Interested in a "top shelf" CAD software


Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 24

Thread: Interested in a "top shelf" CAD software

  1. #1
    Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    US
    Posts
    291
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default Interested in a "top shelf" CAD software

    Hi,

    I've been using Bob-CAD for years now, and it works fine for what I need, but I would like to move up to something with better rendering capabilities- as well as learn to use something more common in Industry, like Solidworks or AutoCAD.


    Are there any options for picking something up at a lower cost? Maybe older versions?

    Similar Threads:
    www.steelplinkers.com


  2. #2
    Registered
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    147
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default Re: Interested in a "top shelf" CAD software

    If you happen to be a vet then they have the military discount program for solidworks.



  3. #3
    Member hanermo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Location
    barcelona
    Posts
    780
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default Re: Interested in a "top shelf" CAD software

    autocad is total crap, and no-where near top shelf.

    Solidworks is 1000x better.
    I use Rhino, which is easy, fast and efficient.
    Needs a plugin if you want top rendering for visuals.

    Rhino lacks geometric dimensioning and data-driven assemblies, its biggest drawback.



  4. #4
    Member ger21's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Shelby Township
    Posts
    35538
    Downloads
    1
    Uploads
    0

    Default Re: Interested in a "top shelf" CAD software

    autocad is total crap, and no-where near top shelf.
    This is the what you typically here from people that don't use AutoCAD regularly.

    AutoCAD is very good. It's also very different from Solidworks. Two entirely different products, designed for different markets. Autodesk Inventor is comparable to Solidworks.
    as well as learn to use something more common in Industry, like Solidworks or AutoCAD.
    AutoCAD is most prevalent in the construction industry. Solidworks is used for mechanical design.

    Are there any options for picking something up at a lower cost? Maybe older versions?
    Not really. Either will cost considerably more than BobCAD, and then you'll need to add a CAM program on top of that.
    AutoCAD is a subscription product. You pay an annual fee ($1700-$2000) to use it.

    Not sure what the initial cost of Solidworks is, but there's an annual maintenance fee to stay current. I just read the other day that they've changed their policy. You don't have to pay the maintenance fee, but when you decide to upgrade, if you skip a version or 2, you need to pay the cost of each upgrade that you skipped in additon to the current upgrade price, so it doesn't pay to not pay the maintenance fee.

    You might want to take a look at Autodedsk's Fusion 360, which is a rapidly evolving cloud based CAD/CAM package. Free to hobbyists and startup companies.

    Gerry

    UCCNC 2017 Screenset
    [URL]http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2017.html[/URL]

    Mach3 2010 Screenset
    [URL]http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2010.html[/URL]

    JointCAM - CNC Dovetails & Box Joints
    [URL]http://www.g-forcecnc.com/jointcam.html[/URL]

    (Note: The opinions expressed in this post are my own and are not necessarily those of CNCzone and its management)


  5. #5
    Ghost BurrMan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    United States
    Posts
    4548
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default Re: Interested in a "top shelf" CAD software

    Quote Originally Posted by binfordw View Post
    but I would like to move up to something with better rendering capabilities-
    You could just get a rendering package... Most of the CAD systems that have that are just using another system in theirs anyway....

    as well as learn to use something more common in Industry, like Solidworks or AutoCAD.
    As Ger21 pointed out, those are 2 different animals... SolidWorks probably more along the lines of what you interested in.



    "Top Shelf"

    Those mentioned (with exception of autocad) are more considered middle of the road...
    But "top shelf" can help you narrow down which road you choose...

    Are there any options for picking something up at a lower cost? Maybe older versions?

    I wouldnt go "older versions" with "common in the industry" as a goal.
    Most of those companies get ripped off huge, and a result is older versions are more left out in the cold...

    You could look at something like SolidEdge ST8, which now comes in "monthly subscriptions", so you can jump off the train with less pain if needed....

    Products like SolidEdge and SolidWorks will be good choices as they have can lead to NX and Catia respectivly.... (top shelf)

    Have fun...



  6. #6
    Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    US
    Posts
    291
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default Re: Interested in a "top shelf" CAD software

    Well I guess "top shelf" wasn't a good description.

    Basically Bob-cad works fine for the work I need it for, but I would like to have better rendering capabilities for 3D modeling and design. I am definitely not spending $1000+ on a yearly sub, that's ridiculous for my uses.

    I looked around some yesterday, I guess I just didn't realize how crazy the pricing has become. I was under the assumption I could get a seat of autocad or similar big name software for under $1000- WITHOUT subscription costs.


    Thanks for the help and suggestions, looks like I need to look at cheaper alternatives for better rendering.

    www.steelplinkers.com


  7. #7
    Member ger21's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Shelby Township
    Posts
    35538
    Downloads
    1
    Uploads
    0

    Default Re: Interested in a "top shelf" CAD software

    Again, look at Fusion 360. It has very good rendering, modeling, and CAM.

    Fwiw, last year, before AutoCAD became Subscription only, I think it was about $4500.

    When we bought our first seat of AutoCAD 14 back around 1998, I think it was about $2600.

    Gerry

    UCCNC 2017 Screenset
    [URL]http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2017.html[/URL]

    Mach3 2010 Screenset
    [URL]http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2010.html[/URL]

    JointCAM - CNC Dovetails & Box Joints
    [URL]http://www.g-forcecnc.com/jointcam.html[/URL]

    (Note: The opinions expressed in this post are my own and are not necessarily those of CNCzone and its management)


  8. #8
    Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    US
    Posts
    291
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default Re: Interested in a "top shelf" CAD software

    Thanks for the info, that's why I come here, to learn.

    www.steelplinkers.com


  9. #9
    Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    usa
    Posts
    1795
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default Re: Interested in a "top shelf" CAD software

    in fact, dassault using dwg and dxf filenames, confusing users... autodesk never would use others filename..

    draftsight is clearly ""clone"" of autocad.. if it were same cost than autocad, folks would never buy..



  10. #10
    Registered
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Posts
    27
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default Re: Interested in a "top shelf" CAD software

    Quote Originally Posted by ger21 View Post
    This is the what you typically here from people that don't use AutoCAD regularly.

    AutoCAD is very good. It's also very different from Solidworks. Two entirely different products, designed for different markets. Autodesk Inventor is comparable to Solidworks.


    AutoCAD is most prevalent in the construction industry. Solidworks is used for mechanical design.



    Not really. Either will cost considerably more than BobCAD, and then you'll need to add a CAM program on top of that.
    AutoCAD is a subscription product. You pay an annual fee ($1700-$2000) to use it.

    Not sure what the initial cost of Solidworks is, but there's an annual maintenance fee to stay current. I just read the other day that they've changed their policy. You don't have to pay the maintenance fee, but when you decide to upgrade, if you skip a version or 2, you need to pay the cost of each upgrade that you skipped in additon to the current upgrade price, so it doesn't pay to not pay the maintenance fee.

    You might want to take a look at Autodedsk's Fusion 360, which is a rapidly evolving cloud based CAD/CAM package. Free to hobbyists and startup companies.
    As an user of Autocad since 1993 I think I can say that. To be crap, Autocad needs to improve a lot.

    I use it just because here in Brazil people don't know how to choose anything, you can see a example if you look to our president. If you want a good software to 2d drawings use Bentley Microstation, but it is also expansive.

    If you look on the Internet you find some portable options but they are like Autocad, unstable.

    Solidworks it's a incredible software. I'm using it since 2001 and had no problems until now.


    There are people here in Brazil that use intellicad.

    Enviado de meu SM-G900M usando Tapatalk



  11. #11
    Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    US
    Posts
    291
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default Re: Interested in a "top shelf" CAD software

    So I downloaded Fusion 360- It does seem nice at a glance, but I cant open dxf with it? I saved files in a format suitable for 360, but they open as blank files.

    Really surprised it cant open dxf's

    www.steelplinkers.com


  12. #12
    Ghost BurrMan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    United States
    Posts
    4548
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default Re: Interested in a "top shelf" CAD software

    Quote Originally Posted by binfordw View Post
    So I downloaded Fusion 360- It does seem nice at a glance, but I cant open dxf with it? I saved files in a format suitable for 360, but they open as blank files.

    Really surprised it cant open dxf's
    I can import dxfs with it... Although a dxf can contain different data types.. What seems to be the issue. Can you share a simple dxf that wont open? Be sure the dxf is not "mesh data"......



  13. #13
    Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    United States
    Posts
    294
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default Re: Interested in a "top shelf" CAD software

    If you are looking for something like Solidworks, I'd suggest OnShape. It was started by the founder of Solidworks, and does feel similar.



  14. #14
    Member awerby's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Posts
    5728
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default Re: Interested in a "top shelf" CAD software

    Take a look at Geomagic Design (formerly Alibre). It's a full-featured parametric CAD program for mechanical design that comes with Keyshot for photo-realistic rendering (a $1000 value right there.)

    Last edited by ger21; 11-06-2015 at 10:04 PM.
    [FONT=Verdana]Andrew Werby[/FONT]
    [URL="http://www.computersculpture.com/"]Website[/URL]


  15. #15
    Member dharmic's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2015
    Location
    Australia
    Posts
    1422
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default Re: Interested in a "top shelf" CAD software

    If you're happy enough with your current CAD/CAM and all you want to do is better rendering, perhaps it's worthwhile looking at something like Blender3d - free (so the price is right) and it's all about the rendering.

    If you're looking at a serious design and CAM product then, in a similar bucket to Geomagic, PTC Creo is worth a look. Good rendering engine, awesome parametric design environment. About $4500 for the basic CAD license but then you own it. They have an optional annual maintenance fee which gets you support and updates, but it is optional. Sadly, when you start adding CAM functionality it gets expensive fairly quickly.



  16. #16
    Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    5516
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default Re: Interested in a "top shelf" CAD software

    A very good 3D renderer that's been around a LONG time (and still free) is POV RAY.

    I've been demoing SpaceClaim for a couple of weeks, and it for me is so easy to use I have to laugh. I saw one promo video and was able to draw some complex stuff in a few hours without watching a training video or reading the manual. I do a lot of stuff with OneCNC XR4 Mill Expert but it does have some limitations being primarily a CAM software; it takes a lot of patience and skill, and trying different strategies, to make a watertight model in OneCNC that has some complexity to it. Pretty easy with SpaceClaim, and even if you have a model that's all surfaces it will stitch it into a solid and repair bad geometry. I have tried Rhino (that does a lot of the same, and more organic-shape oriented) but not a big fan of its interface.



  17. #17

    Default Re: Interested in a "top shelf" CAD software

    I'm a software engineer and take my opinions for whatever it's worth. There will be many people who disagree with them.

    I would stay away from any cloud based CAD solutions and especially web-based CAD systems. The idea of having you're data in the "cloud" is fraught with problems. My policy is simple. The code is yours, but the data is mine. By using cloud based software, you're opening up yourself to having your data held hostage if you miss a payment or decide you want to move to a competing product. Also, many of the cloud based solutions have severe usability and performance issues and don't surface until your models increase in size and complexity. Web-based systems like OnShape are clunky and difficult to maneuver since the web isn't intended to high interaction. Fusion360 has a desktop client, but it is cross platform, which limits its ability to fully utilize your computers resources. Cross platform always, except for the simplest of applications, results in the least common denominator approach where there are trade offs in usability and power.

    If you're looking for a good 3D CAD software, I would seriously consider SolidWorks or Autodesk Inventor. Solidworks takes a while to learn just as Inventor, but the interface is consistent across operations, allowing you to quickly learn new operations. Solidworks, however, shows its age and its pricing is horrendous. It reminds me of Quark, which used to be the defacto desktop publishing package. Like Quark, Solidworks improvements has been slow and they don't care about non-corporate markets. Quark became irrelevant after Adobe introduced InDesign, which had more sensible end-user licensing. Autodesk Inventor is the InDesign of the 3D CAD software market. It is new and works in much the same way as SolidWorks, but it has some inconsistencies. It is relatively new in the marketplace and has been making steady improvements.

    Unfortunately, InDesign, although it is still improving, isn't receiving Autodesk's attention as much as it used to. It isn't clear what Autodesk's strategy is, but they seem to be pushing Fusion360 very hard. It is a common trend nowadays for big software companies to move your data to the cloud and to treat the software as a service. This benefits them more than it does the customer as they it allows them to control piracy and guarantee a consistent revenue stream by the month instead of by the release.

    In short, I would invest in Inventor. If Autodesk ever drops the product in favor of Fusion360, there will be an upgrade path. For now, it is unclear whether the software as a service business model will work for CAD systems.



  18. #18
    Registered
    Join Date
    Nov 2016
    Location
    Zimbabwe
    Posts
    5
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default Re: Interested in a "top shelf" CAD software

    I think Fusion 360 is here to stay. In that Autodesk is putting all of their best chips into this particular solution. That said, and in spite of this, I also think it will be some time before the software is up to the task of being used in any serious way given some of the limitations and bugs that are present in the system - this may have changed since I last tried it.

    Beyond this, I think the premise of what a good CAD system is will depend on ones objectives, ie. if someone was looking to model and/or design simple parts etc. then they would be better off looking to something like IronCAD as a fast, reliable solution. Whereas if they were looking toward CAM for 3D printing and/or machining in view, then they would likely choose something else.

    That said, I'm a fan of IronCAD and Fusion 360 personally. Based mainly on the fact that IronCAD holds the crown as the most efficient precision modeling software on the market(shown here):
    and where Fusion 360 is free to anyone that isn't using it to make money! - Which imo. is quite possibly one of the most impressive things Autodesk has ever done. - A+



  19. #19
    Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    5516
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default Re: Interested in a "top shelf" CAD software

    Quote Originally Posted by RichardDeptris View Post
    I'm a software engineer and take my opinions for whatever it's worth. There will be many people who disagree with them.

    I would stay away from any cloud based CAD solutions and especially web-based CAD systems. The idea of having you're data in the "cloud" is fraught with problems. My policy is simple. The code is yours, but the data is mine. By using cloud based software, you're opening up yourself to having your data held hostage if you miss a payment or decide you want to move to a competing product. Also, many of the cloud based solutions have severe usability and performance issues and don't surface until your models increase in size and complexity. Web-based systems like OnShape are clunky and difficult to maneuver since the web isn't intended to high interaction. Fusion360 has a desktop client, but it is cross platform, which limits its ability to fully utilize your computers resources. Cross platform always, except for the simplest of applications, results in the least common denominator approach where there are trade offs in usability and power.

    If you're looking for a good 3D CAD software, I would seriously consider SolidWorks or Autodesk Inventor. Solidworks takes a while to learn just as Inventor, but the interface is consistent across operations, allowing you to quickly learn new operations. Solidworks, however, shows its age and its pricing is horrendous. It reminds me of Quark, which used to be the defacto desktop publishing package. Like Quark, Solidworks improvements has been slow and they don't care about non-corporate markets. Quark became irrelevant after Adobe introduced InDesign, which had more sensible end-user licensing. Autodesk Inventor is the InDesign of the 3D CAD software market. It is new and works in much the same way as SolidWorks, but it has some inconsistencies. It is relatively new in the marketplace and has been making steady improvements.

    Unfortunately, InDesign, although it is still improving, isn't receiving Autodesk's attention as much as it used to. It isn't clear what Autodesk's strategy is, but they seem to be pushing Fusion360 very hard. It is a common trend nowadays for big software companies to move your data to the cloud and to treat the software as a service. This benefits them more than it does the customer as they it allows them to control piracy and guarantee a consistent revenue stream by the month instead of by the release.

    In short, I would invest in Inventor. If Autodesk ever drops the product in favor of Fusion360, there will be an upgrade path. For now, it is unclear whether the software as a service business model will work for CAD systems.
    It's all about the Benjamins. Adobe does it, and Autodesk follows. Basically, subscription-based software. Like forced maintenance.



  20. #20
    Member
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Canada
    Posts
    790
    Downloads
    0
    Uploads
    0

    Default Re: Interested in a "top shelf" CAD software

    I've never used Fusion 360, but the thought of having to save my files on their server makes me want to vomit.

    I have used a very expensive autodesk product at a previous place of employment. For about 8 hours a day, that was my life, using that program.

    Really expensive software that felt as if it were designed by a government committee. It was by far the most poorly thought out, unorganized, inefficient CAD software I have ever used.

    I truely hate that company. It doesn't matter what awesome thing they might come up with, or how many people might love that thing. I will always try to stay very very far away.......



Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  


About CNCzone.com

    We are the largest and most active discussion forum for manufacturing industry. The site is 100% free to join and use, so join today!

Follow us on


Our Brands

Interested in a "top shelf" CAD software

Interested in a "top shelf" CAD software