Frustrated with SW

i believe your problem is the --wrong-- var you're contacting or the worse person answering the phone.

regards.

Reply to
Gianni Rondinini
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No. While SolidWorks is not the absolute best or most functional CAD system it is beyond a doubt the best VALUE going.

Solidworks "bang for the buck" is hard to beat. The only better value I know of is AutoCAD LT.

Excessive expectation and easy disappointment are linked. Remembering the license price might soften the hatred.

Redards,

SMA

Reply to
Sean-Michael Adams

Too true - if you are getting replies like "Solidworks isn't supposed to do that" - it sounds like someone on the end of the phone who either doesn't care or can't be arsed finding out how SW does it. I can think of at least half a dozen problems in the last 2 years that I had that reply from various folks at the VAR, but a bit of hunting and persistence and especially asking on the NG has sorted the problems - as someone further up the thread said - you get a "Doh - that's so obvious" moment and cruise until the next hassle. Find someone at your VAR who really knows the software (in an industrial setting, working against deadlines, not one who is genned up on selling the latest twiddly bits) and work with them to develop the solutions - you are paying them a heap of dosh after all and if they are worth their salt, they will respond to the challenge. If your current VAR doesn't have someone like this, shift - they should get the message and employ engineers and not salesmen. Keep with it and try venting problems to the NG - there are a lot nice people here who will pitch in to assist and I'd guess several hundreds of years worth of accumulated SW experience in a heap of fields - I guess if you get a "Solidworks can't do that" reply after posting here, then you can be pretty certain it's true! Best of Luck Deri

Reply to
Deri Jones

People get a little defensive when the truth hurts.

Reply to
128CRF

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."

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.

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?

Reply to
128CRF

It is vey obvious that I have a bad VAR for support. I know this. Some of the responses that I have received from support are not very professional, nor are they very helpfull. What is normal responce time for a case? Even if it is just an e-mail conformation.

Reply to
128CRF

Thanks, I needed that. I wanted to like this software, it allways looks good on a resume to have experience in multible CAD packages. Now I don't know if I will even list it.

Reply to
128CRF

Great! Good for you. I am glad it is the solution for you. In the line of business that I am in, it is not.

Dan

Reply to
128CRF

You hit the nail on the head "bang for the buck". You get what you pay for... How does the price of the license "soften the hatred". I didn't pay for it, the company did.

Dan

Reply to
128CRF

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.

Reply to
128CRF

never used email to contact my var. i usually get immediate help by phone when i call because i need something. if i'm not in a hurry, i ask on the newsgroup and usually in less than an hour i get an answer. what is more, a few times i also got a part made by somebody else =) i was asking something about lofts and a friend on the newsgroup emailed me 8 different parts using the loft i was trying to build.

cheers.

Reply to
Gianni Rondinini

Have you looked at SolidEdge? AutoCAD LT!?!? Are you serious?

Dan

Reply to
128CRF

Too bad. You are going to get a bit of help anyway .

Try

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Reply to
Cliff Huprich

Dan, my experience with my VAR is that I get an email response within the day, sometimes within the hour. That is TriMech Solutions, and they are the largest VAR (I believe) in the mid-Atlantic region, which probably explains why they have very good tech support. If you are anywhere from South Carolina to Pennsylvania they may be the best choice for you (perhaps by far). If you work elsewhere do a little research with the SolidWorks User Group in your area.

For complex geometry, surfacing, "swoopy stuff" and the like, try Ed Eaton's tutorials on the Dimonte Group's web site. That's

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-- and right now the site doesn't seem to be responding for some reason. Contact me directly if you can't get on the site and I can send you the tutorials directly. There are quite a few of them and they're not small (some are tens of megabytes each), so if your company maintains an FTP site that would be better than direct email.

To email me you've got to unMUNGE my email address, remove the most obvious extraneous (capitalized) text, and REPLACE some things (like replace UNDERLINE with an underline _ ).

'Spork'

Reply to
Sporkman

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.

Even one guide curve can cause big problems, depending on how things are defined. Go to

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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.

feature if it is

Because it looks good in sales presentations.

Jerry Steiger Tripod Data Systems

Reply to
Jerry Steiger

"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 ?

Not to someone who understands how limited the current SolidWorks

2004 approach is and why.

jon

Reply to
jon banquer

Brand new offering. VX Basic... $995.

Might even be cheaper from a VAR.

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"Features and benefits

Hybrid solid and surfaces modeling kernel.

Affordable entry level solid and surface modeling.

Binary compatibility with all the VX product family.

Powerful layout, drafting and detailing."

jon

Reply to
jon banquer

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?

Reply to
Cliff Huprich

Would you like me to send you a list of things that support has told me that SW will not do? I am not an idiot, I know how to work with, and learn new packages. I learned and was modeling very complex automotive models in 3 to 4 months with UG. Do you work for Solidworks, because you sound like my salesman, "You just need more training, let me sign you up for....".

Dan

Reply to
128CRF

Thanks, Yea, my VAR's responce is usually within 2 to 3 days. I have one case that I turned in 12 working days ago. I have not received anything. It is a good thing it is not important.

Dan

Reply to
128CRF

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