Creating Graphics for a Textbook

[ESPcomposites]

I am looking to create graphics for an engineering textbook. Most of the graphics will be simple 2D, but there will be a handful of 3D graphics as well.

I was thinking solidworks might be a good choice since I believe it is the most cost effective of the higher end solid modelers.

But that may also be overkill for the requirements. Would there be any other good options? I am also considering something as simple as Autocad for this and maybe SW is not really needed (and just skip the 3D graphics or outsource those). Just looking to hear some thoughts.

Brian

http://www.espcomposites.com

 

[ShaggyPE]

There are a lot of good illustrator tools out there for creating great graphics (some free... inkscape). If you will be acquiring a seat of SolidWorks and learning SolidWorks... I would recommend hiring an illustrator to use whatever tool they choose.

-Dustin
Professional Engineer
Pretty good with SolidWorks

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

For the 3D models, a free version of Creo Elements/Direct (formerly CoCreate) can be downloaded from

http://www.ptc.com/offers/tryout/pe3.htm

 

[ESPcomposites]

Thanks guys. I was thinking Solidworks because it is cost effective, but I used to know Pro/E worked on versions 7-20 (but that was long time ago). I will look at Creo, maybe it is similar to how Solidworks and Pro/E work?

I also have used Inkscape and frankly I was thinking that would not be good enough for the 2D drawings. But now you have me wondering, why not (or Adobe Illustrator). I will play around with that approach further and see how it goes.



Brian

http://www.espcomposites.com

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

For the 2D stuff take a look at DraftSight from

http://www.3ds.com/products/draftsight/draftsight-overview/

 

[shaneca6]

We use 3D Via Composer for our brochures but only because we already have solidworks. Works great and super easy to learn.

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

But 3D Via is very expensive, I believe.