Precision sketching: the fun way to design.™

Create and revise precision drawings as fast as your ideas come. Use as much or as little precision as you need. So easy even non-CAD users can get their ideas across accurately and with speed. Available on both Mac and Windows, Lithium is an excellent way to step into the world of 2D/3D sketching using our unique Organic Workflow™ non-linear design process.

  • Unique Working Environment featuring Organic Workflow™
  • Effortless and Fast Precision Drafting
  • Easier to Learn and Faster to Use
  • Accurate 2D and 3D Drafting to 16 Digits
  • Intuitive Vellum® Interface
  • Vellum Drafting Assistant™ for Intelligent Snaps and Alignments in X,Y & Z
  • Unique Hybrid Mac/Windows, Office/Home Licensing
  • 2D PDF Export and Import
  • Export as STL for 3D Printing
  • Exports as 3D PDF for Easy Sharing
  • 2D Drawing Snapshots
  • General Features
    • Direct Multi-sheet PDF Creation
    • 16 Place Floating Point Accuracy
    • Hybrid Mac/Windows Office/Home Licensing
    • Infinite Pan and Zoom
    • More than 256 Layers with Grouping Control
    • Unlimited Drawing Size
    • Unlimited Number of Objects and Drawing Size
    • Draw Order Control by Arrange Menu or Layer Dialog
    • 65,000 Hierarchical Layers
    • Unlimited Colors
  • 2D Analysis
    • Perimeter
    • Area
    • Centroid
  • User Interface
    • Updated, Intuitive Vellum Interface
    • Drafting Assistant™ for Automatic Snaps and Alignments
    • Smart Cursor Changes Shape Indicating Active Tool and Operations
    • Tear-off Tool Palettes
    • Strokes and Short Cuts Provide Instant Access to Commands
    • Status Line to Specify Object Parameters
    • Message Line Provides Tool Feedback, Instructions, and Options
    • Edit Objects Dialog Box
    • World and User-defined Coordinate Systems
    • All Data Entry Fields can Perform Numeric Calculations
    • Object Grouping and Locking
    • TrackBall for View Selection and Dynamic or Cube Rotation
    • Scroll Wheel Zoom and Spacebar Panning
    • Axis Locking
    • Orbit Tool
    • Nudge Tool Moves Selected Items a User-definable Distance
    • Selection Mask for Easier Selection of Specific Entity Types
    • Grid (User-defined, with snapping)
    • Layer Manager
    • Macros to Assign Keys or Strokes to Repetitive Tasks
    • Localized Languages
    • Tool Tips
    • Help Tool Hyperlink
    • Visual Assistance:
      • Cursor Options
      • Scaled Line Weights
      • Menu Fonts
    • Visual Color Selection Palettes
    • Re-ordering of Layers and User Views
    • Nested Layers
  • Drawing Tools
    • Wireframe Creation Tools
      • Point
      • Points on Curve
      • Points on Surface
      • Line
      • Mid-point Line
      • Connected Line
      • Arc
      • Circle
      • Ellipse
      • Conic
      • Rectangle
      • Polygon
      • Arbitrary Polygon
      • Star Polygon
      • Sketch Spline
      • Through-point Spline
      • Vector Spline
      • Bezier Spline
      • Helix
      • Spiral
    • Wireframe Editing Tools
      • Fillet
      • Chamfer
      • Trim
      • Relimit/Extend
      • Break
      • Offset
      • Join
      • Extrude
      • Revolve
      • Extract Edge of Surface or Solid
      • Increase Order
      • Fair Spline
      • Add/Remove Spline Points
      • Modify Spline Slope
      • Curve by Intersection of Plane
      • Project Curve onto a plane
      • Intersect Two Curves
      • Create Points by Intersecting
    • Spline Editing Tools
    • Modify Spline Slope
    • Intersect Two Curves
    • Infinite Construction Lines
    • Offset, Divide
  • Selection Tools
    • Fence
    • Crossing/Intersecting
    • Enclosed Polygon
    • Automatic Boundary Detection
  • Views
    • Multiple
    • 3D
  • Additional Drafting Tools
    • Symbols Panel
    • Multiple Sheets per Document
    • Plotter Font
    • Pen Style Palette
  • Text Tools
    • Multi Line
    • Normal
    • Along Path
    • At an Angle
    • Set Font, Size, Color and Justification
  • General Transform Tools
    • Move
    • Linear Duplicate
    • Rotate
    • Polar Duplicate
    • Scale
    • Mirror
    • Stretch
    • Copy Along Path
  • 2D Drawing Creation
    • Smart Dimension Tool Automatically Creates the Appropriate Dimensions
    • Dimensions:
      • Linear
      • Angular
      • Diametric
      • Radial
      • Baseline Method
      • Chain Method
      • Ordinate (Datum Method)
      • Circle Center Marking
    • Standard and User Definable Tolerances and Settings (ANSI, DIN, ISO, JIS, Dual, Architecture, and Stacked Fraction)
    • Predefined Hatch and Fill Patterns
    • Line Weights, Colors, and Styles
    • Unlimited Number of Objects
    • Dynamic or Static Dimensioning
    • Balloon and Callout Dimensions
  • Import / Export
    • DWG/DXF (Up to R32)
    • PDF 2D Import and Export
    • EPS (Export Only)
    • Spline (Import Only)
    • ASCII Text
    • Claris CAD (Import Only)
    • Graphical Formats:
      • BMP (w/Alpha)
      • GIF (w/Alpha)
      • JPG
      • PNG (w/Alpha)
      • PSD
      • TGA (w/Alpha)
      • TIFF (w/Alpha)
      • WBMP
  • Text Tools
    • Normal
    • Along a Path
    • Keep Screen Horizontal
    • At an Angle
    • Set: Font, Size, Style, Color
  • PDF Integration
    • Export
      • Direct (Generates Non-tessellated Arcs)
      • Multi-sheet
      • Imbedded Exports Optional
      • PDF Large Size Export up to 200in × 200in (508cm × 508cm, including margins)
      • Page Size Independent of Print Size
    • Import
      • Vector
      • Raster
      • Text
  • Localized User Interface
    • English (US)
    • English (UK)
    • French
    • German
    • Italian
    • Portuguese
    • Slovak
    • Swedish
  • System Requirements
    • Windows / macOS
    • Windows x64 10 / 11 (Intel and AMD)
    • macOS 10.15 (Catalina) / 11 (Big Sur)* / 12 (Monterey)* / 13 (Ventura)* / 14 (Sonoma)* / 15 (Sequoia)*
    • OpenGL 3.3 compatible Video Card Required / Medium- to High-performance Graphics Subsystem Recommend
    • 2 GB RAM Required / 8 GB Recommended
    • 2 GB free hard drive space Required / 4+ GB SSD Recommended
    • Internet Connection

    *Apple silicon is supported via Rosetta2 which is included free by Apple in macOS 11, 12, and 13 for Apple silicon based Macs


    For Anti-Piracy:
    • Periodic Internet Communications (once every 30 days) OR
    • CodeMeter Security Key in USB Port, SD Card Slot or microSD Card Slot on a Local or Network Computer. (Sold separately. Be sure to order the correct key. USB keys may be ordered from Ashlar-Vellum. SD and microSD keys must be ordered directly from CodeMeter.)
    For Installation:
    • Internet Connection