re: 3D CAD

We are now evaluating various 3D packages, inventor, pro-e, can anyone point me in the direction of a good honest review of these packages for comparison as the investment is considerable and we want to make the right choice?

Cheers.

Reply to
Robert Woodcock
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Try searching this group for a discusssion on "Should I buy Solidworks" There is some really interesting stuff in this thread covering different packages.

Reply to
Dominic V

There are quite a few older discussions, too, which were very valuable from people who use both SolidWorks and other 3D CAD systems.

There are a couple primary issues in today's integrated "Strategic Supplier" type of relationships which are becoming more common over time, which severely impact engineering.

  1. What CAD system does your customer use, if he is another manufacturer or requires 3D CAD for documentation or control?

  1. What CAD system do your primary vendors & sub-contractors use?

  2. How many parts are in your largest assemblies?

  1. Do you have to run the company to the tightest ISO specs for document control (PDM systems), like in the Aircraft or medical industries?

  2. Is your company willing to pay a VAR or consultant to help you integrate and train employees and implement the various things needed to get up to speed without making mistakes which may cost hundreds or thousands of hours of frustration and lost time later, if you do it "alone" and pick the wrong path.

  1. What CAD system are you moving from and are you going to have to convert key legacy data or ALL legacy data to the new system to make best use of existing designs?

All these questions need to be seriously answered as to how they will affect what you do regardless of which CAD package?

Bo Clawson

Reply to
Bonobo

A little suggested reading. The Chasm Companion by Paul Wieffels The Innovator's Solution by Clayton Christensen Seeing What's Next by Clayton Christensen Competitve Strategy and Competitive Advantage by Michael Porter Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey Moore The Gorilla Game by Moore

These CAD programs are pretty much the same for most users. You might have a specific need that one of the chimps addresses.

Reply to
jmather

Inventor?

Why would anyone buy 3D from the 2D company? Their 3D isn't even stand-alone but bundled with their flagship Acad. Where's John Walker when we need him?

Reply to
wattle

I had a look at your company's website to get a feel for what it is you want to do with SW. Now a few questions:

  1. What CAD system are you currently using?

  1. Do you have any kind of ERP system or PDM system already in place?

  2. How many thousand parts do your machines currently have?

  1. What CAD system do your engineer's and draughtsmen have the most experience in?

  2. How many seats of CAD will you need?

  1. Do you construct most of the parts in house or purchase most of your parts?

I will say that I have worked in two places that make assemblies similar to yours and that used SW. SW was quite capable of doing the work, but the human factor did come into play and had much more to do with any problems that cropped up. The moral is, whichever system you eventually get, you will have to get everybody up to speed together and quickly. There are ways to do that with SW as I suppose there are with other systems. You will want to evaluate your VARs expertise and real world experience as much as the CAD.

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