Close



Results 1 to 8 of 8
  1. #1

    Solidworks.... Any Good for Design?

    Is anyone using Solidworks for designing their 3D prints? How is it? Is it any good or is there another software that you would recommend?

  2. #2
    Super Moderator DrLuigi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    Belgium
    Posts
    502
    Its great for logical designs, But not that great for something like a Yoda head for example,
    But its great to make other things like, a fan holder and such, Logical things.

  3. #3
    Student
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    Waco Tx
    Posts
    1
    Solidworks is a great piece of software. It is hard to make organic shapes like the Dr has mentioned. BUT Solidworks is a very powerful parametric modeling software and if you are looking to get your feet wet it is a great place to start.

    I use PTC Creo 2.0 and it is similar to SW in that is is your typical parametric modeling software but it does have a feature where you can take a blob of clay basically and mold it and make very organic shapes quickly and easily. If you have access to SW then it will be great for what you are probably needing. If you are looking to buy some software and drop major cash then look at Creo.

  4. #4
    Student papabur's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Portland, Oregon
    Posts
    47
    Follow papabur On Twitter Add papabur on Facebook Add papabur on Google+ Add papabur on Thingiverse
    SolidWorks is the best out there right now. Most community colleges also have SolidWorks fundamentals/advanced classes if you want to learn more.(or jus use youtube.) Another good one that I have heard a lot of goo things about is Creo, chec kit out (both are spendy though if your not a college student).
    Last edited by papabur; 03-01-2014 at 08:49 AM.

  5. #5
    Solidworks is great if you have money to spend on it, or don't feel bad about pirating it (no judgement from me, especially if you're using it for side projects and not to make money). I've used it for over a decade for making mechanical designs. I will echo the sentiment that it isn't very good for artistic projects, but it is extremely powerful for more analytic mechanical designs.

    I've been messing around in Autodesk's Fusion 360 for a little while as well recently. It has a pretty powerful free form side to it, along with the parametric modeler. Price is my main motivation for using it though. You can get a free hobbyist license as long as you make less than $100k, and if you don't fit that requirement, it's only about $360 a year.

    Onshape is another option. There's a free plan for it as well, but you can't keep your designs private under that plan. It is extremely close to Solidworks, and it's no surprise because former Solidworks people started it.

  6. #6
    When I was going to college I instructed a course on how to use solidworks. Now that I'm done with college I use FREECAD since I can't afford solidworks. SolidWorks is a much better program, but I wouldn't use it unless I thought I could get some sort of a return on investment. If I was an engineer I'd probably use it. Solidworks has pretty good FEA built into it too.

    I personally would like to turn a profit from some of the models I make, so I don't want to be encumbered by licensing. That's one reason I choose FreeCAD and one reason not to make anything in a pirated version of commercial software.

  7. #7
    Engineer ralphzoontjens's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Tilburg, the Netherlands
    Posts
    534
    Follow ralphzoontjens On Twitter Add ralphzoontjens on Facebook Add ralphzoontjens on Shapeways Add ralphzoontjens on Thingiverse
    If you are looking at complex organic modeling, Rhino is a better option.
    But if your work is more engineering/manufacturing oriented, Solidworks is still the software package of choice.
    Also for vehicle design you can get pretty advanced with it.

  8. #8
    Like I said, they serve the exact same function
    AceWorldTrading

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •