Hi Scottiepop,
I have Alibre and OneCNC. I haven't had any issues importing STEP or IGES files from Alibre to OneCNC with Alibre V8.2 or the latest version V9.0.
In addition to having the ability to model in Alibre, I also have OneCNC's modeling features in their Expert version.
Regarding your question, I believe Alibre is a sound 3D parametric modeler with all the basic and some advanced features. I have no experience with Solidworks, but I am pretty sure Alibre lacks many of the advanced features that Solidworks has. Not to say you would ever miss those features, but nonetheless it is not as feature rich as SW. This is my impression of course, nothing more.
Regarding your modeling needs, if you need a parametric modeler that can create drawings and/or a BOM's, than certainly consider SW or Alibre. If all you need is to model 3D parts and create toolpaths to machine, then do consider OneCNC Professional, since it will take care of both of these tasks nicely. OneCNC does have one advantage in that it is a Hybrid modeler and can create and manipulate surfaces in addition to solids. You would be surprised how versatile this feature really is. Modeling assemblies while simultaneously creating parts in OneCNC is also easily accomplished.
Just some food for thought.
Regards,
Chris  |