3D Cad Software

You could try the Solidworks range of software. I have read both good and bad reports of their software, and the last I heard you could get an evaluation copy. If you could afford to stick to the Autodesk product, I would guess that you would be happier. Such a well supported and widely used product tends to frustrate less, as their is always a superior pool of thought to draw from in any situation. If you do consider something from Solidworks, check out their costing for updates. It may very well be a baseless, but I have been told that they charge for updates to the software. I personally wouldn't pay for a fix to software that I had paid for to function correctly in the first place. Anyway, that's my two cents worth.

Why don't you try Solid Works COSMOS

cosmos is an FEA tool, not a 3D modeling tool

Im looking for a PDMS / PDS. 3D cad system software. Let me know where I can download

Instead of looking for the software, if you want you can register to learn PDS (SmartPlant-3D). visit http://www.indiaearns.com/pds.html

See u soon,

Team ICS

Believe it or not, I was able to purchase a new copy of of both Autodesk Inventor Professional Release 10 and Mechanical Desktop 2005 from a seller on E-Bay for less than $1,000.00. This software had not yet been licensed and was still new in the box. It is tough to find it there as AutoDesk will usually have it yanked from E-Bay before the bidding is finished.

I found it while I was searching for a USED copy of LT2005. Ocassionally a deal is out there, and sometimes one is lucky.

Ing. Robert Forbus

Try Alibre or Topsolid..

Autocad LT or autocad light is the less expensive version of cad.

The Bill Gates approach would be to make millions marketing 3-D software at $80 a throw. Bill Gates had no competition from IBM selling similiar software at $10K a throw. All the 3-D cad markets apparently prefer to market limited copies for an exorbitant price. The first with the Gates approach will be a Microsoft Superior.

Have you looked at IMSI software ?

Turbocad Professional V 12 is available as a trial download , this has some sinilar features to Inventor/Solidworks and won't break the bank and is a good tutor, should you wish to go on to more expensive 3D s/ware

Other Leonardo's Iron Cad is another cheaper alternative to Inventor.

Good luck

You can do some very basic design with Google Sketch Up. It free, but more of a toy than a tool. Also, someone in this group introduced me Tinycad. I don't remember who it was but I want to thank you. It has proved to very useful.

Try PowerCAD Pro6 at: http://www.givemepower.com

AutoCAD compatible, Christmas half price specials at around $300. Range of complementary products as well.

Its been working for me!

NeilJ

OK. Sorry for getting on my 3-D cad soap box, but...

It all depends on what you want to do with the software. I know of people that work with Inventor and love it. I also know people that hate it. The same goes for SolidWorks, SolidEdge, Pro-E... Figure out what you want the software to do and then you can search for the best price.

For simple designs, Inventor is fine. For complex designs and assemblies, you really need more powerful software like SolidWorks or SolidEdge. Also, these products allow for data management solutions that are really the most useful when you have multiple users accessing the same files. You can do simulations of assemblies, interference analysis, static FEA, and your parts, drawings, and assemblies are all tied together (if you change one, the others update as well). For high end surfacing or to work with automotive groups, choose Catia.

The price isn't just because they want to steal your money. SolidWorks and SolidEdge are the mid-range price products when compared to Pro-E and high end surfacing programs like Catia. Inventor is in the low to middle range, but doesn't have the same functionality. So do you need the compact, mid-size, or luxury model? You decide what you need and can afford.

OK. I am off the soap box. Now back to work.

If you are looking for inexpensive, yet able to do inverse kinematics, try Moray which outputs to the pov-ray raytracing engine. Moray can do animations, IK, and has layers, and is very easy to learn. they work together very well.

www.stmuc.com/moray

www.pov-ray.org

I'm a solidworks user, so for accuracy, I don't think solidworks can be beat. It comes with 3 seats of its own DWGeditor, which I think is basically Intellicad, and is fully autocad compliant, if you find that you must use autocad. (I can't stand it anymore myself) every other application is so much easier to use. Solidworks has new features for gears and belt applications which are very cool. There is an ever growing database of pre-made automation parts, so you can shorten your design time considerably. Lastly, if your aim is to take your products to a physical product, then Solidworks is definitely the product to aim for, as its integration with the Rapid Prototyping industry is unrivalled.

Chris

You get what you pay for...

Before CAD, it was all done on paper. That's where "Back to the drawing board" came from.

I have found Solid Edge to be a good 3D modeling tool with a very good drafting package. Designing is great, but if drawing production is difficult, your time and effort are extended. The lower cost of the software is quickly lost in increased labor cost.

I hate cheap tools. If an inexpensive tool will do the job, fine, but cheap tools cast to much to use by wasting time and giving poor quality results.

(pardon my rant)

I have been using Solidworks for three years and have come to love it.... and occasionally hate it. The past three years have yeilded several updates, most of which make the product work better. The 2007 version was absoluetly awful until they came out with SPO2, now it works great. My application is mechanical modeling, both at work and at home. It has helped me many, many times to find a mechanical problem that would have been overlooked using a straight cad package. Little things like a hole being a couple of thousands off center. So9lid works will find this type of problem when you go into the Assembly mode. I have used this package for my woodworking hobby as well. It has saved me many dollars and hours of frustration in building a project where I overlooked a simple angle. You assemble the project before you ever buy the first length of wood. I highly recommend it.

Dear Sir or Madam

I recommend you one set of the software is acquired by UGS that name is Solid Edge, you know, might be you do know the Solid Works, but as your enquiry of the topic that the pricing is the considerable issue you got, but UGs new policy sales as Buy 3D meanwhile present the 2 D to be the gift, so I think it is very reasonable and very cool. With regard to the Inventor of AutoDesk, I think their 2D is not bad, but the 3D charactors is limited, why dont you try to Solid Edge?

So Solid Edge is a nice choose I beleive.

Once you need any favor that I can serve, please do not hesitate to contact my email as chase.hao@ugitc.com

Best regards,

Chase

To consider the Solid Edge, that the CAM is using the core of UGS, and the pricing is far more lower than Solid Work, but the CAM of Solid Works is not the top level of the well-known software. if any information required will be at your service.

Best regards,

Chase

someone sent me a drawing file made by solidedge, file extension .dft, any one know any software i can open it free of charge? thanks

Try this free viewer from SolidEdge. I use it to view vendor drawings for our assembly equipment. You have to register, but its free and they only send you an email about once a month with information.

http://www.solidedge.com/viewers/default.cfm

If you have any friend in Pakistan who is coming over then ask him to bring you each and every thinkable software you can ever think of. They all cost Rs.50.00 there and thats less than Cdn $1.00. Believe it or not. The latest Autocad may be US$ 7000-8000 but there again at Rs.50.00. Even Maya at this price.Believe it or Not.

Better, you fly over buy them and come back.