50549--Fred's Software question

Giovanni Schwartz · Post by **Giovanni Schwartz** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 4:28 pm

So what exactly do these programs do?

Fredjikrang · Post by **Fredjikrang** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 8:12 pm

Which programs, exactly?

Giovanni Schwartz · Post by **Giovanni Schwartz** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 11:48 pm

In general, what do you want the program you are looking for to do?

Fredjikrang · Post by **Fredjikrang** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 10:34 am

It is kinda hard to describe with just words. Here is a good wikipedia article on it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parametric ... ed_modeler

Pay special attention to the animation about half way down. It is of my favorite CAD program (NX), and shows how quickly and easily custom shapes can be made, but it doesn't really capture how truly powerful this type of editor is.

There are also two other programs that I didn't mention in my question that work in similar ways, SolidWorks and Inventor. I didn't mention them because I haven't actually used either of them, though a lot of people I know who have tried Inventor really like it.

Giovanni Schwartz · Post by **Giovanni Schwartz** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 5:25 pm

Hmm... I'm not sure if it's what you're looking for, but have you tried Google Sketchup? It's probably not that easy to work with, but it can do the whole 3d stuff. I'm not sure how comprehensive it is.

Fredjikrang · Post by **Fredjikrang** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 5:54 pm

Sketchup is kinda a joke compared to the programs I listed. It is practically impossible to accurately dimension things for one, though it is easier to use than a lot of CAD programs.

(Oh, and I think I had actually tried Cobalt, the one recommended by Waldorf and Sauron, a while ago, but I'm not sure so I downloaded a trial. Haven't been able to get it to launch yet though. . .)

Giovanni Schwartz · Post by **Giovanni Schwartz** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 6:05 pm

Yeah. That's what I figured.