Frustrated with SW

Is there anyone else who thinks that SolidWorks is crap? I moved to a new job back in Jan.. During the interview my boss mentioned that they were going to start using Solidworks. I thought no problem, I am fairly proficient with I-deas Master Series and UG SolidWorks should be a breeze.
I signed up for all the basic and advanced classes that SW offered. When I would have a problem I would contact support (which is a joke in itself), and get "SW is not ment to do that", "you cant do that", etc..
I have used this software for 10 months now, and I hate it now as much as I hated it in March. The sales people and the training classes tell you how easy SW is to use. What they don't tell you is that for everything that is real easy to do, there are ten other things that are not usable because they just give you enough to get started.
Does anybody else feel this way?

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Perhaps you could share some of the things you are having trouble with. This group might be able to help. Often times a new CAD system is simply one "whack-of-the-head-oh-now-I-get-it" revelation away.
Richard

No, I don't think its crap, but I do think the support could be better. ( not referring to you Richard)
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This

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I am not asking for help in this posting. I am just venting. I have talked about my problems until I am blue in the face. Thanks for trying to help, but I really don't want to talk about it any more.

snipped-for-privacy@bellsouth.net (128CRF) writes:
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Too bad. You are going to get a bit of help anyway <G>.
Try http://news.cis.dfn.de/

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No I don't think it's crap. What I do think is that thier original concept of being a just a history based solid only modeler was wrong and that this is still causing many problems with the product today.
IMO, SolidWorks Corp. relies much to heavily on third party components to do some of the work that SolidWorks Corp. should be doing themselves. For instance, SolidEdge does not use a third party software component to handle their new surfacing functionality. It's fine to use third party software components but it's not cool to require third party components to do the *entire* job especially when the needed functionality is not currently available in those third party software components and may not be for some time... if at all !!!
IMO, I don't think that SolidWorks spends nearly enough money on R&D.
SolidWorks Corp. also does not seem to understand the tools that someone working in a machine shop with non-native geometry needs in order to get the job done *quickly*. In a hard pressed machine shop the time is not there to only be able to use one tool (FeatureWorks) to get the job done. IMO this is unrealistic and many other companies (IronCAD, VX's Vision, think3 thinkdesign / thinkshape with Global Shape Modeling, etc.) provide far superior tools to get the job done in a more expedient manner.
Finally, when it comes to surfacing SolidWorks Corp. really seems very, very lost on how to make the modeling experience of using both surface and solid tools seamless and unified. It's more like a hack and whack experience. (hack and whack copyright J/K)
The above have been issues in SolidWorks for many, many years now and they continue to cause problems for lots of users, many of whom are forced to use other programs in order to get the job done.
The interesting part of some of this is that I believe that the latest head of SolidWorks R&D comes from Brown and Sharpe and should really know better about how users need to deal with non-native imported geometry. Perhaps he has not had enough time yet to leave his stamp on the product ??? I guess only SolidWorks 2005 will tell us how much weight he really has in getting the numerous issues that have plagued SolidWorks for many years straightened out.
Sadly SolidWorks 2004 is still very much an incomplete product in many ways.
jon
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Idiot. At times most businesses have special needs or do repeat things needing calculations. That's exactly what API interfaces and programming are for.
Some firms have developed programs for niche markets to fill these specialized needs. I doubt many are getting rich.
Has anyone mentioned morons lately?

snipped-for-privacy@aol.com (Cliff Huprich) wrote in message writes:
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People get a little defensive when the truth hurts.

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All five are pretty good at CNC programming, right? At least for the 2 1/2 axes work YOU *claim* to do WITH MANUAL PROGRAMMING ONLY.
I don't think anyone sane would let him near the green button ....
No clues today ....

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Sometimes it is very hard to make the transition from one way of doing things to another. I haven't used I-deas since I test drove it when it came out, so I don't know how different the present software might be from SW.
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That should have helped a lot in making the transition. If you hadn't said this, it would have been my first suggestion.
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Sounds like you have a lousy VAR. Check into the VARs available in your area. See if one of them stands out. Talk your company into switching the Support to them when you renew.
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What are some of the things you are having trouble with. Maybe some of us can help.
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Sometimes. Are you doing a lot of complex geometry and surfacing? SW is still struggling in this area, where UG has a long history.
Jerry Steiger Tripod Data Systems

"Are you doing a lot of complex geometry and surfacing? SW is still struggling in this area, where UG has a long history."
UG started out with a CAM background as it's core. I think the Uni part is from University APT and the "Uni" remained when a graphic front end was built. Any idea what a tremendous benefit starting this way was and is to producing a real world CAD/CAM package ???
Forgetting complex geometry and surfacing for a moment how about just focusing on the FACT that Solidworks is very badly lacking in the needed tools that other CAD/CAM packages have for editing and modifying non-native prismatic solid geometry.
How about ease of use ??? Does SolidWorks have anywhere near the ease of use as say IronCAD ??? If not why, not ???
There is a lot more wrong with SolidWorks than just complex geometry and surfacing.
jon
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came

...... jb than just lunacy.

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I know that change is hard, I have been thru it before. This goes far beyond "I don't know what to do, I'm new."
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I hate how the software tells you, this operation will cause geometry to be absorbed and can not complet. I don't care if something gets absorbed! If I don't like it I will go back and cjange something in the feature. Go ahead and do it!!! These are just excuses for lazy programming.
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Complex geometry is all I do. That is what I get in responce from support, "solidworks does not handle complex geometry very well". Support tells me that a loft or a sweep with more than one or two guide curves complicates things. WHAT?!?! Why have a feature if it is going to complicate the part so much that it is practically unworkable?
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Well, at least they're honest. This really is a weak point for SW. They haven't been able to figure out how to make a good user interface for lofts and sweeps that works for beginners and experts. The interface they came up with doesn't work well for anyone.
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Even one guide curve can cause big problems, depending on how things are defined. Go to http://www.dimontegroup.com / then to the Tutorials page. Download both of Ed Eaton's Curvy Stuff tutorials and watch the slide shows. Do that a couple of times, practicing the stuff that you learn. It will help a lot. It won't stop you from swearing, but it will lessen the frequency.
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feature if it is
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Because it looks good in sales presentations.
Jerry Steiger Tripod Data Systems

"They haven't been able to figure out how to make a good user interface for lofts and sweeps that works for beginners and experts. The interface they came up with doesn't work well for anyone."
How do you turn on the U, V surface points of imported geometry so they can be manipulated in SolidWorks 2004 ?
How do you turn on the control points for imported NURB splines so the can be manipulated in SolidWorks 2004 ?
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Not to someone who understands how limited the current SolidWorks 2004 approach is and why.
jon
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lofts
up

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Might this be someone that has never even seen it, much less used it? Yet feels free to endlessly comment (in the words of others; stolen) about things they don't understand at all?
And actually "understands" about nothing?
Sort of like a bad, bad clueless troll full of buzzwords?

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the point here is this: you are never going to feel any differently. you have given it an honest 10 months. who could ask for anything more? who in their right mind would honestly bang away at something they hated for 10 months and never give up? you have an iron will. you are a major assest to some company. have you thought about changing jobs? the really difficult thing is this: bob z. is being very civil. you see, you are mad at something he really likes. most people have a hard time seperating someone's opinion from an outright attack. bob z. doesn't have the ability to seperate fact from reality, fact from fiction, poetry from prose.
-- bob z. p.s. musta been a dream, don't believe where i am. come on! let's do it again. do you...
"people with less brain power than you are doing more difficult things everyday"©

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Hey bob z.,
I saw Pete last spring at the Blockbuster Pavilion with Journey. Awesome show! He's still rockin for an old man.....
Ken B.

bob zee quipped:
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so....are you saying he an asset....or the assest (assiest?)?
--nick e.

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assest
damn typos... bob z. was thinking asset, but you have made it much more entertaining!
-- bob z. p.s. the Linus quote is awesome. I almost snatched it when I read it the first time.
"people with less brain power than you are doing more difficult things everyday"©