Re: SolidWorks vs. Inventor
 

Never having used SolidWorks or Inventor, I have to vote for Pro Engineer. I mean those are the guys that invented 3d parametric solid modeling.

Even though they screwed up the interface with Wildfire.

Re: SolidWorks vs. Inventor
 

I've always used solidworks, and for me, it's definately the easier of the two.

Solidworks is more than just modeling software, it can quickly do weight calculations, stress calculations, even heat transfer and such =D

Also, it is very good at importing nearly any type of external data, and it can export in many filetypes.

I also find it very userfriendly, and I like the general interface more.

Re: SolidWorks vs. Inventor
 

i would love to say that i like solidworks more, with it's high caliber features and simplicity thought the entire sketch to assembly process.
but there are several pet peeves of mine with solidworks:
the rotate camera tool
hotkeys (or lack thereof)
rendering and animation is counter intuitive.
a lot more that i havent discovered.

i have used solidworks and inventor both for about 4 months now.
it is possibly the better one of the two, but it certainly has a learning curve like hitting a brick wall. (plus all the solidworks labs at my school default to metric units instead of IPS grrrrr!)

Re: SolidWorks vs. Inventor
 

I would have to say Solidworks wins by a slim margin for me. I personally find both to be equally easy to use. I learned CAD on Inventor and found that the only learning curve of going to Solidworks was learning where the buttons were and learning then new features. Still though, I find Solidworks a more powerful tool with less of a strain on my processor.

Re: SolidWorks vs. Inventor
 

They are nearly exactly the same for me... i use Inventor at work and SolidWorks for FIRST. Only complaint i have of SolidWorks is drawings are 100x easier in inventor. But COSMO is pretty sweet. For the most part solid modeling and assembly is the same, just different interface. I use Inventor the most so I would vote for it.

Re: SolidWorks vs. Inventor
 

Honestly, I like Pro/ENGINEER. I learned ADI in school and learned Pro/E at robotics and I like Pro/E better. I plan on getting the Stu Version for robotics next year. The biggest reason is its interface. Many people complain about Wildfire's interface but it is just like ADI or SW, you just have to get used to it. Overall though you can do much more with Pro/E than you can with ADI and SolidWorks.

Re: SolidWorks vs. Inventor
 

I'm for Solidworks, but Inventer is usually better.

Re: SolidWorks vs. Inventor
 

Personally, I like working with solidworks much more than inventor. It is much easier to use the more powerful features, as well as easier to the basic features

Re: SolidWorks vs. Inventor
 

Students have been able to download 1 year (or 14 month) FREE license of Autodesk Inventor Professional for the past 3 releases.

http://engineersrule.org

Re: SolidWorks vs. Inventor
 

Anyone mentioning Solidwork's lack of hotkeys should read the help section. You can redefine/assign hotkeys to any function you wish.

I like Solidworks a lot better.

I used Inventor for 6 years, and Solidworks for 2 years. I feel much more productive in Solidworks.

I dislike Inventor's project system, in particular.

Solidworks is much more of an industry standard than Inventor, which is a good reason to use it in and of itself.

Re: SolidWorks vs. Inventor
 

i love inventor, and have used it for one and a half years,

our team has almost all mentors from Autodesk, so we are a bit biassed, but can get tips and tricks any time...

i have used solidworks a bit, but after learning alot about inventor, it's really hard to switch.

Re: SolidWorks vs. Inventor
 

I have used Inventor for about three years now and I like it a lot. I have not really used SW (at all) and my opinion is definitely biased, but I have been using ADI since my freshman year in my CAD class, and have found that it can do amazing things. However, the animation can be a pain (I don't know what it's like for SW) and putting sub-assemblies into complete assemblies can also be a bit annoying, especially if you need them to move. Overall though, I would give ADI two thumbs up.

Re: SolidWorks vs. Inventor
 

I started with and learned CAD on inventor and that caused me to be an inventor fanboy.

I can say though, if you take the time to learn solidworks you will be very, very happy. Not only is the interface better and easier to customize, it WORKS. Everyone here who uses inventor for more than just basic parts knows what i mean; there are random weird errors all the time.

Also, the fact that universities and industry are more likely to use solidworks is a big motivator for me.

Re: SolidWorks vs. Inventor
 

I found Solidworks very easy to pickup, coming from Inventor. The only "difficult" part is finding where all the buttons are. Otherwise, it works exactly the same, for the most part.

Can anyone elaborate on why they find SW more difficult?

Re: SolidWorks vs. Inventor
 

I'm with Cory here.

I've used inventor for 4 years, solidworks for 2 and pro/E for 1.
I used solidworks, inventor and pro/E at my last co-op job.
I use solidworks at my current co-op job.
I use inventor for FIRST.

Of all of them, i find the best balance of form and function in solidworks.


I feel people become biased to the system they learn to CAD on, but I started on inventor and have fully been engulfed by solidworks.