What program is really recomanded?

[suj]

k i think that all i needed wars off lol

[mplanchard]

Suj

Even though I work for SolidWorks, I still believe you should learn as many software applications as you can while you are in school. Companies work with multiple tools - the more you know well the better.



Marie

[Molten]

Ok, I'll spell out the sides of the war from a mostly impartial view.

AutoCAD is old school. It's a classic. Most of your older companies use this in some form even if it isn't their main software. Also, it is used for many different things other then mechanics (example: civil engineering)

ProE is raw power. You can do stress analysis, aerodynamics, hydrodynamics, and just about anything else you can think of. Many companies use this powerhouse to test out a product before it is built.

Inventor is simple. It allows you to start quick and then learn the more advanced tools after your already started. It does have a good amount of power at a fair price. It's ok that not many companies use it because you can adapt to new softwares quickly after knowing one.

Solidworks is unique. It does most of what the others can do with a different type of setup. This setup allows some people to pick it up quicker then others while others struggle. It has just about all the power of ProE. Many companies use this program and the fact that it is unique makes it a good thing to know because it is harder to adapt to.

Sorry, if I put in any biases. I tried to keep as indifferent as possible. Please, no flames if you don't agree. And in case you were wondering, I'm a fan of AutoCAD. But that should in no way affect your decision.

[suj]

hpw about this which requires the lowest system requirements

[R.C.]

Solidworks requires a ton of memory. Itz probably because our robot assembly is approaching 300+ parts.

[lukevanoort]

Originally Posted by rc_cola1323

Solidworks requires a ton of memory. Itz probably because our robot assembly is approaching 300+ parts.

This will be true of almost any CAD program (AutoCAD may be an exception). If you do any serious CAD with larger assemblies, you're going to need a whole lot of RAM (and a nice screen....). Handliy, RAM is easy to upgrade. Drop in a few gigs and as long as you aren't running on ancient hardware, you should be okay.

[mplanchard]

Originally Posted by rc_cola1323

Solidworks requires a ton of memory. Itz probably because our robot assembly is approaching 300+ parts.

RC - Here are a few tips

-Try loading your components lightweight.
-Put all your fasteners in a "Hardware Folder" and suppress them when not required for Mass Props.
-Form subassemblies. It is easier to work with subassemblies that you can suppress/unsurpress when not required

Also there are lots of tips about working with assemblies from SolidWorks uses.

http://forum.solidworks.com/

and in the SolidWorks Blog Community, many designers and engineers have posted tips about large assemblies

https://www.solidworks.com/sw/commun...sign-blogs.htm

Marie

[R.C.]

Marie those really helped, one question: is solidworks ever going to make it so that the funtionality of the xyz mover on solidworks is better or as the same as inventors box view thing. Sorry for the random question. But I think solidworks rocks and thank you for supporting FIRST.

[suj]

how long do you guys think an import from pro e on solidworks 09 on a acer aspire 3050 with ram upgraded to 2 gb's will take? my processor is amd sempron mobile with an ati radeo 1100 series graphics set

[R.C.]

Your processor isn't dual core for one. I think a tad bit longer than normal and ram really only helps in handling multiple apps or running hardcore applications.

[Cory]

Originally Posted by suj

how long do you guys think an import from pro e on solidworks 09 on a acer aspire 3050 with ram upgraded to 2 gb's will take? my processor is amd sempron mobile with an ati radeo 1100 series graphics set

So...you're using Pro/E already and want to use Solidworks instead, or you have a native Pro/E file and want to open it in Solidworks?

If the former, Solidworks probably isn't any faster or slower than Pro/E. It could take quite a while to convert from another file format (STEP, IGES, etc) though. I have a P4 single core 3.4 ghz with 4 gigs of RAM and an Nvidia 7800 GTX at work and I've had to open STEP files of assemblies that took 10-15 minutes to convert/render.

It all depends on how large the file is, whether it's an assembly, or parts, etc etc.

[mplanchard]

Originally Posted by rc_cola1323

Marie those really helped, one question: is solidworks ever going to make it so that the funtionality of the xyz mover on solidworks is better or as the same as inventors box view thing. Sorry for the random question. But I think solidworks rocks and thank you for supporting FIRST.

Sorry RC - I dont use Inventor so I dont know this functionality. Just explain to me what you want to do and let me see if I can help you. Marie

[R.C.]

Sorry Marie. In inventor you can hold and move this cube that has all the views and you can click the corners of the cube to get iso views and different angles. I was wondering if solidworks was gonna create some kind of functionality with the xyz thing in the bottom left hand corner. I see that they have added more funtionality compared to the last version and I am starting to use it more and more.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvUxNJxns2Y

This video shows the cube and some other features that I like about Inventor. Just wondering if Solidworks was gonna introduce anything like this.

[Cory]

Originally Posted by rc_cola1323

Sorry Marie. In inventor you can hold and move this cube that has all the views and you can click the corners of the cube to get iso views and different angles. I was wondering if solidworks was gonna create some kind of functionality with the xyz thing in the bottom left hand corner. I see that they have added more funtionality compared to the last version and I am starting to use it more and more.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvUxNJxns2Y

This video shows the cube and some other features that I like about Inventor. Just wondering if Solidworks was gonna introduce anything like this.

Even better than the cube-use "ctrl"+"1-7".

ex: "ctrl-7" is iso view. You can cycle between all the other standard views with 1-6.

[R.C.]

Originally Posted by Cory

Even better than the cube-use "ctrl"+"1-7".

ex: "ctrl-7" is iso view. You can cycle between all the other standard views with 1-6.

Yeah Cory, but I kinda liked the gui cube thing. Commands are great, used Autocad for 4 years (7th to 10th grade). But the reason I like 3d Cad was itz use of the GUI and workflow to create a better working enviroment.

-RC