Mechanical Design Software

I asked this same question of the mechanical engineer in charge of the innards of a radar at work, and he said that for home use Alibre would be his recommendation, so I got a copy of the Personal Edition (~ $200), and I've been learning it. So far so good. One project (a wooden bench-shelf for the kitchen, to store heavy pots and stacks of cooking magazines) completed and built. Although it's not as well documented with books as I would like, there are training videos and an active forum, in which Alibre the company participates and questions are answered.

I had started with DraftSight from Dassault, and wasn't getting very far, as it's an AutoDesk clone. While there is much documentation on AutoDesk, it is one of the older systems, and has become encrusted with remanents of its long history, and is quite difficult to learn. This is what prompted me to ask the mechanical guys. Anyway, I abandoned DraftSight, and got Alibre.

Joe Gwinn

The methodology of the left has always been:

1. Lie
2. Repeat the lie as many times as possible
3. Have as many people repeat the lie as often as possible
4. Eventually, the uninformed believe the lie
5. The lie will then be made into some form oflaw
6. Then everyone must conform to the lie