Ok man now i'm really Jelly!!!! I've been looking at Solidworks since last year. I can't get past the price. The software seems second to none. I went down to talk to a couple of sales reps but I just can't deal with the price. Not to mention the yearly commitment. If I had the money I would not hesitate to buy solidworks 2016.

Quote Originally Posted by KludgeGuru View Post
Some other engineer purchased the Makerbot a year or so ago, he was never successful in getting it to work. I got my Qidi at home a couple months ago and it mostly just works. I've had a few problems but they have been easy to overcome. I then tried to get the Makerbot at work up and running. I definitely made more progress than the last guy but I was spending too much time on it and it still wasn't working right. From my experience at home I told the managers that we should just buy a Qidi and bag the Makerbot... and we did. I just got the Qidi at work up and running this morning and so far the first print is looking good.



I've done the basic upgrades; cable chain, filament alignment bracket, Maghold build platform with glass plate. I've also upgraded my Z-Axis rods to 12mm, still working to get the design right. I've attached a Raspberry Pi 2 and run Astroprint so I can start and stop prints remotely so I don't have to keep moving around the SD card.



I use Solidworks 2016. Since I use Solidworks at work I have access to a Home Use License which is great. I've messed around with Sketchup and don't like it much. I installed Blender last night and my first impression is that the interface is way too complicated, I can usually muddle around and figure out some of the basics when I try new software but with Blender I was completely lost. If I didn't have access to Solidworks I would probably use Fusion 360. I've heard good things about it but never tried it.