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Mechanical CAD software???

I have no experience with CAD design or software. My daughter Jillie's husband is interested in getting a CAD program as he is in the process of designing a new concept in a waste management vehicle.

Wondering if anyone had any experience with CAD software.

Thanks

I have experience cussing at it, if that helps.

I really like Solidworks, you can incorporate motion to 3D drawings, shows contact, interference. Single piece and assembly, real user friendly.

I second Solid Works!

X3 for Solidwork. Expert Solidworks user here, along with EPDM management. Use it for the design of automation and custom machines.

Pro-E is a very solid and robust system, however the cost and learning curve is significantly greater. There are also some functionality issues that I don't care for.

I drew up my well house, and a shop table with Google Sketchup (free). I am blown away by those that can do CAD. Friend of mine designed power lines and distribution systems with AutoCAD and I couldn't even begin to keep track to what he was doing. Hats off to you operators that can! I'm sticking to napkins and sticky notes...lol.

I'm not a lot of help because I'm on the target side (civil/structures), instead of the mechanical side. We use MicroStation/Geopak and AutoCAD/Revit. Revit may have some dynamic capabilities... I'm not sure. It appears Autodesk actually has a platform called Inventor for modeling dynamic motion, which may be a consideration. The Solidworks program seems like it would be rather appealing though.

Check your PC, to see if Visio came with it.

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Visio can get you started, but AutoCad will be the go to software.

Autocad is NOT the go to software. As someone that has used Acad since 1985 and Solidworks since the early 2000's and has been the admin for both for the last seventeen years, there is a world of difference between Acad & SW. Even Acad Inventor is not near as robust or comprehensive as SW for 3D design. Which explains why most automation houses, large and small use either SW or Pro-E. My experience in dealing with global automation and machine design/build vendors shows a strong preference for SW.

I drew our house using an excellent home CAD program called 3D Home Architect. It is very easy to use, shows all elevations, has a huge library of not only cabinets and window styles but also furniture styles so you can see how your room can be laid out. Also, you can take a walk through after you are complete. Oh, and it makes up a lumber order.

Thanks for the info. Spent a few hours looking at Solidworks and think that this is the program Richie needs. As a Linux user, I looked at a number of open source programs, but found little that would do what Richie intends. I gave him the info and your comments...now it's in his hands.

Thanks much. This is one of the nice things about this community...someone always knows something!

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