Alibe compared to AUTOCAD

[ger21]

Gerry

It is true that they are far different, but I think that there are huge numbers of previousely all autocad 'shops' or businesses going all Solidworks.

That may be true, but AutoCAD's core market is in the construction industry, and I don't see that changing for a long time. Working in a cabinet shop, all we see are AutoCAD drawings from architects and construction firms. Never anything else.

[jamfixer]

alibre is much like solidworks . autocad has it's place and it not on the same page as either

[tjones]

That may be true, but AutoCAD's core market is in the construction industry, and I don't see that changing for a long time. Working in a cabinet shop, all we see are AutoCAD drawings from architects and construction firms. Never anything else.

There are a couple of cabinet makers on Alibre's web sight that might argue that case. They are making parametric cabinets in 3D.

[ger21]

I wasn't really talking about cabinets alone. More about entire buildings. Alibre might be fine for a small custom shop, but in a large commercial setting, clients don't want 3D drawings and won't pay what it costs to produce them. Also, are the guys you're talking about using CNC"s with Alibre? I doubt if they could make parts as fast as I can with a quick 2D AutoCAD drawing.

I'm not arguing that Alibre isn't a good tool, just that parametric 3D CAD won't be replacing AutoCAD in the near future, from my experience.

[tjones]

You are correct. There are much better suited software for even home remodeling with built in tools for design.

Yes we are making parts on CNC machines with Alibre.

Very quickly I can create a solid part, then create 2D drawings from many angles with a BOM. I also 3D mill parts on a regular basis.

Of course Alibre creates the solid then it is imported into the CAM package and also into the CMM inspection software.

Some things are 2D and they of course only need a couple views to show details. However I still solid model parts now due to the easy parametric way of making changes. The 2D drawing then updates from the new solid geometry.

[ger21]

I do have Xpress installed, and play around with it from time to time. I just use the tool that gets the job done fastest.

Fwiw, a lot of the high end Cabinet packages do utilize some 3D, but most will automatically export 2D .dxf's of all the parts for machining purposes, unless they output machine code directly. But we're talking packages in the $10K -$20K range, which is what we use.

[vacpress]

As per AutoCAD and their security as the main design package for architecture, landscapes, custom construction like cabinets and decks, civil engineering....

years of reading cadalyst and desktop engineering has prepared me to watch the continued erosion of AutoCAD marketshare.

Software like ArchiCAD, RevIT, etc. is going to make a huge impact.

Then there is the fact that alot of the neatest aesthetic features of these new buildings CANNOT easily be designed in autocad, and people like frank Gehry have mentioned 3Dstudio(!) in interviews. Sure they export the geometry and do projection drawings in Autocad, but the trend is clear.

For cabinets, cutting marble, etc., the 2D autocad can sure be quick.. But in the exact same industry, a clever and experienced 3DCAD developer could probably create libraries, macros, and methods to largely automate even difficult design operations.

As you said, it all depends on what you do.. One thing is certain, at least to me, one of the biggest jobs for autocad in manufacturing right now is the very unplesant task of dealing with chinese manufacturers.. they still use their pirated autocad for everything. Slowly they are pirating solidworks and other 3D apps.

love that china.

[ger21]

For cabinets, cutting marble, etc., the 2D autocad can sure be quick.. But in the exact same industry, a clever and experienced 3DCAD developer could probably create libraries, macros, and methods to largely automate even difficult design operations.

In our industry, their are a few specialized packages that are used. A few are basically AutoCAD "plug ins", like
http://www.patternsystems.com/products.htm
http://www.microvellum.com/MicrovellumToolbox/
http://www.cadcode.com/Literature/3394_ACAM.pdf

and then there are full 3D packages like http://www.planitsolutions.com/us/ca...facturing.aspx


Alibre or Solidworks would simply not be cost effective in our environment.

Fwiw, I've been getting Cadalyst for a lot of years now, and I see the same articles you do about the future of constuction being 3D. But in the real world, I haven't seen any sign of it yet.

[vacpress]

ger,

thanks for the links! i now know much more about custom cabinetry software.

usually you are pretty careful, however, i think that the statement below must not be true... 'Future of construction' is pretty broad, and really, think back, then forward... what do you really see hapening? 10 years ago mostly large corporations used parametric 3DCAD, now it is common. there are sub $1000 parametric applications..

your probably totally correct about your specific industry. you clearly know how to analyze evidence, etc.. i am never really paraphrasing directly from magazine articles when i say things like 'the additional dimensions of data, even beyond just visual information allowed by 3DCAD will eventually be the benefit that outweighs the development costs, even for niche industries.'

all the same, i think we can agree on most things both have said in this thread.

carry on

Alibre or Solidworks would simply not be cost effective in our environment.

Fwiw, I've been getting Cadalyst for a lot of years now, and I see the same articles you do about the future of constuction being 3D. But in the real world, I haven't seen any sign of it yet.