source image, choose suitable options, describe the intended result, and review generated details.
RENDERCAD starts at $9/month with credits that refresh monthly - predictable costs with no upfront investment or perpetual license fees.
RENDERCAD is designed to create more polished, realistic-looking presentation images from a source view. Results vary by input and settings, and generated images should be checked against the original model before they are used to communicate exact design details.
RENDERCAD can generate a visual interpretation of a described or referenced material without requiring shader parameters. It does not guarantee physically measured or specification-accurate material behavior, so validate critical color, grain, reflectivity, and finish details against approved references.
Describe the wood species and finish you want, and provide a reference image when scale or grain direction matters. RENDERCAD can generate a wood-like visual treatment, but it does not replace model-level texture mapping or guarantee an exact, repeatable grain pattern.
With RENDERCAD, upload or snip a clear image, describe carbon fiber, and add a material reference when exact visual direction matters. Image renders complete in 60 seconds.
Yes. Request a golden-hour look and describe the mood or direction you want. The generated warmth, shadows, and light direction can vary between results, so compare important design details with the source image.
Describe an environment such as a sunny forest or urban street and use a reference image when needed. Image renders complete in 60 seconds without building a local scene file or environment map.
RENDERCAD's Create Video workflow generates a video from a single image and provides Camera and Product Motion controls. Videos complete in 2-5 minutes.
RENDERCAD can generate orbit-style motion from a single image using a Camera option. Because the motion is inferred rather than rendered from a complete 3D model, review geometry and hidden-side details before publishing the result.
Usually. Generation runs in the cloud, so it does not occupy a local renderer. Keep the relevant browser workflow available as required, and expect normal network and browser resource use while the job is submitted and results are loaded.
RENDERCAD processes generation in the cloud, so it does not require a dedicated local rendering GPU. You still need a supported browser and internet connection, and normal browser, upload, and download activity can use local device resources.
What RENDERCAD customers say