pic: Taigene

[miketwalker]

Originally Posted by Stu Bloom

Wow ... I did not know that - but what happens when you need to change a feature's size/shape/position? I know in this case this was an existing part/assy which was modeled, and that would not necessarily apply, but if you are designing from scratch there are frequently design iterations that require you to adjust characteristics/features of your part.

That's exactly why 3d CAD programs are becomming popular. For initial design of a part, both 2d and 3d CAD programs take about the same time (maybe a little more for 3d in some cases, depending on the part)... but with 3d... you hit a few buttons and bwam you have a new piece... with 2d cad you have to manually redo it consuming much more time. So, for an ever-changing design like your talking about Stu, 3d becomes much better to use for modifications. If you're just making a plate or something, it might just be simpler to use AutoCAD, all depends on the application... but I think 3d is usually the way to go, because you can always come back to it and use it later.