CAD Programmes

[Cooper]

Originally Posted by Chris Green

Cooper, what package was that modelled in? Fancy sharing your hard work?

the B4 is in solidworks, made it together with Elvo

the assembly movie is in Inventor, made it in my CAD training

[Somerwil]

As a mechanical engineer and application manager I thought it would be helpfull to join the discussion.

For 2D: AutoCAD is simply the best known application. It has it's limitations but it's just the best-known and most used CAD application around

For 3D: SolidWorks is probably the market's standard.

Forget about Catia and Pro-Engineer. That's for whizzkids and weirdo's with too much time.

The company I work for uses 7 CoCreate OneSpace Designer (3D) licenses including their Model Manager and 2D Drafting (previously ME10). Designer has a very different method to build up 3D models which I think is very easy to learn. It has a no part-history, no constraints, no bull-shit user interface. It's basically what you see is what you get. AND THAT'S GREAT! I love the program although it has it's limitations. You only come to the point of limitations when you want to program something that builts up machines/ parts automatically, but that's probably not what most people here are trying to do.

There's one problem with OneSpace Designer: It has a very limited user group so you will probably end up asking me questions?

CoCreate now offers a Personal Edition. This is a limited edition of the program I use at work. It's able to handle up to 60 unique 3D models and needs an internet connection to start up.

I really hope this was helpfull to anybody. Please feel free to give CoCreate OneSpace a try (sorry, you need to register first). I think it's worth it.

https://apps.cocreate.com/OneSpaceMo...E/register.cfm

Gr,
Michael

[Eotz]

Hi.

I'm working like 3D CAD designer for 10 years specially with I-Deas and Catia V5. I worked in many important automotive companies, like Ford at Cologne and Genk (Belgium), Nissan at Madrid (No a day closed) and Cranfield and many other automotive supliers and industrial companys. In fact I'm november I'm going to start working like freelance at Ford in Cologne.
First, the choice of the CAD system that one company need depends of the work they want to do with this tool. I mean, if you are looking for complex styling surfaces, you should think in programs like Alias, Icem Surf or Rhinos. If you are looking for big mechanical assembles, advanced surfaces, drafting tools, even with calculation options, you are looking for I-deas, Catia V5, Pro-Engineering or Unigraphics.
Then in a lower step are progams designed for small meachanical assembies (Like an RC car). Solid Works, Solid Edge, Autodesk Inventor...
And finally small companies that principally are looking only for 2D normally use Autocad.
I should say that there is not an specific CAD tool for every diferent industrial sector. For example, in the aeronautilcal sector you can find companies like Airbus that use Catia V5, but you can also find companies using Pro-Engineering or even Unigraphics (For me the worst CAD progam ever made). In the automotive world every group use a diferent progam. Nissan and Ford works with I-deas/C3P (Now Ford is changing to Catia V5), General Motors use Unigraphics (I think that Fiat uses it too) and the rest of the European groups, Mercedes-Benz, PSA, Renault, BMW and so on use Catia V5 (With their own working enviroments).
Then, other sectors like small tooling companies or arquitectural studies use normally Autocad. Another small industrial companies use Solid Works and similar products.

In my opinion according to my sperience, the most complete CAD system is I-Deas but this program have a very close death line. Unigraphic Solutions bought some years ago SDRC (The company who development the I-Deas) and is going to eliminate this system to avoid competence to their Unigraphis, in the future named NX.

Forgive my English, is no so good. I hope this help you.

Regards.

[RogerM]

Solid works is fast becoming the standard in the Automotive industry. The company I work for is one of the largest component suppliers in the automotive scene and all the sub suppliers and all of the customers my business devision work with all use Solidworks as their 3D modling package.

In the 8 years I've been using it it has changed a lot and now is super powerful and also easy enough your average high school kid could pick it up and run with it in a day!

[Eotz]

Originally Posted by RogerM

Solid works is fast becoming the standard in the Automotive industry. The company I work for is one of the largest component suppliers in the automotive scene and all the sub suppliers and all of the customers my business devision work with all use Solidworks as their 3D modling package.

In the 8 years I've been using it it has changed a lot and now is super powerful and also easy enough your average high school kid could pick it up and run with it in a day!

I don't know wich is the company for you are working, but all the suppliers for I worked in 3 different countries use diferent CAD sistems depending of the customer, but I never seen nobody using Solid Works in the development of automotive parts. The packaging is a different history. Solid Works sure is a nice program, but now a day you should admit that is some steps below Catia, I-Deas, UG and so on.

Bye.

[glypo]

Maybe I missed it, but Inventor doesn't seem to have been mentioned in detail.

AutoCAD is, and probably will always have the 2D market as people say. However on the Solid modelling front it's much more open. I use ProE and Catia an awful lot, and wouldn't say one is better then the other, both have different advantages.

However Inventor from Autodesk (AutoCAD makers) is an amazing bit of software. It is by far the quickest to use and easiest to learn. I must admit I came across problems when trying to draw some more complicated systems, but unlike most solid modellers I didn't have to spend ages working out where everything was, and the right procedure to run things. It works simply, the in-program documentation/help is the best out there and I think its dimensioning etc is the best. The rendering (has a built in, scaled down, version of 3d studio max engine) is the best out there too. So not the best for complicated drawings, for a beginner it's a perfect intro and it is capable of some good drawings.

[jimmy]

I use 3d modeling software a bit, not cad stuff though. I must admit when I had a go on Inventor it was extremely easy to use. If someone like me can pick it up and model something in an evening then it must be easy!

[Chris Doughty]

Jimmy, I came to solidworks with only expericen of 3d 'game' modeling software and its very easy to pick up how to use the software.

designing something from an engineering perspective is a different matter though

[gps3300]

[quote=RogerM;64634]Solid works is fast becoming the standard in the Automotive industry. The company I work for is one of the largest component suppliers in the automotive scene and all the sub suppliers and all of the customers my business devision work with all use Solidworks as their 3D modling package.


Not sure what company you work for but Tier 1 suppliers tend to use the same CAD system as their customer for data compatibility i.e. Benteler would have IDEAS seats for a Ford project, CATIA seats for a Renault project etc. I've never seen any Solidworks data after 10 years in the iindustry so can't agree it's becoming a standard. However with CAD translation tools getting better all the time, converting data between software isn't the problem it used to be so perhaps things have moved on since I used to sit in front of a workstation.

Catia/Pro-E/NX etc tend to be used by bigger companies because of their ability to incorporate tools for change control/BoM generation/FEA/tolerance analysis/3D visualisation etc. The comments about these programs being too complicated and for weirdos with too much time are true if you sit at home playing with CAD or work for a small company, however with licenses costing tens of thousands of pounds that's not the market these CAD programs are aiming at. They are designed for companies creating large assemblies such as planes with 15,000 components and 100's of suppliers all contributing data.
They all fairly easy to pick up if you have any CAD experience, although not in the same league as say Solidworks for ease of use. To get an RC reference in, it's like the difference between a RTR and full blown race kit - both have the same basic function however one needs more knowledge and skill, but ultimately offers superior performance.

[Stu]

Originally Posted by Eotz

Hi.

I'm working like 3D CAD designer for 10 .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. ......................... ago SDRC (The company who development the I-Deas) and is going to eliminate this system to avoid competence to their Unigraphis, in the future named NX.

Forgive my English, is no so good. I hope this help you.

Regards.

Do not apologise for your English skills, they are better than some of the English people that post here.

From my experience your advice is spot on, re. the levels of detail needed.

[Cooper]

Don't forget that alot of companies are depended on their customers. Like mine, we build gearboxes for industry and wind turbines.
We still use AutoCAD because our customers want this and because we have like 200.000 draings on the server, all autocad. Our newest products are in Pro-E and that is because a BIG client also uses Pro-E. Sometimes we also use Inventor (for other clients) but they told me it is slower with calculations...

[Ezymango]

does anyone have an idea on what rc companies use for designing boddies for their cars? is it manual stuff like wood or clay sculpture for the buck or cad software and then a cnc'ed buck? i use alias wavefront for automotive surface design, its a fussy programe for a learner but after a while the results you can get are awesome!

[Chris Doughty]

I know someone who managed to get solidworks to produce a nice truck shell (no idea how he did it!!)

[Chris Green]

Yeah, you could use Solidworks to create 3D surfaces etc.

However, in all the years I've used Solidworks, I haven't done any surface modelling.
When I first started using Solidworks, back in 98, surface modelling was one of its weaknesses. I believe that over the recent years, it has progressed a lot.

To me, it seems that Solidworks is one of the more active companies in the CAD industry. I receive magazines in the post at work, such as M-Cad, Design Engineer etc, an

I might try and model something through lunchtime.

In my understanding, there is a big cost difference between the high-end Catia V5, Unigraphics & Ideas, compared to the more mid-range programs such as Solidworks, ProE, Solidedge, and inventor.