burgundyja
Well Known Member
What software is everyone using? I am looking to get started
I'm a Fusion360 convert. (paid commercial license)
I designed my panel in Fusion 360 also. Worked well, and the free intro pricing was just right.
In my admittedly short career I've used Solidworks, AutoCAD (2D and 3D), NX, currently Creo, and Fusion 360 at home, as well as some simple 2D softwares. They all have their pros and cons. In order from favorite to least favorite I'd say:
Solidworks, Fusion 360, Creo, NX, AutoCAD
I do not find Fusion 360 particularly intuitive coming from Solidworks, but the price is right and the CAM is very powerful. I dislike the way Fusion handles mates in assemblies. I find the shortcut keys very easy in Fusion, however. I can usually figure out whatever I need to do just by playing around, except in NX and to some extent in Creo. I find that there are a bunch of frustrating bugs in Creo that they refuse to fix. And the control scheme is awful. I can (and have) rant about this for hours.
I think Solidworks is the best all around (assuming you don't need CAM) and the best for amateurs. It's easy to do some pretty advanced stuff in Solidworks. And I think Solidworks is a much more marketable skill than Fusion, however 3D modelling is more about design mentality than the particular software, in my opinion. Once you've learned how to 3D model well in any parametric software it is relatively easy to transfer that knowledge to a new software.
SNIP Once you've learned how to 3D model well in any parametric software it is relatively easy to transfer that knowledge to a new software.
....If you do decide to give a whirl to a CAD software package, I strongly recommend you find someone who is willing to spend a few hours showing you the basics.
This is right on the money.
I've used CAD of most varieties over the years, starting with Unigraphics in the 80's. For about the past 20 years or so, I've used almost exclusively SW. I've had occasional clients that used Creo, but I only dabbled in it.
I'm sure that there is a full spectrum of what people on this forum might have in mind (in how they want to use a 3D modeler), but be aware it can take longer to become proficient at a CAD package than to build an airplane...only half joking.
Re CAM, SW has a 2-1/2 axis one built in. What this means is that it can write gcode that will move the x-y axes simultaneously, but not the z axis at the same time. It can step in the z axis and then proceed to run the x-y, etc.. I do not know what is enabled re CAM on the EAA version.
If people are wanting to do 3D printing, be aware that CAM is not needed for that. The printers have their own slicing software.
If you do decide to give a whirl to a CAD software package, I strongly recommend you find someone who is willing to spend a few hours showing you the basics.
...10 years on NX, couldn't pay me to use CATIA.
Now say a few buddies see your part, want one just like it, and next thing you know you're selling your little gadget and gizmo to friends, VAF members, airshow goers etc, well now you're using it commercially. You might get away with it, but risk legal litigation, and losing the privilege of the free version for the rest of us!
...pony up the ten thousand dollars annually for a Solidworks seat, or spend about $400 per year on a Fusion 360 License.
Note that Solidworks starts around $2K/year, not $10K. $10K will get you all of the add-ons, which by no means are necessary for the simple CAD work most people looking for "hobby" use would need. Still expensive, but only 5x the cost of Fusion, not 25x.
There's two ways to do it... SW has clamped down on the people who only get a subscription one year out of every three or four by requiring that anyone who re-joins after being away for X years pays for X years worth of subscription as a re-join fee. They *will not* waive it....if you want to re-start the subscription, pony up the $4500 again...
Except for the limitation about educational parts that can never be used for anything financially useful.The EAA/SW deal is amazing.