What program is really recomanded?

[suj]

Anyone recomanding any?

[suj]

I'm attempting to find the best and commonly used one

[EricH]

You're going to start a war here...

There are those who prefer Inventor. There are those who prefer Solidworks. There are those who prefer Pro-E. There are those who like other programs. They may all admit that their least favorite program has nice features. But they all really, really like their own preferred program. You aren't going to get a definitive answer.

I personally have used Solidworks and Inventor. I don't like Solidworks as much as Inventor.

There are also those who use the edit button on their posts instead of posting immediately afterwards with clarification.

[SWIM]

Pro/E is the most powerful and useful one, and their product data management software is incredible.

It blows the entry-level CAD software available from other companies out of the water, but Inventor maintains a large market share in FIRST because it's so dumbed down that anyone can pick it up by playing around with it for five minutes

[zackcool123]

the war has begun i guess

[kamus1000]

You may use SolidWorks, because you can make ALL the robot with this program...and... It's easy to find the download on the internet...

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by SWIM

Pro/E is the most powerful and useful one, and their product data management software is incredible.

It blows the entry-level CAD software available from other companies out of the water, but Inventor maintains a large market share in FIRST because it's so dumbed down that anyone can pick it up by playing around with it for five minutes

I can't comment on the Pro/E, I've heard some good things about it but never used it.

I have to disagree about Inventor though, I wouldn't say it has a large market share in FIRST because of its simplicity. Inventor is actually quite nice, it may have a simpler interface (matter of opinion as far as I am concerned) but it is still powerful enough for FIRST teams' needs. I know that when I was learning it was easy to learn how to do things and then transfer the skills to other packages. Also, I am not sure about the other packages but Inventor is available to ANY student for free.

Personally, I use SolidWorks. I don't actually know why, it seems more intuitive to me. Honestly I wouldn't say any one package is the best, they all have strengths and weaknesses and it all comes down to whichever one works best for you personally. A final consideration, does anyone on your team already know/use the software? If they do and they already design your robot you want a package that will work with the software already in use. Remember, software is supposed to make things quicker.

[usbcd36]

From a practical perspective, I have had much less trouble finding KOP models/assemblies for Inventor than SolidWorks. Officially, I'm supposed to be using SolidWorks, since that's what we use at my university. I learned Inventor in high school, though, and I'm still faster at it than SolidWorks.

[mplanchard]

Try going to www.3dcontentcentral.com -
tag 2009kop or select the First Robotics category. What part are you looking for?

Marie

[Zflash]

I am trained in both Catia and Solidworks. I have somewhat taught myself inventor through the tutorials. For our robot design I think solidworks is the best ecspecially with all the parts modeled at the site that Marie has mentioned above. 1319 will have thier robot designed in solidworks.

[artdutra04]

I only used Inventor in high school, but I started using SolidWorks last year during the build season. For a variety of reasons (ranging from personal preference to the modeling-to-CNC process being much smoother), I completely switched and now I used it full time for all my projects.

In addition, both of the teams I help mentor, 190 and 228, are SolidWorks teams, and both will have at least a majority of their robot fully designed and modeled before any parts are fabricated.

My experience with Pro/E is limited, but it's a personal goal of mine to become fully proficient in both Pro/E and SolidWorks, as both of these are much more widely used in industry than Inventor.

But really, it's whatever works for you.

Edit: As for the part models for SolidWorks, between 3dcontentcentral, McMaster, Bimba, AndyMark, and FIRST Cad Library, you can find nearly every component model for a FRC robot you can ever need.

[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).

[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