Why should anyone get Inventor instead of solidworks?

[explodingbee]

As I understand it Inventor is designed to do more or less the same things as Solidworks, easy 3D modeling.  I think the cheapest version of Inventor is $5,000 and the cheapest version of Solidworks is $4,000.  Since Solidworks is generally considered the industry standard, the best out there, why would anyone get Inventor (except for reasons like that an entire company is already using AutoCAD and doesn't want to switch)?  Is there anything of significance that Inventor does better than Solidworks?

[JDMather]

1. You should have started a new thread for this discussion.  There is a lot of "noise" in this thread.  The signal to noise ratio is very poor.

Solid and surface bodies in Inventor work exactly like in SolidWorks.

Sketch relations (constraints in Inventor) work exaclty the same.

SolidWorks does not have t-Splines subdivision modeling.  Inventor 2015 does.

If you wish to continue this discussion - I recomend that you start a new thread with specific questions like you presented in you last post.

[stevec781]

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@Azrehan wrote:

Thanks for your insights.

I have viewed some videos on youtube and it seems that for every click in solidworks there are 3 in inventor. 

I have a few questions though.

Firstly, in the videos I have watched there wasn't much mention of "bodies". When I'm working in solidworks I often model a few bodies, indent one body from another, mirror bodies about planes and then combine bodies to make a final single bodied part (or multi bodied part depending on what I am doing). Does inventor work this way? 

Secondly, it would seem that sketch relations are a lot different in inventor. I use symmetric relations, midpoint, tangeant etc a lot in sketching. Is this feature in inventor? Do sketch features such as intersection curves, convert entities and equal curve have equivalents in inventor?

Thirdly, does inventor have good surfacing like solidworks? I do a lot of furniture and surfacing is a great tool. Although, solidworks surfacing has nothing on sub division surfacing like modo or Rhino's surfacing capabilities. 

The job is primarily a design job, so the software is a secondary issue. I use solidworks daily but some days I do no 3d modeling, so it's just a tool at the end of the day.

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Bodies pretty much the same except you can only mirror one body at a time (2013).

Sketch pretty much the same except most people will recommend when working in context that you derive instead.  There is no pierce relationship and less drawing tools.  In context intersection curves are not associative in Inv.  From the help

Projected geometry in assembly

You can project the edges of a component cut by an assembly section to the sketch plane if the part would intersect the sketch plane. Projected cut edges are not associative in a sketch. The geometry is a "snapshot" of the geometry when projected, and if the parent geometry changes, does not update.

Surfacing - Swx superior.

[Azrehan]

Sketch pretty much the same except most people will recommend when working in context that you derive instead.  There is no pierce relationship and less drawing tools.  In context intersection curves are not associative in Inv. 

That isn't good. What a major feature to be missing. It would prevent you from 'tweaking' geometry after doing a feature e.g. a loft.

Does inventor have an equivalent of lofting with guide curves?

[stevec781]

yes it has lofting with guides and also has normal to surface sweep control which Swx does not have.

[bret323]

I've used Solidworks for almost 20 years.  I just switched to Fusion 360.  I now design and manufacture my own products using 3D printing.  I don't need tooling drawings, or any detail drawings for that matter.  I switched because the sculpting capabilities are incredible in Fusion 360 when compared to what is possible with Solidworks.  I'm still in the early stages, definitely working slower in Fusion than I could be in SWs for now.  Even at this stage I'm happy I made the switch!  Is it better?  The features I need for my current business are better.  There are many other features and tools where SW is definitely the leader.  Having been designing consumer products for close to 30 years now, using many different programs let me suggest everyone stop trying to figure out which software is better.  All that matters is what is best for your application.

One additional note.  I finally bit the bullet and started learning yet another CAD tool because SW instituted their VAR contract requirement.  With 20 years I can't remember the last time I called for tech support.  They still want you to pay for it regardless.  No more lapsing, than paying the $500 penalty to upgrade to the latest software version every few years.  Now you have to pay all the missed months or buy a new license from scratch!  It was enough to push me into starting from scratch with a completely new software.

Kind regards,

Bret

[explodingbee]

Hi Bret,

Thank you for your comment.  I understand your statement that one should not worry so much about which product is better and that one should just get something that works for the application one is working on.  However, at the time I started this thread (in 2014) I was considering paying $4,000 to buy a new program and so it seemed like a big decision.  

At a certain point after I started this thread that I began using Creo Elements Direct Modeling Express and I have been using it ever since.  It costs nothing; it is free.  It does have a few shortcomings but it seems to work well enough for my purposes.

However, your discussion about Fusion 360 intrigued me a little.  I watched a couple of short videos about it and they also seemed interesting.  Then I went to the Autodesk website and saw that for "startups" or "enthusiasts" (that would include me) you can get Fusion 360 for free.  Now that is very intriguing.  I just downloaded and installed it and I will be trying it out.  I am glad you wrote about this.  I may well be switching over to this program, which seems like it may be quite a bit better than Creo Elements Direct Modeling Express. 

(Well, I just finished the installation and I see that it is free but only for one year.  Not sure if it will continue to be free after that.  I would hate to spend time becoming familiar with the program and to be depending on it and then suddenly after a year or so they stop offering it for free and demand a lot of money for me to continue using it.)

Regarding your statement about how shabbily Solid Works treated you with the ridiculous costs to get some support, you are not the first person I have heard complain about this type of thing with Solidworks.  I sounds to me like your refusal to pay them and willingness to delve into a new program even though it was going to cost you some time and effort is the right thing to do.  It is the “stand up guy” type thing to do.

Best regards,

Vincent

[joe.schulteVLTH9]

FYI, CREO is way better than soildworks, but Solidworks is hands down better than Inventor. Hell the old drawing board is about as quick as using Inventor. When I trialed Inventor and Solidworks, it took me all of two days to determine that Solidworks was way better than Inventor.

[cmcconnell]

Thanks for sharing.

[blandb]

Sounds like a vehicle debate...Why buy Chevy, GMC, Ford, etc. When one is cheaper than the other, but one has more features and breaks down more....