I own a welding and fabrication shop in BC . Drawings are getting too complex to draft by hand anymore. we are going to be purchasing some CNC equipment in future such as a Torchmate, cn shear and pressbrake, mill etc.
Obviously We have to invest TIME and money in software - we want to be able to design both structures and objects effectively.
I would MUCH appreciate recommendations on what is best software to learn with as Little headache and best Ultility possible. Solid Works, Auto Cad, Vellum , etc... In a few words the easiest software to learn that can still get the job done.
its a headscratcher ,,
Redweld

Alibre design


I was just like you (looking for good CAD) and i searched them all, and I mean alot of them. After careful consideration i chose Alibre but i still was'nt quite sure if i was making the right choice until i downloaded their demo. let me tell you the demo itself has no time limit and highly useable just by itself. i was so impressed with Alibre that i bought their basic package (Alibre design standard) for 6 or 700 dollars cant quite remember for sure but i will tell you this it's well worth the money. Oh by the way, super simple to learn. i dont work for alibre or associated with them in any way. Im just that impressed with their software. If you plan on using cnc you'll need a good CAD. I hope that i could help.



P.S.
Let me know what you think and if you need any pointers on using their cad just let me know. cornerstonecnc@hotmail.com

Alibre , sounds fine i will check out their demo. So far i have only looked at solid works and vellums cobalt, years ago i played with autocad but it seemed pretty tough.. I need software that is reasonably quick to learn and use.
All recommendations are greatly appreciated.
Thank you kindly.
randx

I teach a CAD/CAM course and there are many choices. Depending on what you are trying to do. If you want an entire package (CAD-design, assembly, drafting, sheet metal & CAM - turning, milling, EDM, etc... CAE - Finite element, CFD, ...)

A few things to watch for are:
What are your customers using?
Do you want a full package (one software CAD & CAM)?
Do they have a training location or applications personnel handy?

Dubs

I have played with Alibre (free). I feel it is superb software for the money.

If you have the budget for SolidWorks, it takes the cake.
You need to see what it's weldment and sheetmetal can do. WOW!
My vote for CAM goes to VisualMill

We converted from Inventor to SolidWorks 3 years ago, and we've never looked back. I started using CAD back in 1987, (on 386 processors). It usually takes me a few months to find the weak spots in a CAD system, and I havn't found on yet with SolidWorks.
As DareBee stated with respect to the Sheetmetal and Weldments: "WOW".

regards

My student here uses/learns SolidEdge at college.
He is dreading going back to it at the end of his co-op.

Unlike Cam, I do have a few issues with SW, but that doesn't mean it isn't better than these others.

There are many good software packages out there now. The one you chose should be deturmined by a few key questions you need to ask.

1. What kind of work will you be doing? Simple parts or rocket ships? That to a large extent will tell you what kind of system you will need. remember you get what you pay for. If you want to do it all it will cost you more money up front. That said it may be worth the big bucks to give you more range in what you can do.

2. What kind of support will you get with your new software? When you first start to learn Cad/Cam you will need alot of help to get started. You need to find out if the outfit you buy your software from has enough staff to give you the time you will need to get productive. And believe me you will need a lot of "hand holding".

3.You also need to make sure that there are post processors writen for the machines you plan to buy or that they have someone who can write them for you. You can make the posts part of the package when you buy the software. If you don't you will have to pay for them later.

4. Check around your area and see what the other guys are using, that will give you a good clue as to who is active in your area and providing good service to their users.

GOODLUCK

Just two more cents and I'm done!
Solids are the way to go for design software hands down. If your first concern is design and print making, go with Solidworks. They have a great support system and there classes are good. If you want the best...easy Cam software I would recomend Mastercam. 250'000 seats world wide can't be wrong! And solids are built into the software so you can kill two birds with one stone. I have run most of the major systems over the years and Solidworks and Mastercam would be my choice right now.
Goodluck