Solid Works V Solid Edge

Does anyone have any thoughts on how these 2 programs compare. I have just evaluated both and find them both very good and very similar and am hoping someone out there can give an objective comparision. I guess I'm looking for that 1 feature that makes the difference.

I use Maxsurf & Workshop for hull shape and base structure so I plan to use one of these programs to produce production drawings and cut parts.

Thanks

 

Well, you have to look really close then!

They are both built on top of the same ParaSolids geometry engine, Dassaut/SolidWorks buys this from UGS.

They have some small feature differences and slightly different user interface paradigms, but overall functionality and performance should be almost identical.

To offer you something to cling to: SolidWorks has a larger user base, which makes it easier to get help in forums, find macros and other extensions.

 

Yes there seems to be a lot of SW people out there but I wonder if that's because its a better product or do they just have better marketing.

Solid Edge is promoting its new rapid blue technology which sounds interesting but it is a bit hard to fully check it out with a limited time trial.

 

A bit of a shift in the wind, so to speak.

First off, I am not affiliated with PTC. Yah' know - standard disclaimer! ;-)

I would seriously recommend taking a look at Pro/Engineer. The foundation package is pretty competitively priced and can do most anything! To stay $ competitive they are also often running specials allowing additional modules with your purchase. You could possibly add the Advanced Assembly module or ?? if you time it right on the purchase.

I have been driving Pro/e for a long time (over 10 years.) In this period we have gone through a bit of a love hate relationship with the company, but not really the software. Since they have gone back to a VAR (reseller) model and refocused on their core mechanical CAD, I have not only been happy with the software but also with the service from PTC.

It has been a few years since we were soo mad at PTC that we started a major evaluation to look at other packages. At the time, the only one that I thought could possibly compete with PRo/e is SolidEdge. Like all programs, this one has gotten better - but with that said, I really don't think there are many that can really compare with Pro/e. This is especially true when you want to actually build really large assemblies (like a boat) in the program.

My experience with SolidWorks is that at some point it just becomes overloaded with the size of your model and just falls flat, performance wise. My most recent experience was training a new user in Sidney, AUS using VNC as a remote tool. He had recently been driving Catia but also has reasonable Inventor seat time. He quickly became quite the Pro/e supporter saying that he thinks Inventor sux and except for the periodic 'I could have done it this way in Catia' he was pretty much blown away with the depth of the Pro/e tool.

Anyway....a bit long, but my $.02,
Tom

 

I think it's a big plus that SolidWorks has more users.
Look around where you live.
Have you looked at Alibre Design?
www.alibre.com
Is this allowed?

I'm not neutral as I am selling Alibre in Norway...

 

I've been using SolidEdge for 2 1/2 to 3 years now. We haven't done any boats with it but have done a lot of other mechanical design stuff, including a new solarcar that's currently in work.
It's a powerful program, pretty versatile. If there's CNC work or rapid prototyping involved it's excellent. It takes a lot of patience to learn, though, and a lot of thinking as you draw to make sure you're tying relationships together in such a way that they'll hold when you edit and revise.
My big beef with SE is the sheer size of the thing. The core program alone, for v.18, is 1.12 GB and the models can easily swell to over half a gig of RAM usage. It has brought several dual-core machines with over 500 MB of RAM to their knees. Killer computing power is a must with SE, and probably with SW also as they use pretty much the same engine. I would suggest 2 GB RAM and dual 3 GHz processors as a minimum for serious modelling with this thing; you'll also want a 128 or 256 MB graphics card with cutting-edge OpenGL etc. if you want to be able to manipulate big models in 3D without going for a coffee break every time you change views.

 

Thanks for the tips. Looks like I will have to expand my evaluations. I hadnt heard much about pro/E for years so I didnt even bother looking at it and I have never heard of Alibre. I will check them out.

I had heard that SE needs top shelf hardware and this is an important consderation. Because of the stringer punchouts in ali boats, frame parts have lots of features so when you assemble them it can really slow things down.

Thanks again.

 

Alidesigner

If you are just doing aluminum boats I would recommend that you look carefully at ShipConstructor. It is a totally different approach to modelling to SolidEdge and SolidWorks, but much more suited to metal boat construction.

It has the downside that you need to learn AutoCAD, however the benefits in production (as opposed to modelling) are significant. I do agree that Solidworks and SolidEdge are appropriate if you are doing composite boats, but for metal boat construction ShipConstructor is a much better approach.

 

I agree, I like AutoCAD myself, but I see that many (younger?) doesn't like the user interface.

http://www.shipconstructor.com/

 

Hi Andrew,
I have looked at ship constructor and it seems excellent for structure. My concern is that since its acad based, any other 3D modelling such as engines, fitout, rendering then has to be done in acad, which still has really poor 3D tools, or use something like Rhino. After many years of drawing boats in 2D acad (younger? sadly no) my aim is to be able to use only one program once the model leaves maxsurf. And as much as I think acad is still the best 2D cad out there, I dont want to waste time drawing different views or updating several drawings manually if something such as a stringer position is changed. I recently had to move a stringer. My choices were to go back to workshop and move it, re export the frames, then overlay the new sections on the frame drawings, trim & re-join the polylines etc etc, or go into each frame drawing, make a construction line at the new position and then stretch the stringer & punchout to the new position (thats what I did). Both options very frustrating when talking about over 20 frame sections. I must admit though I dont know if Ship Constructor would have made it any easier.

I am chasing the holy grail of making a 3D model and having all the drawings update automatically if the model changes, and also eliminate tedious 2D detailing. So in the above you would just move the spline that defines the stringer run and all the frame drawings and nested parts would update automatically.

From the testing I have done it seems that the mid range 3D cad programs can do it, its just now selecting the one that is most versitle and best supported. (Another consideration is that I also want to learn and own something that can lead to consulting opportunities in other industries which is also why I initially limited my testing to SE & SW)

Raggi thanks for the tip on Alibre. I downloaded it but sadly it failed my trimming test but thanks anyway. (trimming a stepped deck that intersects with 3 other surfaces)

 

yes, Alibre has it's limitations.
I sometimes do things in Rhino and then import the 3dm file to Alibre.

In Norway, I would choose SolidWorks even if SolidEdge seems to offer more value for money, just because the number of SW users are many times higherthan SE.

Inventor is probaly another alternative, since you have AutoCAD.

 

I think you need to get a good demo of ShipConstructor, or failing that get a demo disk and work through their tutorials. It's a very different way of working to either generic 2D or 3D in AutoCAD and also very different to the full 3D solid modellers.

For boats built of sheet materials such as steel, aluminium or even plywood, ShipConstructor is a better way of working than systems such as SolidWorks or SolidEdge, although these come into their own with moulded froms such as you find in composite construction.

The 2006 version of ShipConstructor has had significant associativity added, so while it may not be your Holy Grail, it may be more than good enough for what you want to do.