[cadandcookies]

I was at a presentation on using CAD in competitive robotics earlier this year, done by a man from PTC, and I remember him saying flat out that Creo, Solidworks, or Inventor are all three perfectly viable options for use in FRC.

It comes down to what you are looking for. I think Inventor is the easiest for people completely new to parametric modelling to get into-- AutoDesk has some really great resources both baked in and available online.

Solidworks is similar to Inventor, but used far more widely in industry. In my experience, finding mentors who know Solidworks is far easier than finding mentors who know Inventor or Pro/E. Take that with a grain of salt though, because that's just what I've experienced.

Creo (or Pro/E) is a very capable program. I started on Pro/E, and in my opinion it is simultaneously more flexible and more old school that Inventor or Solidworks. There isn't a slot feature here (which I personally miss, but oh well, UDFs for the win!), but there are a lot of features that make it, for me at least, the go-to CAD program in FRC. Also they sponsor teams with money for using their software if you apply for it. Pretty great company, and, at least in MN, they put on several in-person trainings.

Another software available in general to students/ whoever is Solid Edge (by Siemens). I've been experimenting with it for a couple of weeks now, and frankly the only reason I'd use it for FRC is if the team had a lot of mentor support for it. The resources out there for Inventor, Solidworks, and Creo are just too good.