Inv 11 vs Solidworks 2007 28

[Randy1111]

3 years ago when I was last in a postition needing to evaluate and decide on a 3d cad package, the choice was quite easy. 3 years ago solidworks had the tools needed, and inventor was playing catch up. Now 3 years later I'm once again tasked with deciding, but the race seems a lot closer.

My company makes pulleys. The assemblies are small. A typical assembly may only have 8 parts. (adding bearings may bring this up to 50) The variety of sizes of each of those parts is almost endless. Each part we manufacture has almost infinite sizes. Each purchased part like bearings, is one of a hundred or so variations.

I like to automate as much as possible. Every style will be pre done as an assembly with all drawings. When a new job comes in we change every part parameter in an assembly, and have the already done drawing update. Clean it up, and print. (with solidworks this would be done with a design table at assembly level controlling a skeleton sketch and all parts drawn in contect and constrained to the skeleton)

Inventor used to lack configurations. Now it has them.
Soliworks used to lack drawing functions. Now it has them.
Solidworks still lacks good equations and global variables.
Inventor still lacks in some tools it has.

I guess both are able to do the job for me. Inventor has caught up quickly. Will it pass solidworks in the next few years?
Any comparasin I've read in the last couple months while researching has always been versions of a few years ago. Back when the biggest points were configurations and design tables. Now that distinction appears gone.

To anyone who is familiar with both in their current state, do you have any insight that might sway me one way or another?

How is autodesk vault compared to pdmworks?

Jarery


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

Randy

 

[J-C]

True...many jobs never do get listed...but what you fail to explain is why that situation would be exclusive to companies using IV. Taht decision would have nothing to do with a particular cad program a company uses. If you put a figure out there and say that 25% of companies never post job listings, that applies pretty much equally to companies using Pro/, Solidworks, Inventor, etc.

As for chosing what's popular.....we certainly didn't. We chose Swx back in 98 when it was relatively unknown after evaluating Swx, Solidedge, Pro/E, and Mech Desktop. We ruled out IV cause it was in it's first released and not worth the risk at the time. Now most Autocad users on the other hand do go with IV cause it's an Autodesk product. Several Autocad users here started pushing it when we were getting ready to buy Swx even after we pointed out that it was in it's first release and likely not a mature enough product.

And where do those sales figures come from? Of course Autodesk themselves in their quarterly statements...problem is knowing what the numbers mean. All mechanical desktop and Autocad mechanical get IV for free....yet Autodesk counts that as a seat of IV whether they use it or not. Not to mention cases where Autodesk practically gives the software away. There was a comparison done by someone a while back that showed how IV outsold Swx....yet didn't make near the revenue from it that Solidworks did. IMO, Autodesk is in panic mode and doing what it can try and stop from losing more customers. I would do the same.....and this is really just what they needed cause prior to IV, they have been pretty stagnant since they had no real competition.

Jason

UG NX2.02.2 on Win2000 SP3
SolidWorks 2006 SP4.0 on WinXP SP2

 

[ajack1]

What an amusing thread this has turned into with people from both “sides” coming out with some spurious allegations thinly disguised as facts.

Why can people not except that each product can be the best for certain requirements and other products will be better and worse for other requirements. Even if one is better if the operator is not comfortable with it then it is not the best for them for the same reason as we all find our own beds the most comfortable?

I will set my Dad on anyone who disagrees with me and my Dad is bigger than your Dad.

 

[oliebol]

What about Bugs!

In parts of the discussion, the number of users/forums/licenses/bugs/ is indicated to say which package is best (or worst).

Now about the bug part. I am for 100% sure there will never ever be a bug free CAD software package. Not for Inventor and not for Solid Works.

Reason: Companies need to bring out new releases in order to keep making money!

If they would develop a package which would be perfect, then nobody would buy a new release of it anymore. At least not my boss.

I always enjoy a good discussion with software resellers and distributors. My trick is to ask them what is the approximate number of system crashes by their software bugs. Once a week, once a month, once a year? Don't accept that they answer the question that it depends on your skills. In the end they would generally say once a month.

In return I say to them: what if I bought a new car. Would I also accept that it fails once a month when I am driving in it on the highway?

1-0 for you, they generally agree and understand that you are not a schoolboy they can fool around with. It is also a great point of bargaining for those of you who are in the position of purchasing those products. Let them sweat a little more!!!






Unigraphics NX4,NX3,NX2,R17
Inventor 10,9,8,7
Solid Edge 10,9,8
Solid Works 2000,98
Mechanical Desktop 4,3
Autocad 2004DX,2000,R14, R12
Teamcenter 9

 

[ctopher]

Yes, they all have bugs. They are not always releasing new version for $$. Of course, it helps, and is part of marketing. Users come up with new ideas which get incorporated into new releases. As more users come aboard, more bugs/fixes are found.
I find that most problems come from not the CAD software, but from how the pc is setup/configured and user errors.

Chris
Systems Analyst, I.S.
SolidWorks 06 4.1/PDMWorks 06
AutoCAD 06
ctopher's home (updated 06-21-06)

 

[Konstruktor]

I think... We are all different and if one has to build a box - there are several ways to build it and several tools one could use for this job - there are different logics. The same is with SW and IV - it's all about someone's logic and how SW-s or IV-s toolset supports this logic ("when building a box")...

 

[rich942]

If you put a figure out there and say that 25% of companies never post job listings, that applies pretty much equally to companies using Pro/, Solidworks, Inventor, etc.

There are far too many variables to make this assumption.

And where do those sales figures come from? Of course Autodesk themselves in their quarterly statements

And from Dassault's website as well. The sales numbers at least indicate the potential size of each user base.

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/item?siteID=123112&id=5417320

There was a comparison done by someone a while back that showed how IV outsold Swx....yet didn't make near the revenue from it that Solidworks did.

Software pricing is a tricky business ! When I was developing AutoCAD add-ons in the mid 90's, I certainly wasn't setting the price based on the value of a 3.5 inch floppy ! I wanted to get a fair return for my efforts, but still make it affordable. Inventor is the upgrade path for many existing Autodesk products, with an appropriate price structure. New seats of SW will always cost more than an Autodesk upgrade, hence the higher revenue for fewer seats sold.

In the final analysis, we chose to phase out SW here for a variety of user dissatisfaction issues, and also to avoid the embarrassment of an American defense contractor using a foreign-owned product. This may become mandatory in the future, for security reasons.

 

[ctopher]

...to avoid the embarrassment of an American defense contractor using a foreign-owned product. This may become mandatory in the future, for security reasons.

I work for a major defense company, we are phasing OUT Inventor. Has nothing to do with SW or CATIA being foreign-owned or for security reasons, just that Dassault's software being industry standard for us (mechanical design).
Over all, I have seen most CAD software working. I pick SolidWorks over all of them.

Chris
Systems Analyst, I.S.
SolidWorks 06 4.1/PDMWorks 06
AutoCAD 06
ctopher's home (updated 06-21-06)

 

[DeSimulacra]

Another reason not to use The slow to respond, lets make more money, just tell'em we are the best, oversized corp. AUTODESK.

"I just received an email from an Autodesk dealer and it mentions that essentially all 2004 versions of Autodesk design products including AutoCAD, AutoCAD Mechanical, Architectural Desktop, etc. are being “retired” on March 15, 2007."From Alibre CEO Blog/Tenlinks daily.
THREE YEARS OLD and obsolete!!! Whoa get out your pocketbook, again. (Did I mention Inventor has one of the highest percentage maintenance fees?)

And I say it yet again, I'm unbiased not paid for my opinion, work in a JobShop, and have been using 3D cad since before some of you were a gleam in your daddies eye, Inventor is near the bottom for usability unless you are doing the simple stuff. Oh and yes I'm presently using Inventor and have used AutoCAD since v.2. circa 84. Good Software..but not the best by far and not catching up, just trotting behind.
As far as stability when I arrived at this location they had all kinds of problems with Inventor crashing. I spec’ed a system for them and voila poof no problems. Use the correct hardware (for those not computer geeks think of a hotrod car with a 1000 HP and a stock transmission from a 4 cylinder.. vroom…. Crash ;=} ).
Man on a mission because I had to start with the dog and pony shows the software reps put on. Kinda like statistics, did you know 85% of all statistics were incorrect? Sorry I have a hard time being serious this long.

 

[cookieman]

whats with all of the autodesk-bashing ? have you guys really used inventor? seen the feature list, used iparts and iassemblies, real table driven models? how about an "undo" feature thats available all the time on more than the last step, and intelligent fasteners that really work? adaptivity eliminates the need for most part editing, and the engineering tools are top notch!

dassault will never allow solidworks to compete with their flagship product catia, it will always be just mid-range. autodesk has nothing to worry about!

 

[J-C]

Sorry.....iParts and iAssemblies have nothing on configurations.

Agreed....Undo in IV is better.

Dassault doesn't hinder Solidworks development.....some of the newer surfacing tools even come from Catia code such as Fill surface. Also....Solidworks is now outselling Catia on a seat count basis...doesn't sound like they are holding them back.

Jason

UG NX2.02.2 on Win2000 SP3
SolidWorks 2006 SP4.0 on WinXP SP2

 

[ctopher]

I'm not bashing Autodesk. They do have a good product.
You are correct, autodesk (Autodesk) has nothing to worry about ... Mechanical vs Architectural based.
If I wanted to be an Arch or civil engineer, I would be using the Autodesk products at their full capabilities. Being mechanical, I'll stick with the mid-range SolidWorks for my military and aerospace projects.

Chris
Systems Analyst, I.S.
SolidWorks 06 4.1/PDMWorks 06
AutoCAD 06
ctopher's home (updated 06-21-06)

 

[cookieman]

Sorry.....iParts and iAssemblies have nothing on configurations.

your information on iassemblies is out-of-date. here is an updated description:

• Create an iAssembly factory from which member assemblies can be created by
editing the associated assembly table.

• Specify Part Number indexing and member naming schemes.

• Use Autocapture mode to modify the iAssembly table by capturing changes made while modeling.

• Use Microsoft Excel® 1 to incorporate logical expressions in the configuration table.

• Place a selected member of an assembly configuration into another assembly.

• Specify an iAssembly member in consuming documents such as drawings, presentations, and derived assemblies.

• Add new members to the assembly configuration while using the Place Member dialog.

The Autodesk Inventor Bill of Materials supports iAssemblies displaying a single structure view that contains the aggregated item list. Each configuration is displayed as a separate column showing quantity (QTY) differences across members.
Using the BOM editor you can display one member at a time or the entire set of members at once.
The Vault supports assembly configurations allowing you to select and check out specific members of a configuration.
The Vault can locate the factory, or parent, file from a member and can also locate other files that make use of the member file using the where-used capability.

 

[btrueblood]

Haven't used the iAssembly tools yet. If it's anything like the blazing speed of the "Content Center", then I doubt I ever will.

 

[65Roses]

Ever wondered how Inventor really works?
Check out this informative link.

http://www.howstuffworks.com/question317.htm

 

[ctopher]

Actually, that's how ACAD works ... 2D.

Chris
Systems Analyst, I.S.
SolidWorks 06 4.1/PDMWorks 06
AutoCAD 06
ctopher's home (updated 06-21-06)

 

[toffeet]

Wouldn't crash though. Unless you drop it.

Solid Edge V18 SP6 on WinXP SP2

 

[ctopher]

This one is for Inventor:

http://www.vizmo.com/etch.html

Chris
Systems Analyst, I.S.
SolidWorks 06 4.1/PDMWorks 06
AutoCAD 06
ctopher's home (updated 06-21-06)

 

[cookieman]

i'm glad to see that any technical concerns about Inventor have been addressed and satisfied! the "etch-a-sketch" mockery is the same tired attempt at humor that was used by old dinosaur pencil pushers,to trivialize the superiority of early CAD systems over manual drafting.

 

[65Roses]

Cookieman has lost his cookies!

Now the old dinosaurs are those who insist on using Autodesk products over the superior ones.

 

[cookieman]

i suppose that personal assumptions about a person you do not know, are in keeping with disdain for a product you have clearly never seen nor used. Autodesk's billion dollar annual revenue says it all, the market has spoken, end of story.