What program is really recomanded?

[mplanchard]

Originally Posted by EricH

I've used Pro-E occasionally, but when I tried to do it again, it was harder...

I learned Inventor first, then when I had a Solidworks/design class, my section focused on the design and the other section went for the Solidworks. If I hadn't known Inventor, I would have been pretty well lost. Other students were lost and I had to help them. In terms of interface, Inventor (the versions I played with) is more compact; for example, Solidworks has two buttons for extrusions (one for cutting, one for adding material), while Inventor has one (select inside the box).

Eric - if you have SolidWorks 2008, make certain Instant3d is turned on. Click Instant 3d from the Features toolbar. When you select a sketch or a face, you can pull the face in with your mouse to form a cut or out to form a boss - you dont even have to select the icon - it is all on a right click. You stay focused on the center of the graphics window, you can also just drag and a ruler pops up. Click on the ruler for an exact value. This is really cool functionality - I think you will like it.

Marie