Evaluating 3D CAD software - Which one???
Evaluating 3D CAD software - Which one???
(OP)
The company I presently work for has used proe since about 2002 and dropped support in 07 when the recession hit so we are locked to 6 seats on WF4.
I've been given the task of looking into the current 3D market to determine if we should resume our support and thus upgrading to WF5 (or creo)or to migrate to a new product.
I have narrowed it down to 4
proe
Solidworks
Solid Edge
Inventor
Is anyone out there in the same boat as me? Or have you been there and done it already and can offer some useful advice/opinion?
Thanks for your time.
I've been given the task of looking into the current 3D market to determine if we should resume our support and thus upgrading to WF5 (or creo)or to migrate to a new product.
I have narrowed it down to 4
proe
Solidworks
Solid Edge
Inventor
Is anyone out there in the same boat as me? Or have you been there and done it already and can offer some useful advice/opinion?
Thanks for your time.






RE: Evaluating 3D CAD software - Which one???
Do you manufacture your product from your CAD models?
Have you considered the training and productivity impact on a conversion.
Have you considered the amount of rework to recreate your existing models/assemblies/drawings into your new CAD system?
You will have to pay back maintenance to reinstate your PTC maintenance, so you haven't 'saved' for these past 4 years. You may be able to negotiate a reduced reinstatement charge. It may be cheaper to buy new licenses and throw the old ones away. Of course, PTC will now count your company as having 12 licenses. :)
Give us more information on your company and products.
"Wildfires are dangerous, hard to control, and economically catastrophic."
Ben Loosli
RE: Evaluating 3D CAD software - Which one???
I would say our max assembly size would be around 500 parts. were not talking automotive here, we produce products like patio doors and sunroofs in marine sector. which involve extruded and pressed profiles and machined parts.
Some of our work is also derived from imported iges surfaces which is then flattened to produce a developed profile (we cant use sheetmetal for this as surfaces to complex)
I would guess 50% made through CAM data - the rest to drawing.
Whatever decision is made, training will have to be provided as not all proe seats are presently in use and this has to change.
There is a little 'resistance' to proe in our dept as most feel its to difficult to use, and most show a preference to solidworks.
my plan is to run pilot projects on each on shortlist to determine ease of use etc.
if you need anymore info, let me know.
Regards
P
RE: Evaluating 3D CAD software - Which one???
http:
John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Design Solutions
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
http://www.siemens.com/plm
http://www.plmworld.org/museum/
To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.
RE: Evaluating 3D CAD software - Which one???
"Wildfires are dangerous, hard to control, and economically catastrophic."
Ben Loosli
RE: Evaluating 3D CAD software - Which one???
Locale support can be important depending on where you are.
There maybe a 3rd party app for Solidworks to do the developed profiles. Get the sales people to show you what they can do with on of your hard examples. Some folks do that in Rhino and import it back into CAD.
http://www.deelip.com/ looked at SW v SE.
The main thing to remember is the you need the right tool for YOUR job.
Be prepared to dedicate some real time to this. It isn't a quick and easy decision.
RE: Evaluating 3D CAD software - Which one???
In my personal experience, I have always had a lot of grief with Siemens products. It's not that they aren't good products it's that SolidEdge never seemed to work correctly, and NX nickeled and dime'd you ever step of the way.
Solidworks is very user friendly and easy to get into; however, it lacks the built in CAM that you may need. You would have to buy another seat of a stand alone CAM, or buy a license from Dassault for one of their partners, ie CAMworks, Solidcam.
Pro/e has a lot of surfacing features that you may or not need, You may be better off focusing on a solid modeling program, or your assemblies might really need the more powerful surface modeling found in Pro/e. If you needs surfaces that is a good place to start.
I pretty typically stay way from AutoDesk just a matter of preference; however, it has come a long way in recent years, and you should examine their capabilities.
RE: Evaluating 3D CAD software - Which one???
My personal opinion, moving from one more or less adequate 3D CAD system that all your staff are up to speed on, you have fully implemented, you have common practices for... to another more or less adequate 3D CAD package just because of someones preference is a pain. There better be a really compelling reason to switch, and I mean a decent ROI that captures all the major issues. However, you imply Pro E isn't fully implemented so it may be a different situation for you.
To some extent it's a crap shoot. 12 or so years ago my place picked Solid Edge, after a comparison between it and Works. The deciding factor was that Works kept crashing or something. Little did they know that Works would go on to grab a much larger market share and all it entails. They now want to go to Works because of it's bigger market share & commonality with vendors etc., but we have everything in Edge...
However, there are changes coming in Works related to kernel change etc. that may be problematic, and Edge has just introduced some technology that helps it work with other CAD systems etc. so maybe now isn't the time to pick Works but who knows for sure.
I learnt Pro E & Solid Edge at the same time back in 99, in a company that thought it should more to Pro E from Edge because it was 'more common in the industry' common with customers.... Turned out to be a disaster, one project went several times over budget and last I heard they were sticking to Edge.
What is Engineering anyway: FAQ1088-1484: In layman terms, what is "engineering"?
RE: Evaluating 3D CAD software - Which one???
1) Do you have any suppliers or customers with whom you often exchange model files who have a strong preference ?
2) Can you easily get CAD contractors for a particular package, or will you be training experienced CAD contractors in a new package?
3) In my experience a CAD guy spends 25% of the time doing database stuff these days. How are you going to evaluate that?
Cheers
Greg Locock
New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?
RE: Evaluating 3D CAD software - Which one???
Greg makes a real good point. For some reason most folks find it really hard to be impartial about CAD systems - to the point of religious war as he mentions. So doing/getting an objective assessment can be tricky, good luck.
What is Engineering anyway: FAQ1088-1484: In layman terms, what is "engineering"?
RE: Evaluating 3D CAD software - Which one???
RE: Evaluating 3D CAD software - Which one???
RE: Evaluating 3D CAD software - Which one???
RE: Evaluating 3D CAD software - Which one???
In the case of solids modelling software, improved learn-ability and userfriendlyness for an individual user will come at the expense of software interoperability and associativity across a larger design group. Fewer mouse clicks to perform a given operations comes at the expense of less direct control of that operation. So again, different packages will be best for different companies. And packages that are best suited to a single user may not be as well suited to a larger company.
RE: Evaluating 3D CAD software - Which one???
Because most companies need some interoperability with suppliers and/or customers,
and because CAD vendors don't go out of their way to provide serious interoperability or easy/transparent data exchange,
despite decades of lip service toward that end,
you will probably end up with some number of seats of your chosen package,
>and< one seat of one or more other packages,
>and< people who can drive all/both adequately,
in order to facilitate said interoperability.
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: Evaluating 3D CAD software - Which one???
Please check out:
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And for an unbiased 3rd party point of view:
http://w
John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Design Solutions
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
http://www.siemens.com/plm
http://www.plmworld.org/museum/
To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.
RE: Evaluating 3D CAD software - Which one???
Check it out:
http://www.kubotekusa.com/index.html