How much is the cheapest solidworks

[eski1]

hi how much is the low end solidworks package only condition is it must have the sheet metal package
I live in england , great britain
Also i use Autocad at the moment and find it quick and easy to draw small fabrication & machining jobs and to draw a part of factory ie a platform that you have to then add your fabrication to
Anyways do you think there is still a need for autocad in some applications
Regards
henry

 

[GBor]

I'm a long-time AutoCAD user. I definitely think it still has applications. It is great for leveling your desk (the CD's are perfect shims for just about any application). The box is great for starting fires in the fire place and the users manuals provide a near-infinite supply of bird cage liners as well as bedding for small rodents.

Sorry, couldn't resist since this is a SolidWorks forum. I am a long time AutoDesk products user and do have instances where I don't have time to develop a solid model, but this is mostly a me limitation...I've just used AutoCAD for so long that I'm faster with it...particularly in 2-D.

For straight 2-D drawings, I think it is just as efficient in either package, but the power of 3-D is too tempting. If all you ever do is 2-D drawings for small fab and machining...use what's quickest, but discover the power of the 3-D world and you will never escape from the "Light" side!

As for 3-D, I haven't used Inventor since series 7 (I think they are up to 10 now), but 7 doesn't touch SolidWorks 2005. I haven't seen 2006. Anything less than Inventor from AutoDesk and you don't have anywhere near the functionality and ease of use that SolidWorks offers in the lower line package.

As for cost...particularly in England...I will have to defer to someone else.

Garland E. Borowski, PE
Borowski Engineering & Analytical Services, Inc.

http://www.borowskiengineering.com

 

[ctopher]

Check around, you may pick up a student version of SolidWorks. Any version of SolidWorks beats the pants off any Autodesk product. (I use both)
With the exception of Revit if you only do building structural design.

Chris
Systems Analyst, I.S.
SolidWorks/PDMWorks 05
AutoCAD 05
ctopher's home site (updated 06-21-05)
FAQ559-1100
FAQ559-716

 

[rockguy]

In the US base SolidWorks (which includes sheet metal functionality) goes for about $3995 I believe. I could be off a bit since they switched their product structure and pricing about a year ago.

As for AutoCAD, I think there will always be a niche for it somewhere but I really hate to use it now that I've made the switch to 3D. I guess my biggest issue is the price. Last time I knew a seat of AutoCAD sold for $3500 US. I just don't know how AutoDesk can justify the price vs functionality. I own a copy of AutoCAD LT 2004 and I'm not sure its any more feature rich than R-14 was. Maybe it's just me but it seems to be a HIGHLY over priced piece of software.

Rob Rodriguez CSWP
President: Northern
Vermont SolidWorks User Group

http://www.robrodriguez.com

(updated 2/22/06)
SW 2006 SP 3.0

 

[berkshire]

A student version of Solidworks costs about $225 U.S.About 128 Pounds Stirling. you must be a registered student to get it.
It is good for one year then it self destructs.
The good news then is that you can then get the next student version which will be 2007.
B.E.

 

[ctopher]

Basic ACAS and SW (comes with sheet-metal) packages are approx the same price. They vary a little. It's the add-ins that drive up the price.

Chris
Systems Analyst, I.S.
SolidWorks/PDMWorks 05
AutoCAD 05
ctopher's home site (updated 06-21-05)
FAQ559-1100
FAQ559-716

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

berkshire ... I think you will find that the conversion rate does not apply. What we pay in US dollars here is what the UK residents are ripped off for pay in Pounds Sterling. (USD225 > UKP225)


Helpful SW websites FAQ559-520
How to get answers to your SW questions FAQ559-1091

 

[berkshire]

CorBlimeyLimey (Mechanical)
I was afraid of that, every time I go back to the old country I find that the pound spends just like a dollar.
Whatever I see in the US in dollars is the same price in pounds in the UK.

 

[Areva]

Henry …..

I’m based in the west Midlands here in the UK. In late November 2005 we purchased a 3rd seat of Solidworks 2006 for £4,000 and got 5% discount so price was actually £3,800. We do pay annual subs which adds another £1,000 per seat but this optional.

I have used AutoCAD since release 9. I started with Solidworks in 2001 and love the program. All my work now is done in 3D and a lot of it is sheet metal.

I prefer to use ACAD for schematics and artworks for silk screen production; otherwise I hate it when I have to use the software for changes to legacy data. I find ACAD slow and prefer to use SW for creating 2D detail drawings from my 3D models.

When you have created your 3D model the 2D views come ‘free’. Being a parametric modeler also means any change to the part file will update the corresponding sub and final assembly model(s) including your 2D detail drawings. To do the same changes in ACAD would mean editing the part file, then the sub assembly, then the final assembly etc. which is very time consuming. I reckon my efficiency rate has increased 30%+ when designing in SW compared to ACAD with fewer errors. Bills of materials can also be created instantly from the assembly model, another time saver.

One last note, should you decide to go down the 3D path you will find it beneficial to forget all you learnt in ACAD. It will only be a stumbling block for you. Sketching is completely different in SW & IMHO so much better.

Best of luck
Eddy

 

[eski1]

hi
Thanks for the reply's
Is there anywhere you can learn solidworks locally ( somerset) without costing you the earth , or is it possible to self teach .
The student option sounds good as we have college students working for us , so i wonder if you can install the student version on a work computer so it benifits a few people ,but not at the time obviously
cheers
chris

 

[OliB]

eski1

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Solidworks-20...ryZ96946QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

solidworks sometimes comes up on e-bay might be the cheapest option available but i couldnt tell you if it were the best.

id have said you can teach yourself the basics, if you want to learn to be flash with the software you'll need to invest a lot of time or have someone teach you. I had about 30 taught hours on solidworks at uni and have self taught since then. you'll find the interface awkward to start with as its different to autocad but you've gotta expect that when you change software. I find solidworks a lot easier to work with than autocad but i also use solidworks a lot more.

theres nothing to stop you installing a student licence on a work computer apart from the fact the it prints "solidworks student licence academic use only" on the bottom of every page.

Oli

 

[Beggar]

You can't buy a legit version of SWX on eBay - the license precludes it. If you're going that route, recognize that you're not buying a valid license nor will you receive any support from SWX nor their VARs.

--------------------
How much do YOU owe?

http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/

--------------------

 

[smcadman]

Consider: One-quarter of the world's designers and engineers design in 3D. Three-quarters design in 2D, which is logical because manufacturers still work from 2D drawings.

Published 7/22/2004
John McEleney
CEO
SolidWorks Corp.

http://www.machinedesign.com/ASP/vi...leId=56993&strSite=MDSite&Screen=CURRENTISSUE

ACAD will always be around... my house built in 2004 was designed in ACAD r13, and 2 previous employers are still using ACAD r14. Many companies do not want to pay for the software, hardware, training and down-time to move to 3D modeling.
One of my employers paid heavily because a few oversights working in 2D ACAD totaled $70,000 in screw-ups on one project. That included overtime for re-drawing, re-shearing, re-lasering, re-welding, re-finishing plus the material. Luckily I wasn't on that project, but it was a worst-case scenario of the pitfalls of 2D ACAD.

You can find a few article for 2D to 3D here:

http://www.caddigest.com/subjects/2Dto3D/index.htm

Flores
SW06 SP3.0

 

[solid21]

I used Solidworks at my previous company and moved to a company using Solid edge. I was sceptical at first but have got to say have been really impressed with its functionality and intuitiveness. the sheet metal module is second to none and it has excellent drafting capabilies. You should think of looking at it before buying.

 

[jacek0841]

I am a long time AutoDesk products user and do have instances where I don't have time to develop a solid model, but this is mostly a me limitation...I've just used AutoCAD for so long that I'm faster with it...particularly in 2-D.

Not to mean anything bad, but .... I think you still do not know SW well enough ....

For me, going from SW back to ANY 2-D system (and I knew CADAM, AutoCAD and Cadkey rather very well) would be like going from 2-D system back to board ( and my first 8 years of my engineering "career" :-( were on the board ).

The other day my boss in the office asked me to do some floor plan for his house - strictly 2-D (I guess the other "boss" wanted to move some interior walls and rearange the furniture ).

Well, just opened SW dwg template and saved as dwg. Then went to "Edit Sheet Format" and ereased the company title block, logo etc. Back to "Edit Sheet". Insert "Empty View". And start to draw the floor plan.

Big advantage over the AutoCAD - no need to do any OFFSETS and all other (AC) crap. Just put dimension.

Need to move the wall ? Just change dimension. The house floor plan would not fit into the dwg ?? Just change the scale. Voila - that simple.

In fact, if I were to do it in AutoCAD, it would have probably taken me 10 to 20 times the amount of time - I forgot quite a few AutoCAD things, thou I have had about 6.5 years of AutoCAD experience before.

Last but not least - the fastest way to do a 2-D drawing is on a serviette using a ball pen ...

 

[GBor]

Hence the

...this is mostly a me limitation...