I'm wondering if anyone has had any experience with low cost or open source engineering tools. I've been kicking around some design ideas that I'd like to get a little bit more serious about developing in my spare time. I use Linux at home, but I'd be willing to install Windows if it were necessary to get work done.
There are a few types of software that I'm looking for, especially CAD and FEA software.
Obviously Pro/E, UG, CATIA, and even Solidworks are pretty major investments. Nonetheless, I'd like to find some inexpensive software that can create parametric solid bodies, technical drawings, and mechanical assemblies. I've been using QCad thus far, which is fine for 2D, but a 3D CAD tool would make my life much easier. I'm wondering if anyone has had any experience with FreeCAD, VeriCAD, OpenCASCADE, or Alibre. Of course, I'm open to other solutions as well. If it could generate IGES files and ParaSolids for analyses, that would be a bonus. Any experience or suggestions?
Additionally, I'd like to have some FEA ability. I don't even know if "cheap" FEA exists, but I'm aware of some free codes. The most promising that I've seen is CAELinux, which can run the Calculix solver, but I'm not sure how well it actually works. It seems as though they can handle assemblies and contact. If there were some low-cost FEA out there, I'd be interested in that as well. Most companies don't post prices unless you contact them... usually if you have to ask, it's too expensive in my experience. Anyhow, any war stories or suggestions are welcome.
A free 1D flow network solver would be great (pipe flow, etc.); any ideas?
Other than that, I've had great luck running Octave with the QtOctave front end for general problem solving. It crunches through numbers almost as well as MATLAB. The only thing missing are a few of the fancy functions and tools that MATLAB has, but I don't intend to do any heavy-duty controls work.
Thanks in advance for your help. There's quite a bit available out there, especially in the realm of CAD, but I don't want to waste time trying out something only to find that it's insufficient or just plain doesn't work. I'd definitely be interested in hearing about both good and bad experiences with inexpensive software (the bad ones let me know what to look out for).
There are a few types of software that I'm looking for, especially CAD and FEA software.
Obviously Pro/E, UG, CATIA, and even Solidworks are pretty major investments. Nonetheless, I'd like to find some inexpensive software that can create parametric solid bodies, technical drawings, and mechanical assemblies. I've been using QCad thus far, which is fine for 2D, but a 3D CAD tool would make my life much easier. I'm wondering if anyone has had any experience with FreeCAD, VeriCAD, OpenCASCADE, or Alibre. Of course, I'm open to other solutions as well. If it could generate IGES files and ParaSolids for analyses, that would be a bonus. Any experience or suggestions?
Additionally, I'd like to have some FEA ability. I don't even know if "cheap" FEA exists, but I'm aware of some free codes. The most promising that I've seen is CAELinux, which can run the Calculix solver, but I'm not sure how well it actually works. It seems as though they can handle assemblies and contact. If there were some low-cost FEA out there, I'd be interested in that as well. Most companies don't post prices unless you contact them... usually if you have to ask, it's too expensive in my experience. Anyhow, any war stories or suggestions are welcome.
A free 1D flow network solver would be great (pipe flow, etc.); any ideas?
Other than that, I've had great luck running Octave with the QtOctave front end for general problem solving. It crunches through numbers almost as well as MATLAB. The only thing missing are a few of the fancy functions and tools that MATLAB has, but I don't intend to do any heavy-duty controls work.
Thanks in advance for your help. There's quite a bit available out there, especially in the realm of CAD, but I don't want to waste time trying out something only to find that it's insufficient or just plain doesn't work. I'd definitely be interested in hearing about both good and bad experiences with inexpensive software (the bad ones let me know what to look out for).
