Is it a good program???

[Tompie]

Hi,

Is Solidworks a good mechanical design CAD software?
Does it have a lot of bugs?
What is good or bad on the program?

At this moment I design with Micro Station Modeler.

Greetings
Tom

[ttodd]

Before making the jump to Solidworks, I used Ideas, Solidworks is alot more user friendly,and because it runs with Windows it makes it easier to use also, The Ideas I ran was Unix,didn't care for it. The new release of Solidworks seems to have very few bugs and seems to be very stable.

[grantmi1]

SolidWorks kicks butt I love it.

[Tomd]

Hi!!

I am presently retired but have been using SolidWorks for 5 years. I started using 3D CAD in 1988 with CadKey. It was a great program. I was then forced to use Autodesk products. (R13,
Designer, Mechanical Desktop. I found them to be difficult to use and very buggy. In 1998 I purchased SolidWorks. It is a far superior program. I would recommend it without reservations.

I am presently using it to design Steam and Stirling engine and using Excalibur 2003 to generate G-Code for a Sherline mill, using Flashcut to drive the mill. I have only had the package for 4 weeks and am about to make my first part!!!

Regards
tomd

[CNCadmin]

Originally posted by Tomd Hi!! I am presently retired but have been using SolidWorks for 5 years. I started using 3D CAD in 1988 with CadKey. It was a great program. I was then forced to use Autodesk products. (R13, Designer, Mechanical Desktop. I found them to be difficult to use and very buggy. In 1998 I purchased SolidWorks. It is a far superior program. I would recommend it without reservations. I am presently using it to design Steam and Stirling engine and using Excalibur 2003 to generate G-Code for a Sherline mill, using Flashcut to drive the mill. I have only had the package for 4 weeks and am about to make my first part!!! Regards tomd

Please post your results.

[speedracer]

I am looking at both solidworks and mastercam for our new CAD/CAM software. Just to let everyone know if you don't already. I can purchase a version of solidworks with camworks ( which works inside of solidworks) for less than what i would have to pay for mastercam. There is only one catch. The solidworks verison just doesn't include the ability to do automatic dimensions in a three view layout. That would have to be done manual with solidworks.

You can take that for what it's worth.

[ARB]

Solidworks is most definatly a great design program. I spend between 8 and 12 hours a day using it for product as well as tooling design. If you are looking for a program that really lets you efficiently create designs for a living then I would very much recomend Solidworks.

When we jumped into the 3D boat we also went with the full monte GibbsCam.
This is a pretty hard combination to beat for 3D work and mold making.

My 2cents

[the thrill]

you should be able to do 3 view auto dimensioning... any dimension you make on your solid model can be automatically imported to any view in your 2D drawing just press the insert model items button and that should work... unless i just read the post wrong its 5am and im still reading these darn boards

[peter]

it's top of the tree for me
in the 3d world
thrill is right it auto dimesion's
best regard's
peter

[dherbman]

I've used swx since 98+ and love it. HOWEVER, I would seriously look into Alibre (sp?). If you don't need the gold partners and have limited import needs, this is a fine app that will give swx a run for a fraction of the cost.

[the thrill]

alibre is a nice package if you have never used solidworks before... ive tried VX, alibre, and a couple other lower priced parametric modeling programs and i wasnt as impressed with them as i am with solidworks... additionally, i would like to try out inventor and solidedge since they are more on the same level as solidworks... but i just recently got onto the 3D bandwagon and i have a copy of solidworks on my desktop that i use while im home just to keep my skills sharp... i havent gone into the real complex shapes like turbines or anything like that but for the modeling ive done, i love it... if youre just starting out though, i would definately give alibre a shot since it is pretty powerful for the 1000-1200 dollars you pay for their most expensive package

[dherbman]

I've done IV and SE, but settled on swx. It seems to be ahead of the pack in development, has superior import/export options and is loaded with extras. Best, it's not ADE$K! I remember wanting that app SOOO bad, but at 10K per seat, I figured I'd never have anything so powerful.