Solidedge / Solidworks

[drafting3]

I'm looking into some new design software here at work. The owner keeps going back and forth on whether to spend the extra $4k+ to get a new design suite.

 

I have been working with the downloaded trial of Solidedge, but can't even get a reply email from Solidworks.

 

 

Anyone care to explain why one is better than the other? I've read numerous posts on other boards, but everything is so biased. Everyone has an opinion, but no information to back it up... just "I LIKE SW/SE BETTER...."

 

Also, if there is another design package out there i should be looking into, please let me know.

 

 

 

We will eventually be designing and machining plastic injection molds, and we definitely want the ability to see assemblies in motion. Stress analysis is a plus, but not an absolute necessity.

[Watcher]

Some observations:

 

SE has a great background in sheetmetal and they have the direct modeling technology called "Synchronous Technology" that are a set of direct modeling tools Siemens put in Parasolid. If I'm not wrong, SE will also handle large assemblies better than SW. CAE in SE is more mature and it comes directly from Siemens (It's not 3rd party add-on), it's partially the core funcionality they have in NX with all the background in CAE they got when they bought it from SRDC years ago...

 

On the other hand, SW has a greater user base (And all that comes with it, such as training materials, videos, communities, blogs, etc) and a bunch of plugins and add-ons you won't find in SE. One of the areas you will feel uncovered by SE is CAM. But Siemens of course can back you up with a light NX version that is fully integrated with SE. It depends on you. SW has for sure a ton of CAM add-ons to all niches and pockets - Integrated with SE you only have NX AFAIK.

 

SE has also better performance in drawings, and more functionaility in this area. But nothing really impressive compared to SW. A few nice extra tools in a large toolbox...

 

I don't know much about mold design in SE, I think SW is more popular in this field considering they have a bunch of add-ons to do it plus native functionality for mold makers. SW has also add-ons to simulate mold filling simulation (Moldflow) - It's very popular in the mold industry using SW.

 

My points above are just a small set of observations, so you need to research more. Specially because I'm a ignorant in the mold business. I'd look for the add-ons you can get in SE to make a good comparisson, also because what makes SW a popular tool is the inumerous add-ons you can integrate to it.

 

Too bad SW guys have their nose up... I've seen this movie before... it was called Pro/Engineer back then... and it was kicked by SW itself...

 

HTH

[koko76]

I'm looking into some new design software here at work. The owner keeps going back and forth on whether to spend the extra $4k+ to get a new design suite.

 

I have been working with the downloaded trial of Solidedge, but can't even get a reply email from Solidworks.

 

 

Anyone care to explain why one is better than the other? I've read numerous posts on other boards, but everything is so biased. Everyone has an opinion, but no information to back it up... just "I LIKE SW/SE BETTER...."

 

Also, if there is another design package out there i should be looking into, please let me know.

 

 

 

We will eventually be designing and machining plastic injection molds, and we definitely want the ability to see assemblies in motion. Stress analysis is a plus, but not an absolute necessity.

It's going be to difficult to get a true comparison between the two as finding people that actually make use of each softwares capability is going to be tricky. Most folks are comfortable with one environment, and are used to it's ecosystem. They might change jobs, but are by and large going to be hired based on their experience in the system that they are familiar in. Most larger companies won't ditch their investment in a particular system unless it's *really* burned them, as the cost of switching goes well beyond just the software itself.

Most folks are only going to know one system, and that's why all they have is an opinion. Talk to people that do the kind of work that you do, find out what they use and why. Sometimes it's that one software was a better deal, sometimes it's that one had the one feature that *they* couldn't live without. Sometimes it's an industry specific thing.

[Brad St.]

Service and support I would add in are also one of the BIGGEST factors for choosing right behind functionality. As you try to learn a new software will you be on your own or will you have resources to help guide / show you how to find the best process for YOUR needs not the softwares.

[drafting3]

i'm most concerned about functionality. CAD software and i have a natural bond. i usually master a new program in a couple months max.

 

mastercam was definitely the easiest one i've learned, which took about two weeks.

 

 

I don't know much about mold design in SE, I think SW is more popular in this field considering they have a bunch of add-ons to do it plus native functionality for mold makers. SW has also add-ons to simulate mold filling simulation (Moldflow) - It's very popular in the mold industry using SW.

 

Oooooh. I'll have to look into add-ons. that may play a HUGE part in our decision.

 

 

 

I read somewhere that SW can't handle imported surfaces/solids well because they are not ordered? (something like that)

 

Can you use imported geometry in SW without having to redraw everything? Can you modify imported geometry and integrate it into your design?

[Watcher]

Can you use imported geometry in SW without having to redraw everything? Can you modify imported geometry and integrate it into your design?

 

This is what synchronous technology in SE will offer that currently SW is unable to do. Direct modeling can make miracles with imported (dumb or not) models...

[MattW]

I have only run SW, so I can't compare.

SW runs on the parasolid kernel, so parasolids should be rock solid. I have occasionally needed to import IGES, but it hasn't been anything too crazy.

 

I have seen some demos and presentations on fixing imported geometry, and the SW tools look really slick. I have only really used them to fix issues with my own models.

[Thoob]

i'm most concerned about functionality. CAD software and i have a natural bond. i usually master a new program in a couple months max.

 

mastercam was definitely the easiest one i've learned, which took about two weeks.

 

 

Pretty impressive. I've been using Mastercam over 10 years and I still have not even Mastered it. Not even close. lol

 

On to the topic, I'm not sure if this is an option but have you looked at Autodesk Inventor? http://usa.autodesk.com/autodesk-inventor/

[Watcher]

Pretty impressive. I've been using Mastercam over 10 years and I still have not even Mastered it. Not even close. lol

 

+10K

 

I can't hardly use MS-Excel sometimes...

[David D.]

SW has great mold tools and gives you import options to tweak for most file types, CATIA being the notable exception. It also has powerful import geometry cleanup tools. It can heal small gaps, fix self-intersecting geometry, etc. I know this well because our design team uses Siemens NX 7.5 which has a handy tool called "N Sided Surface" which quickly makes a model, but makes terrible geometry that will make Mastercam barf.