Article published in October 2009 on the Novedge blog. While this interview was originally published a few years ago, Mark Vorwaller’s insights capture a pivotal moment in CAD history. Just a year after this conversation, VX CAD/CAM was acquired by ZWSOFT and evolved into ZW3D, now a globally recognized, affordable all-in-one CAD/CAM platform. Mark went on to serve as President of ZWSOFT America, and the proprietary hybrid solid/surface modeling kernel he discusses below remains the beating heart of ZW3D today. We are keeping this interview in our archives as a fascinating look at the engineering philosophy that helped shape the modern 3D design landscape.
There is a CAD company that has been around for many years that makes a fully integrated CAD/CAM system offering a powerful combination of solid modeling and surface modeling that few others can match, with a devoted following of loyal customers. It’s VX CAD/CAM!
Franco Folini
There is a CAD company that has been around for many years that makes a fully integrated CAD/CAM system offering a powerful combination of solid modeling and surface modeling that few others can match, with a devoted following of loyal customers. Yet only a few CAD users will mention this company’s product among the top 5 most popular CAD systems. It’s because at VX, all the energy goes into improving their CAD system rather than into marketing. The system’s promotion is largely driven by word of mouth. While it’s an old marketing medium and it’s slow, if you have a great product, it can also be beneficial. The person who shaped VX, the product, and VX, the company, is Mark Vorwaller, cofounder and CEO. After meeting Mark for the first time at last year’s COFES conference, I asked him for an interview.
The Interview with Mark Vorwaller
Franco Folini: Hi, Mark! Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your company, VX CAD/CAM?
Mark Vorwaller: I co-founded Control Automation, Inc. (CAI) in 1985 while pursuing postgraduate studies at the University of Florida’s Center for Robotics. Control Automation’s first project involved developing software controls for robot workcells. An in-house PC-based solid modeler was developed to support the project. The modeler was private-labeled by several software vendors and sold directly by CAI as ModelMATE. In 1989, CAI began joint development of a hybrid surface/solid modeler with a large Japanese company. The modeler used a combination of variational and parametric geometry, resulting in a new company name, “Varimetrix.” I believe that blending these modeling technologies gives VX customers superior power and flexibility in designing parts and assemblies. Over time, the name “Varimetrix” was contracted to “VX” by customers and resellers, which is how we are known today.
Blending these modeling technologies gives VX customers superior power and flexibility.
Mark Vorwaller
Franco Folini: Even though VX is a very powerful system, it’s not yet as popular as comparable CAD systems. Can you explain what makes VX different from your competitors?
Mark Vorwaller: In my opinion the key differentiators for VX are (1) the robustness and flexibility of its hybrid surface/solid modeling, (2) its speed and effectiveness working with large parts and assemblies, (3) its ability to immediately work with any imported part – no solids required, (4) its hybrid history and direct-edit modeling, (5) its class A surfacing for sophisticated consumer products, (6) its scaleability with fully-associative native applications for reverse engineering, mold & die design and 2-5 axis CAM, (7) its ability to work robustly with non-native geometry and (8) its Show-n-Tell built-in e-learning system that works like a 3D book. Users can learn VX on their own schedule and at their own pace. Our customers tell us that these capabilities in VX are key to giving them a competitive edge.
Users can learn VX on their own schedule and at their own pace.
Mark Vorwaller
Franco Folini: Your product is one of the few systems that cover almost the entire design and manufacturing process, from concept to machining. What are the advantages and limitations of this holistic approach?
Mark Vorwaller: I can only think of advantages. I am convinced that the user can only benefit from seamless integration and associativity across applications. If you modify a product design in VX, the associated mold designs, drawings, and CAM process plans are automatically updated. Everything is built on a single architecture and a single database, so there is no geometry conversion and no loss of data or accuracy between applications. VX CAM ensures that VX CAD generates clean, accurate geometry for manufacturing. It also requires that VX CAD works effectively with non-native geometry. With VX CAD/CAM, the customer does not have to deal with a conglomerate of products with differing user interfaces, release schedules, support systems, and integration breakdowns.
The user can only benefit from seamless integration and associativity across applications.
Mark Vorwaller
Franco Folini: In VX, solid modeling and surface modeling are equal citizens, without any discrimination. How did you obtain this integration, and what are the implications for the end user?
Mark Vorwaller: The product we jointly developed in the late 80s and early 90s was intended to be an alternative to a leading CAD system known for its advanced surfacing capabilities. However, we wanted our product to include the power of solid modeling, which we had learned via our ModelMATE development. Parametric and variational geometry concepts were included because of their usefulness and because hardware was becoming powerful enough to handle them.
Because this hybrid approach was architected from the ground up rather than cobbled together from existing technologies, I believe we achieved an excellent result. The current VX CAD/CAM is a second-generation hybrid surface/solid modeling system based on our experience with the first implementation. Though VX may not be well known, it is a pioneering developer of hybrid modeling.
Hybrid modeling combines the automation of solids with the flexibility of advanced surfacing, especially for consumer product design. Solid feature operations can be applied to surfaces and vice versa. Based on my experience, it is often easier to design a complex free-form shape when you are not constrained to maintain a solid topology at all times. Hybrid modeling is very useful for mold design, including the design of parting surfaces and the creation of cores and cavities. A robust hybrid modeling kernel ensures VX can work more easily with “dirty” geometry imported from other CAD systems. VX customers know that hybrid modeling gives them the power and flexibility that is unparalleled by solid-only or surface-only systems.
The current VX CAD/CAM is a second generation of hybrid surface/solid modeling based on our experience with the first implementation.
Mark Vorwaller
Franco Folini: What is your opinion on the new CAD trend toward simpler modeling, mostly based on push-pull operations (aka direct modeling)?
Mark Vorwaller: I’ve felt for years that direct edit should be implemented alongside history-based or other parametric modeling techniques. In the early 90’s, some products started out doing only “direct edit” style modeling, but were totally eclipsed by history-based modelers. Computer and geometric modeling technology were not powerful enough at that time to compete with history-based modeling. Ultimately, a couple of the “direct modelers” added history-based modeling to meet end-user needs, but these efforts were ineffective in retrospect.
My vision from the early 90’s was for a modeling system that combined surface and solid modeling (hybrid) and also combined history and “direct edit” capabilities. Our original direct edit tools were used to edit non-feature-model geometry. In the early days, these were operations performed on individual faces (deletion, extension, modification, splitting, trimming, offsetting) that were unavailable in other history-based modelers. We then worked on “Simplify”, a direct-edit technology for removing faces, features, or edges and automatically closing the resulting gaps. In every case, our direct edit operations are logged to the history to avoid losing their benefits, but they do not rely on the history to obtain their results.
The next step of VX Direct Edit focuses on moving individual faces or groups of faces (including disjoint faces) while keeping the part topology intact. Faces can be dynamically dragged to their new position or placed exactly by using dynamic snapping with automatic dimensions. The dimensions can be modified by dragging arrowheads or by entering exact values.
In summary, I favor a functional combination of direct and parametric modeling techniques. This is consistent with VX’s history of combining the best features of different technologies into a single, usable piece of software.
I’ve felt for years that direct edit should be implemented in conjunction with history-based or other parametric modeling techniques.
Mark Vorwaller
Franco Folini: If you could wear the end-user hat for a moment, what is the major feature still missing from current CAD/CAM software (including VX)?
Mark Vorwaller: Truly powerful, easy-to-use multiphysics analysis capability seamlessly embedded in the CAD system.
Franco Folini: VX product line goes from $995 to $10K. What is the right price for a CAD/CAM system? Is the price a major issue in the purchasing decision process?
Mark Vorwaller: I believe price is increasingly a consideration for end-users, even in larger organizations. Some CAD industry pundits like to say it’s not a factor, or that it shouldn’t be, given the other costs associated with using a CAD/CAM system. That rhetoric has been around for years, but CAD/CAM companies, big and small, continue to lower prices and use discounts to attract customers. I believe small- to medium-sized companies are more price-sensitive than large companies, but in a free economy, price will always be a factor.
VX pricing is right for its average customer, typically a small- to medium-sized company looking for high-end power at an affordable price. Nearly 50% of VX customers use VX End-to-End (CAD through CAM). They desire the integration and associativity VX provides, from CAD through CAM, without the complications and costs of a collection of third-party products or of purchasing from the large vendors that dominate the automotive and aerospace industries. There are a handful of CAD products priced lower than VX, but in my opinion, they provide neither the power nor the scalability of VX CAD/CAM.
VX pricing is right for its average customer, typically a small-to-medium size company.
Mark Vorwaller
I would like to thank Mark for taking the time to answer my questions.
2010: Where Are They Now?
On August 25, 2010, the Chinese company ZWCAD Software Co. announced that it had acquired VX CAD/CAM for an undisclosed amount. VXCAD/CAM was rebranded as ZW3D.
A lot can happen in the software industry over a decade and a half. When this interview was conducted in 2009, VX CAD/CAM was preparing for a transition that would ultimately reshape its trajectory. In 2010, the company was acquired by ZWSOFT and rebranded as ZW3D.
Instead of stepping away after the acquisition, Mark Vorwaller stayed at the helm of his creation’s next chapter, becoming the President of ZWSOFT America. Over the years, he has remained a prominent figure and driving force in the company’s Western operations, actively representing ZWSOFT at global industry events such as the recent ZWorld Conferences.
The software itself, built on the proprietary hybrid solid/surface modeling kernel that Mark describes in this interview, has seen explosive adoption.
2026: The Evolution of ZW3D
Today, ZWSOFT is no longer just a challenger brand; it is a global CAx (CAD/CAE/CAM) powerhouse. By 2026, the company will have hit several massive milestones:
- Global Recognition: In early 2026, ZWCAD secured the #8 spot in G2’s Best CAD & PLM Software Awards, climbing the ranks of global tech solutions.
- Corporate Expansion: Following a major 2025 rebrand focused on “Empowering Sustainable Innovation,” ZWSOFT opened a massive new Global Headquarters in Guangzhou, China, supporting a community of millions of users across the AEC and manufacturing industries.
- Predictions Coming True: Perhaps the most fascinating takeaway from this 2009 interview is Mark’s prediction about the future of CAD. When asked what major feature was still missing from CAD software, he pointed directly to embedded multi-physics analysis. Fast forward to late 2023, and ZWSOFT officially acquired CHAM, a renowned UK-based computational fluid dynamics (CFD) developer, explicitly to expand its multi-physics simulation portfolio—bringing Mark’s 2009 vision of fully integrated CAD/CAE flawlessly to life.
Reading this interview today is a great reminder that the foundations of today’s enterprise-level design software were built by engineers who saw exactly where the industry needed to go long before the hardware caught up.
