Favorite Tool

[Brandon Holley]

Originally Posted by Ian Mackenzie

iMates are great if used properly (identifying things by name instead of some obscure internal ID is a wonderful thing). I must say that work planes do have their dark side; ever noticed what happens if you use "Extrude To" in the context of an assembly? Inventor creates a hidden work plane as the real extrusion limit, and if the original part moves, the work plane doesn't. Inventor is pretty good, but in my experience it simply isn't as fully parametric as SolidWorks or (especially) Pro/ENGINEER - although I'm quite willing to be proved wrong on this one if somebody knows how to avoid the problem I just described (and a similar one that often happens if you project geometry between parts).

I agree 100%...at my job i HAVE to use solidworks, Pro/ENGINEER and inventor, based on what clients we work for want......inventor is the most difficult to work with i feel...

overall i feel solidworks is the best balance of ease of use/Power

[AdamHeard]

Originally Posted by Brandon Holley

I agree 100%...at my job i HAVE to use solidworks, Pro/ENGINEER and inventor, based on what clients we work for want......inventor is the most difficult to work with i feel...

overall i feel solidworks is the best balance of ease of use/Power

I'll back you up on that too. Right now I use inventor because I have a license. I used to have a solidworks license and liked that a lot, I've used CATIA a lot (and hopefully getting a license soon. My brother's business partner is a distributer) and that is by far my favorite.

Ian M: I noticed that same problem. Anything referencing a work plane in an assembly never seems to be entirely parametric. Mirroring components, then moving the plane leaves the components unchanged.

[Ericgehrken]

I personally like the rectangular and circular pattern tools because they save a ton of time.

[Robert Thacker-]

Favorite tool - Copy and Paste

There is no least favorite for me.