2D and 3D Cad Software Recommendations

[Rod AshtonParticipant @rodashton53132]

Ian – Yes I was a little effusive perhaps, but I was actually still keen enough to work through much of the evening. I have my usual Estlecam to download to, which should compliment the Solid Edge output for the Mach3 and Planet CNC machine controls. Need to test it with heavy 3d surfacing files, but do not expect any problems. Will advise if any arise.

[IanTParticipant @iant]

Good to hear Rod,

Thinking about this overnight and since you've just downloaded SE Community (and my download was over a year ago) – I have some questions. Could you PM me please?

Regards,

IanT

[Rod AshtonParticipant @rodashton53132]

The 3d surfacing (spline to spline loft) transferred to Estlcam without any hesitation and produced the gcode for both PLanetCNC and Mach3.

[IanTParticipant @iant]

Posted by Rod Ashton on 12/09/2021 06:10:49:

The 3d surfacing (spline to spline loft) transferred to Estlcam without any hesitation and produced the gcode for both PLanetCNC and Mach3.

I'm delighted to hear this Rod, as (one day) I may need to do something similar.

At the moment though, I'm just happy SE is meeting my (much more) basic CAD requirements.

I was also very happy to hear that your recent 'Community' download includes the 2021 Solid Edge upgrades. I'm still using the 2020 version (which I downloaded last May) but will certainly get around to installing the latest 2021 version before too long.

Great news – very encouraging!

Regards,

IanT

Edited By IanT on 12/09/2021 09:34:55

[Tony JeffreeParticipant @tonyjeffree56510]

Has anyone any experience of FreeCAD? Is it any good?

[Tony JeffreeParticipant @tonyjeffree56510]

Answering my own question here…I've downloaded FreeCAD and so far it seems somewhat simpler to use from the GUI point of view than Fusion 360 – especially since the limits were placed on free use of Fusion – so I am going to persevere with it and see if the initial promise continues.

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by Tony Jeffree on 25/10/2021 16:09:03:

Answering my own question here…I've downloaded FreeCAD and so far it seems somewhat simpler to use from the GUI point of view than Fusion 360 – especially since the limits were placed on free use of Fusion – so I am going to persevere with it and see if the initial promise continues.

I wrote a Getting Started in FreeCAD thread in 2019.

I use QCAD-Pro for all 2D work and Fusion360 when Joints and Assemblies are required.

FreeCAD is good for single parts which suits what I do – like 3D printing. On the downside, it's a bit experimental guv and has a plethora of features, like Ship Architecture, I'm unlikely to use. (I'd prefer the developers to prioritise the Part and Part Design Workbenches rather than the others!) There are also a multitude of useful but not immediately obvious add-ons hidden away. See the Macro Add-ons button and Tools->Add-on Manager.

Dave

Edited By SillyOldDuffer on 25/10/2021 16:32:20

[Tony JeffreeParticipant @tonyjeffree56510]

Thanks Dave – I will take a look.

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

SolidEdge CE:

For anyone inspired as I was by the various posts above, to try it.

It requires WIN 10 at least.

Siemens does not instal any of their software on any MS operating system after MS stops supporting that. The site does say that up-dates to suit WIN 11 will be available next year.

(As I have just found only after entering my details and confirming I-Am-Not-A-Robot, on my W7-Pro PC. )

[IanTParticipant @iant]

Well Nigel, I've always made clear that I'm running Solid Edge CE on a five year old i5 laptop running Windows 10 Home. The Siemens site says that you need Windows 10 'Pro' to run SE but that will be their (official) "supported" platform.

Commercial software customers often have support contracts with vendors and are expected to keep their s/w installations up to date (I speak from experience). If a support engineer goes into look at a client problem and finds the s/w revision is out of date – the first thing he will suggest is that the software be updated. Software (of all kinds) constantly evolves and changes over time for many reasons and it isn't commercially practical to support software revisions going back to the year dot.

So when software is no longer 'supported', it doesn't mean that it will stop working, just that the vendor is not maintaining (or resolving) problems with it any more. Your Win 7 has not been officially supported since January 2020 but it is still working I assume?

I don't know if SE will run on Win 7 (it may do so) simply that Siemens do not recommend or support it. Solid Edge is a commercal CAD product that has to compete with other commercial CAD products and it will be constantly evolved and improved. It is also closely integrated with MS technology and will need to move in step with MS.

Personally, I don't see the need to keep up to date with Microsoft OS as a problem (in fact I see free updates as an advantage). I've been doing it in personal and business life for well over 30 years now. I know others might not share my preference for Windows but it has always worked well for me and still does – no hassle and no problems.

There are also of course, many other CAD products out there. Some browser based, others needing some internet connectivity. Some are relatively simple, others much more capable. I prefer a locally installed CAD solution and have been delighted with the power and functionality that SE-CE provides me at no cost. There are a few other Solid Edge users here that seem to share my enthusiasm.

I do understand that everyone has their own preferences with respect to things like operating systems, programming languages and CAD design tools. I guess perhaps unsurprisingly, that there is no one-size fits all.

Regards,

 

IanT

Edited By IanT on 26/10/2021 23:21:28

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