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inventor vs. solidworks
9

inventor vs. solidworks

inventor vs. solidworks

(OP)
I have been reading quite a few messages on here and everyone seems to be quite defensive about solidworks.  I need to make a decision on which system to go with.  I have been an autocad user for 15 years and would like to go 3-d.  I have heard all of the rhetoric from both of the sales sides.  But I would like your opinion from those of you who know both systems.  I have used solidworks before but not really inventor.  Everything I output will be in the form of detailed drawings for my plant. We design and build machinery. It seems solidworks is not stable, or as stable as inventor? Your insight and knowledge would be helpful.  Thanks alot in advance.

RE: inventor vs. solidworks

Quote:

I have been an autocad user for 15 years and would like to go 3-d.
my condolence's.

Quote:

It seems solidworks is not stable, or as stable as inventor?
  Not true.  Any high powered MCAD or CAE application requires appropriate level computer hardware to function at its best.  I've used Pro/E, SWx, Inventor, & SDRC IDEAS at different levels of production work and they all have their pros/cons.  I did a Black Hawk simulator design with Inventor and  it took me twice as long as I could have done in Pro/E or SWx.
I would have to suggest you do a 30 day trial of SWx, Inventor, & Solid Edge.  Do head to head comparisions and don't pay any attention to the sales rep....that's their job to bash the competition.  Trust me I know about aggressive sales tatics....from my days as a Pro/e applications engineer.

Heckler
Sr. Mechanical Engineer
SWx 2007 SP 3.0 & Pro/E 2001
XP Pro SP2.0 P4 3.6 GHz, 1GB RAM
NVIDIA Quadro FX 1400
      o
  _`\(,_
(_)/ (_)

(In reference to David Beckham) "He can't kick with his left foot, he can't tackle, he can't head the ball and he doesn't score many goals. Apart from that, he's all right."  -- George Best

RE: inventor vs. solidworks

Solidworks is very stable, and I'm not being defensive. There are just some who don't configure their hardware and software correctly.

A solidworks forum is really the wrong place to ask which is better. Those who use both and like SW better are the ones on this forum. I suggest you evaluate both. Get yourself a VAR who reps SW and a VAR who reps Inventor. Use them both doing the same machinery design jobs that you would do on a day to day basis and try to make prints of all these parts with both systems. Then come tell us what you found.

I think you will find Solidworks will win.

RE: inventor vs. solidworks

Any CAD software is as stable as you make it.
Both Inventor and SolidWorks are good. I am a SW user, but only played with Inv.
I know there are changes coming from Autodesk for ACAD and Inv.
Anything that is mech design, I would stick with SW.

Chris
SolidWorks 07 3.0/PDMWorks 07
AutoCAD 06
ctopher's home (updated 04-08-07)

RE: inventor vs. solidworks

My guess when I see postings like this is that they are fake, either a SolidWorks competitor looking to post bogus information, or seeking to find arguments they will need to address with prospective customers who are inclined to buy SolidWorks instead of their software.  I would ignore this after the basic refutation already posted.

Matt
CAD Engineer/ECN Analyst
Silicon Valley, CA
http://sw.fcsuper.com/index.php

RE: inventor vs. solidworks

They are essentially the same program.  

Autodesk Inventor Certified Expert
Certified SolidWorks Professional

RE: inventor vs. solidworks

I have to admit my usage of Inventor was back on rev 5.3 but I putting it up against the current version of SWx at the time.  I'm sure the current version of Inventor 11 has improved some.


Quote:

Autodesk Inventor is the best choice for AutoCAD users moving to 3D.

As the creators of AutoCAD software, Autodesk understands your design process and created Inventor to make the process of adding 3D as easy as possible. No company is more focused than Autodesk on helping designers create and bring better products to market faster at less cost. Inventor gives designers the freedom to integrate existing 2D designs into their 3D design environment, making it easy to reuse and share both AutoCAD DWG™ files and 3D design data with other Autodesk manufacturing applications and their users. With different product configurations that offer specific levels of functionality, Inventor is the best choice for AutoCAD users in the manufacturing space.

Marketing at its best.

MatherJD - Do you teach both SWx & Inventor in your 3D solid modeling classes?  So students can deside which one they want to use?

Heckler
Sr. Mechanical Engineer
SWx 2007 SP 3.0 & Pro/E 2001
XP Pro SP2.0 P4 3.6 GHz, 1GB RAM
NVIDIA Quadro FX 1400
      o
  _`\(,_
(_)/ (_)

(In reference to David Beckham) "He can't kick with his left foot, he can't tackle, he can't head the ball and he doesn't score many goals. Apart from that, he's all right."  -- George Best

RE: inventor vs. solidworks

They are only the same depending on what you do...  If you are making blocks, then yes they are essentially the same.  I would imagine for most users they could productively use either, but there are some users that would really want one program over the other for some valid reasons.  If I was doing some more intensive surfacing in the industrial design world, I think I would choose SolidWorks.  I have yet to see some of the more advanced surfacing features that SolidWorks has (2007 version) be advertised or demonstrated in Inventor.  I could be wrong... That doesn't mean that it won't have it in a future release, or that something like Alias (AutoDesk owned) could produce it more efficiently.  Like I said, essentially the same depending on what you do.

Pete

RE: inventor vs. solidworks

2
Lack of configurations in Inventor would be hard to live without. On the flip side, Inventor users would probably miss more robust equations when coming to Solidworks.

Depends on what you use and need.

Jason

UG NX2.02.2 on Win2000 SP3
UG NX4.01.0 on Win2000 SP3
SolidWorks 2007 SP3.1 on WinXP SP2

RE: inventor vs. solidworks

Having used both Inventor and Solidworks as they have grown across the years I would suggest that Inventor is a lot more intuitive to use and allows simpler part creation than Solidworks. Also, setting constraints and driving them allows quick and easy simple system analysis. However, Solidworks does seem to excel better at some of the more advanced functions such as using their CosmosWorks.

Hope this helps.

Best wishes and have fun,

Diggles1972.

RE: inventor vs. solidworks

To respond to matherjd

Quote:

They are essentially the same program.  

Autodesk Inventor Certified Expert
Certified SolidWorks Professional

The only reason Inventor looks like SW is because they copied the interface off SW... it took AutoCAD 5+ years top remotely catch up to SW.

But to also comment on the above quote: They are not the same program by far, they look the same and they have the same function of parts. assemblies and drawings... but they are far different to use. The kernels i believe are also different. Inventor uses ACIS and SW as well as Solidedge uses Parasolid...

Back to the topic at hand:

So IMO you need to get a test drive to see what best works for you and your company and not go on what is said here. Heckler is right though... you need to have the correct Hardware setup to run SW efficiently and stable.

Good luck with your search... just because people are defensive here just means we love to use SW and recommend it over AutoCAD and any of its cousins, by FAR!

Regards,

Scott Baugh, CSWP pc2
www.scottjbaugh.com
FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies

RE: inventor vs. solidworks

(OP)
Thanks for all of your inputs.  From the looks of it, there are alot of you who are paasionate about the software, so i will be checking out softwares and let you guys know.  Thanks again.

RE: inventor vs. solidworks

>it took AutoCAD 5+ years top remotely catch up to SW.

I doubt that AutoCAD will ever catch up to SW.  (You might do some research into the diffence of the two CAD programs AutoCAD and Autodesk Inventor).

>...they look the same and they have the same function of parts. assemblies and drawings...
Sounds like the definition of the same to me...

>but they are far different to use.
Huh? I haven't had that experience.  You might look into getting some training.

>Inventor uses ACIS ...
Again you haven't done your research.  Autodesk abandoned ACIS years ago.

>So IMO you need to get a test drive to see what best works for you and your company and not go on what is said here.
Good advice.

> just because people are defensive here just means we love to use SW and recommend it over AutoCAD... by FAR!
Agree!

Autodesk Inventor Certified Expert
Certified SolidWorks Professional

RE: inventor vs. solidworks

Hi Romanp,

Good luck on your decision.

A few things you may want to consider:

1) If you are hiring, how easily will it be to find designers that have SolidWorks experience in you area? And of course how easily will it be to find designers that have Inventor experience in your area?

2) If you outsource, are there design services firms that are using SolidWorks in your area? Using Inventor in your area?

3) Do your customers/ clients use either SolidWorks or Inventor or do they use something else (SolidEdge)?

Best regards,

Joseph

RE: inventor vs. solidworks

"just because people are defensive here just means we love to use SW and recommend it over AutoCAD... by FAR!"

Not the same animals. You mean Inventor, not AutoCAD.

Chris
SolidWorks 07 3.0/PDMWorks 07
AutoCAD 06
ctopher's home (updated 04-08-07)

RE: inventor vs. solidworks

Scott is partly/mostly correct.  Here's the real story...

AutoDesk based its ShapeManager Kernel on the ACIS kernel.  So, they are probably largely using the ACIS kernel with some modifications on it that they now call ShapeManager.  Spatial Systems (Developer of the ACIS kernel) was purchased by Dassault (parent company of SolidWorks).  AutoDesk sat and watched, and then bought the rights to ACIS kernel a little while later.  That enabled them to change the ACIS kernel to thier liking and name it whatever they wanted...  I highly doubt its a whole new kernel, just mostly ACIS with some changes to suit.

http://investors.autodesk.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=117861&p=irol-newsArticle_Print&ID=230562&;highlight=

http://www.caddigest.com/subjects/adsk_inventor/select/day_shapemanager.htm

Pete

RE: inventor vs. solidworks

Quote:

The only reason Inventor looks like SW is because they copied the interface off SW... it took AutoCAD 5+ years top remotely catch up to SW.

PTC did this and released Wildfire.  It seems SWx's GUI what some MCAD companies are trying to mimic.  It looks like SWx, kind of Tastes like SWx therefore it must be as good as SWx

Heckler
Sr. Mechanical Engineer
SWx 2007 SP 3.0 & Pro/E 2001
XP Pro SP2.0 P4 3.6 GHz, 1GB RAM
NVIDIA Quadro FX 1400
      o
  _`\(,_
(_)/ (_)

(In reference to David Beckham) "He can't kick with his left foot, he can't tackle, he can't head the ball and he doesn't score many goals. Apart from that, he's all right."  -- George Best

RE: inventor vs. solidworks

Yeah...you should UG NX5....the dialogue boxes have moved over to the feature tree now....wonder where that idea came from.

Jason

UG NX2.02.2 on Win2000 SP3
UG NX4.01.0 on Win2000 SP3
SolidWorks 2007 SP3.1 on WinXP SP2

RE: inventor vs. solidworks

Thanks pdybeck!

I was reading that article before I posted that so I had done my research... as for training, what training do you expect to take?

If they are the same then why are they so different when I get calls from customers saying that's not how Inventor does it... if they are the same, then I would not get any calls about why one does it this away and why SW does it that away.

Just test drive the software yourself... all this posts do is cause harm to the product and the people repling to them...

Regards,

Scott Baugh, CSWP pc2
www.scottjbaugh.com
FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies

RE: inventor vs. solidworks

Quote (Heckler):

I would have to suggest you do a 30 day trial of SWx, Inventor, & Solid Edge.  Do head to head comparisions and don't pay any attention to the sales rep....that's their job to bash the competition.

RE: inventor vs. solidworks

Go to the (highly censored) Inventor Discussion Group on at www.autodesk.com and really read what their *satisfied* customers write.  

45 minutes to create a single drawing view,

NEVER use multi-sheet drawings,

"only" crashing five times a day

20 minutes to insert a fastener from ContentCenter

and they're HAPPY!?!?!?

RE: inventor vs. solidworks

I deal with companies that range from fortune 500 to much smaller and I hardly run into anyone who uses Inventor. I would say that the numbers are as follows :
 SolidWorks
 Pro E
 UG - Catia tie
 AutoCad
 Inventor
 
  This is all in my experience but when you deal with 100's of companies in all kinds of industries, it can be a good guideline

RE: inventor vs. solidworks


Side note, I remember meeting someone a few years ago who asked if SolidWorks would ever release a DOS version. When I told him, "probably not", he then replied, "well, in that case I am sticking to AutoCAD v2 for Ms-DOS!".

Hopefully, he is using some 3D these days, either SolidWorks, SolidEdge, Inventor, SketchUp or even Cosmic Blobs and LegoCAD would be an improvement.

RE: inventor vs. solidworks

I agree with the test drive each system for what you are going to use it for theory.

Personally I enjoy SW much more than Inventor, and I've worked on, and been an instructor for both. Besides Inventors Project setup is a tool of the devil.

Specs, Intel Pentium M 2.16 Mhz
SW 2007 R2.2
1.5 Gb Ram
NVidia GE Force GO 6800 256Mb

RE: inventor vs. solidworks

to correct some of the blatant misinformation posted here about Inventor:

Lack of configurations in Inventor would be hard to live without.

Inventor has SW style "configurations", and also iParts and iAssemblies.

The only reason Inventor looks like SW is because they copied the interface off SW... it took AutoCAD 5+ years top remotely catch up to SW.


AutoCAD and Inventor are different products. the Inventor GUI is considerably different from SW. feature trees in 3D modelers predate SW by many years. the "green check/red X motif dates back to Windows 3 applications, and is rarely seen anymore.

Go to the (highly censored) Inventor Discussion Group on at www.autodesk.com

highly censored ? if that were so, there would be no posts with negative comments, such as those listed by symjim. I have found the Autodesk forum open and professional, with frequent input by Autodesk employees.

I use both SW and Inventor every day, depending on customer preference, they both have strengths and weaknesses. Autodesk bashing just makes SW users look fanatical and unprofessional, give it a rest !

RE: inventor vs. solidworks

Chester, IV does not have configurations like Solidworks parts have, and assemblies are a little closer but still not there. I haven't seen IV since a few releases back though, just going on what I read from other IV users.....did 2008 add them?

I think he meant Autodesk....not Autocad.....many people still refer to Autodesk as Autocad.

Also, check your history.....Solidworks created the feature tree concept with drag and drop history. Here's the patent (http://www.google.com/patents?id=edMBAAAAEBAJ&dq=solidworks+tree&ie=ISO-8859-1)
(Kind of cool to see the old Solidworks 95 pics in there....gee looks alot like Alibre.....so much has changed)

I think there are a number of disgruntled ex-Autocad users about. Autocad didn't have any real compeition until Solidworks and Solidedge came around in its price range so they didn't treat their customers the best and lagged on development. You have to admit if not for Solidworks and Solidedge, you wouldn't be using IV....probably an ill-functioning Mechanical Desktop still running on top of Acad. So yeah, many swx users are passionate about Solidworks (more so than most)...mostly cause it opened there eyes to what real mcad software should be. Luckily for the IV users out there, Autodesk got the message and copied Swx and SE.

Jason

UG NX2.02.2 on Win2000 SP3
UG NX4.01.0 on Win2000 SP3
SolidWorks 2007 SP3.1 on WinXP SP2

RE: inventor vs. solidworks

I was under the impression that when Inventor creates "configurations" it needs to create external files in order to do so.  Is this true Inventor users (current ones).  Thanks.

Pete

RE: inventor vs. solidworks

>I was under the impression that when Inventor creates "configurations" it needs to create external files in order to do so.

Someone going from SWX method of Configurations to Inventor iParts and iAssemblies and Design View reps and Position View reps would be frustraited without training. Once you learn the logical flow it seems to represent the real world equivalents pretty good.   

In Inventor you create iPart factory - that is a single part from which you create the different configurations each configuration of course being a different file just like each physical part being a different part with a different part number. I can imagine someone who has difficulty setting up a project folder would be totaly confused. Reminds me of the MDT people who can't see that different files for part, assembly and drawing isn't really a nightmare - simply a more representative virtual representation of the physical equivalents the guys out on the shop floor and in the warehouse deal with everyday.

I have seen some examples where SWX type configurations are a better solution.  For example a resistor with the legs bent different directions in an assembly.  The same part with the same part number in different configurations.

As far as the other mis-info, well enough said...
http://discussion.autodesk.com/thread.jspa?messageID=2017753
of course that was taken care of years ago, I'm sure I could find plenty of similar examples
but all I know is I can no longer access
http://forum.solidworks.com/
makes me wonder about censorship.  Seems like the most active forum for SWX is eng-tips anyhow.  But I would like to be able to see an open forum at the company site.

Autodesk Inventor Certified Expert
Certified SolidWorks Professional

RE: inventor vs. solidworks

2
matherjd ... Can you access the SW Portal?
Do you have an active subscription for SolidWorks? I don't believe a subscription is required anymore but you do have to create an account to gain access.

cheers
SW07-SP3.1
SW06-SP5.1

RE: inventor vs. solidworks

It is then, as I thought.  From my perspective this would get very annoying in a company environment where your data management needs now increase because you have to keep iparts along with their buddies.  The resistor example you gave was perfect for that situation.  We have many files that would fit this scenario - enough that it would be painful to have to create additional files and relationships between them.  Yes, I understand data management systems do this for you, but its just another layer of things to keep track off.  When you are in the position of being in charge of the proper use and maintenace of thousands or tens of thousands of files, then adding additional burden is not something I would be too keen on.  For smallish projects or learning environments - yeah its not a big deal.  Like others have said, the configuration capability in SolidWorks seems to trump Inventor - although we are all biased of course.  I do like Inventor's built in engineering handbook/calculator.  It seems very handy to evaluate shear/moment diagrams of a shaft given the loads and restraints.  SolidWorks is lacking in that department.  I think this is b/c AutoDesk purchased Mechsoft a while back and incorporated that.

Thanks for the answers JD.

Pete

RE: inventor vs. solidworks

>matherjd ... Can you access the SW Portal?
Do you have an active subscription for SolidWorks? I don't believe a subscription is required anymore but you do have to create an account to gain access.

Are you in any position to straighten this out?  If you are I can forward my emails between myself and the folks at SWX (who were kind enough to contact me) on this problem but never straightened it out.

Autodesk Inventor Certified Expert
Certified SolidWorks Professional

RE: inventor vs. solidworks

> For smallish projects or learning environments - yeah its not a big deal.

Just because I am now an educator don't underestimate my real world experience.  I am also a master machinist (8yrs on the shop floor), set production standards and worked in R&D, total of 15 years industrial experience before I changed careers.

Autodesk Inventor Certified Expert
Certified SolidWorks Professional

RE: inventor vs. solidworks

If I were in a position to straighten this out I would be one of the folks at SolidWorks ... and would have already straightened it.

Have you contacted Greg Jankowski direct? He seems to have a major role in the running of the forum.

cheers
SW07-SP3.1
SW06-SP5.1

RE: inventor vs. solidworks

Wasn't knocking your knowledge or ability, but merely pointing out to romanp something that might not be so apparent while learning about the product or doing a small project.  He might not fully realize this until well into entrenched use of the product.  Trials are good and should be done, but one must envision what challenges lie ahead with a particular project as the scope of the amount of files, users, products, etc increases.  I went through this with toolbox in SolidWorks.  I was able to change some of the settings of how we used it before too much data was created where I work.  Would have been too much time to spend to change things at this point.

Pete

RE: inventor vs. solidworks

edit... "particular project" should read "particular product" - in reference to CAD programs that are up for evaluation...

RE: inventor vs. solidworks

>Have you contacted...

Apparently I was a little too subtle with the sarcasm.
Yes I have been in contact with Greg Jankowski (actually he contacted me) and Todd Bryant.
Had to give up for a while to get some other stuff done.

Autodesk Inventor Certified Expert
Certified SolidWorks Professional

RE: inventor vs. solidworks

Chester, IV does not have configurations like Solidworks parts have, and assemblies are a little closer but still not there. I haven't seen IV since a few releases back though

your opinion is out-of-date and could be misleading. please consider that others might be influenced by this.

Autocad didn't have any real compeition until Solidworks and Solidedge came around in its price range

what is the relevance of this in a discussion of the relative merits of SW and IV ? if Inventor were not from Autodesk, I wonder if hard-core SW fanatics would be so quick to criticize. comparing Acad to any solid modeler is apples to oranges.

Also, check your history.....Solidworks created the feature tree concept

your kidding? someone correct me if I'm wrong, but the first history tree I recall was in Pro/E. even early versions of MDT had a feature tree. there are literally dozens of patents for 3D cad GUIs, a quick search shows them to be very specific to that application.

again, I use SW and IV, occasionally Pro/E depending on the customers native file format. I don't care who "invented" what particular program feature, as long as its there if and when I need it. let the OP judge SW and IV on their relevance to his business needs, not contempt for Autodesk.

RE: inventor vs. solidworks

UG stores configurations as separate files as well, and while its easy to setup and create them, it's a royal pain not being able to easily work and switch between different configs. I think I would feel the same frustration in Inventor.

Configs in swx can be used for:
  • Family of similar parts (Sizes)
  • To create parts bent into shapes (resistor leads)
  • Sheetmeal flat patterns
  • Sheetmetal mfg forming steps
  • Simplfied versions of complex parts (turn off features)
  • Mirrored versions of parts
  • Cast and Machined parts (if you want them together)
  • Flexible parts like wiring that is unique for each assy its used in, yet have the same part number
The configs can be created derived underneath another so they have the same part number, or they separate with different numbers. Or mix and match both. I might have say 10 family of parts at different sizes with each its own part number, then each has a derived configuration maybe with fillets and other non important features suppressed for used as a simplified part for large assemblies (part number linked to parent config).

Jason

UG NX2.02.2 on Win2000 SP3
UG NX4.01.0 on Win2000 SP3
SolidWorks 2007 SP3.1 on WinXP SP2

RE: inventor vs. solidworks

[quote matherjd]Apparently I was a little too subtle with the sarcasm.[/quote
Why be sarcastic at all with people who are trying to help?

cheers
SW07-SP3.1
SW06-SP5.1

RE: inventor vs. solidworks

Chester, as a guy who logs in daily, there is very little autodesk bashing going on here. I think the last time we all really talked about it when some stupid movie that that autodesk execs put out bashing on SW during SW world 06. Talk about looking fanatical and behind. I think we all know which software you use more, based on your two, and let me count them, two posts here....and everyone knows SW was started by Pro/E guys.

The bottom line is that asking which software is better on a forum partial to a particular software is just not objective and I think you will find that the initial answers in the post clearly indicated that free trials are available for both. It is just fun to nock coke if you drink pepsi, but I would have to say inventor is more like tab or rc cola. It is something that many of us have used and evaluated and choosen not to put in our quiver. If Autocad Inventor was truely better, then I think many of us would switch over to this tool, because we all want the best tool at the right price for the job. Maybe someday it will be better, or significantly cheaper. All I know is that its nice to have companies competing against each other, because that in itself creates product advancement. What really intrests me is the Autodesk aquisition of Maya and 3ds Max. I will be following the future of this company closely. There are some fairly advanced NURBS surface modeling and rendering tools which Inventor could benefit from.

RFUS

RE: inventor vs. solidworks

pdybeck,

Sweet!

RE: inventor vs. solidworks

rfus, you clearly didn't read my posts thoroughly. I expressed NO preference, simply objected to gross misinformation about Inventor, which I use in addition to SW and Pro/E. I have examined a similar thread over on the Inventor forum, and found that there were some SW users who were quick to spread derogatory claims about IV there, and to try to discredit published reports from apparently reliable sources, with opinion and speculation. this helps no one.

RE: inventor vs. solidworks

I was a Hard acad user and found the 3d transition into inventor a little harder than solidworks.

at this point i am comfortable with both and i can exploit each one to its full potential but if youre going to primarily output drawing files I would recommend you go with Inventor as the drawing tools are more powerful and intuitive than the SW toolset.

Cliffs: Do Inventor.

Hope that helps.

RE: inventor vs. solidworks


If I was looking to purchase a 2D CAD tool for AEC I would look into AutoDesk and Microstation products. I would not look into SolidWorks, PTC, Dassault and UGS prodcuts.

Likewise, if I am looking to purchase a 3D MCAD tool I would look into SolidWorks, PTC, Dassault and UGS prodcuts. I would not look into AutoDesk and Microstation.

RE: inventor vs. solidworks

ok.. I meant products not prodcuts... ouch

RE: inventor vs. solidworks

Depends on the application. If I were doing arch design (bldgs) in 3D, I would use Autodesk products.

Chris
SolidWorks 07 3.0/PDMWorks 07
AutoCAD 06
ctopher's home (updated 04-21-07)

RE: inventor vs. solidworks


You are absolutely right Chris, my previous post was a general statement. My point is that the strength of AutoDesk is really AEC (2D and 3D). I hear good things about Revit. Likewise, the strength of SolidWorks, Dassault, PTC and UGS is 3D MCAD. That might not matter to some users, but I would take that into consideration when purchasing a CAD package.

RE: inventor vs. solidworks

Revit is very cool! I would love to see SolidWorks come out with some type of Arch package.

Chris
SolidWorks 07 3.0/PDMWorks 07
AutoCAD 06
ctopher's home (updated 04-21-07)

RE: inventor vs. solidworks


FYI... Revit was like the "SolidWorks" of AEC (a 3D parametric CAD package for architecture). AutoDesk bought them out a few years back. Good move for AutoDesk.

RE: inventor vs. solidworks

I think that it is going to take MUCH persuading to get those guys (civil/arch) to take advantage of Revit and even entertain the thought of complete building documentation in 3D.  In that sense, many compare to modern day luddites.

RE: inventor vs. solidworks

Heck there was a program called CADMAX that had a feature tree and hybrid (solid/surface modeling in the same environment). Our company used it for many years over the other programs till they caught up.It was way ahead of Solidworks, solidedge, Mech desktop ect...

RE: inventor vs. solidworks

You can get Autodesk Inventor LT for free from
http://labs.autodesk.com/
(part modeling only - no assemblies)

or
Autodesk Inventor Personal Learning Edition from your local VAR.

or
Students can get free Autodesk Inventor Professional from http://engineersrule.org

Autodesk Inventor Certified Expert
Certified SolidWorks Professional

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