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?

[chad38]

Just read through the comments on this page. See which is better based on long term user experience.

http://grabcad.com/questions/solidworks-or-solid-edge

[stevec781]

See this post for another reason (bug) to not buy Inventor.

http://forums.autodesk.com/t5/Inventor-General/Include-all-surface/m-p/4750199/highlight/false#M4944...

[explodingbee]

Thanks for this link.  I read most or all of the posts in it.  They are almost all in favor of Solid Edge.  However, one of them pointed out that with Solid Edge you need to keep paying the annual maintenance fees or else you can't use the program!  That is a very important drawback, as far as I am concerned.

[chad38]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't Solidworks and Inventor BOTH require a subscription of some sort? I believe so. I know, it's crap. I want to be able to buy whatever version of the software outright and it stay a legally working and usable tool for as long as I want to. But i don't believe you really can anymore. I do know that Seimens(parent of solid edge) has added additional licensing options.....you can pay for a seat monthly, for example. I think Inventor can now be rented monthly as well. But, sorry, I believe that yes even solid works requires a subscription. It's crap, but it's true.

[chad38]

from http://solidsmack.com/cad-design-news/why-i-will-pay-1372-for-a-fillet-tool/

Today I received a friendly email from my local SolidWorks VAR, ending with a gentle nudge: “****THERE IS NO GRACE PERIOD FOR DECEMBER RENEWALS, ANY DECEMBER RENEWAL RECEIVED AFTER DECEMBER 31ST WILL AUTOMATICALLY INCUR A REINSTALLATION FEE – NO EXCEPTIONS.” Ahhh, the sweet taste of extortion in the morning. SolidWorks 2014 is upon us, friends, as is that big annual “subscription” bill–one of the largest business purchases I make in the course of the year. I’m fed up. I’m angry. And I’m going to pay up. (Buries face in shame.)

Yes, I do believe nearly all of the programs mentioned here, save google sketchup perhaps, requires a subscription of some sort.

[stevec781]

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@chad38 wrote:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't Solidworks and Inventor BOTH require a subscription of some sort? I believe so. I know, it's crap. I want to be able to buy whatever version of the software outright and it stay a legally working and usable tool for as long as I want to. But i don't believe you really can anymore. I do know that Seimens(parent of solid edge) has added additional licensing options.....you can pay for a seat monthly, for example. I think Inventor can now be rented monthly as well. But, sorry, I believe that yes even solid works requires a subscription. It's crap, but it's true.

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No. But there is an important difference.

INV - you can go off subscription and keep working, eg at 2013 and still get service packs for 2013, but no access to 2014.  BTW what ever happened to the subscription advantage pack?

SWX - you can go off subs and keep working, but you lose access to service packs (bug fixes) and no access to future versions.  Service pack access might have changed since I last used it - not sure. 

I cant think of any other product that can be sold with known faults and then require that the purchaser must keep paying more money to get the faults fixed, but with no guarantee that they will ever be fixed.  What a perfect scam.

[explodingbee]

Consistent with what Stevec781 just wrote, I just got an email from a Solidworks rep who said that it is optional whether to renew each year or not.  He said if you don't renew you loose access to updates and tech support via email and phone and some other things.  But you can continue to use the program. Apparently that is not the case, however, with Solid Edge.  Apparently one must keep paying each year or else one cannot even use Solid Edge at all.

[stevec781 · Accepted solution]

Depending on which country you are in it may be against consumer credit laws to refuse to fix a defect free of charge.  You may be able to insist on access to bug fixes even if off subscription.  Consumer laws usually over ride fine print.

[explodingbee]

I just spoke by email with a Solid Edge Rep.  He wrote that if one has an ordinary subscription to Solid Edge and one does not pay the annual maintenance fee and one needs to reinstall the program one cannot do so.  However, he also said that one can pay $100 more and get a Floating License (which comes with a USB Dongle, apparently with the installation program on it) and then one can reinstall even if one has not paid the annual maintenance fee.  I just wanted to sort of correct the record here so that I was not wrongly discrediting Solid Edge.

I am also going to click one of the "Accept As Solution" buttons to mark the question of this thread as resolved, as many people have provided useful ideas and thoughts. 

I want to thank Stevec781 and all the other people who provided useful input in this thread.

[chad38]

Good move. I started trying to do research on this particular issue because I couldn't believe there, first, wasn't an option for Solid Edge where you didn't have to resubscribe in order to keep using the version you have installed, and second, that I'm still finding that there are no options I'm finding where my autodesk licensce isn't time dated. Even spoke with some product support lady who said that they no longer have just straight up forever product keys that aren't time dated, and she said this was to prevent piracy. Ludicrous. This actually makes it so the only logical option is piracy since you can still and always will be able to get ahold of cracked software. If I buy software, I should be able to use that software for as long as I wish. If I don't want to update to the next version, then I don't buy it. I still have Solid Edge V18 and a product key I have on, would you believe it, a floppy drive, so I can use at least a program that I built models on and can still open them. It's blackmail for them to hold your data, your hard work and time, hostage so that you cannot use it if you don't pay up again, when you bought the dang software.

Dude, I just want to stress, Solid Edge is far superior than both Inventor and Solid Works, for a number of reasons, the sheet metal environment is standing high above either one, no comparison. And if you can get a version where you won't lose access to it after a set time, jump on it. But you need to make sure you have the ability to create ordered parts. I say this because I guess Edge is now selling different packages where you have either Synchronous, Ordered, The ability to draft....etc. If you have to choose one, ordered. Synchronous may look cool, and you can do some quick basic design work in it, but it's harder to be precise and lock things down. Case in point, in the tutorials for synch, it kept saying things like "extrude out to about 17". I was just like" okay so later on, we're going to make it exact, right? Well, it didn't. I don't make cyclones to about 76" inside diameter and I don't have hole patterns spaced ABOUT 4" apart. Ordered is controlled.

[chad38]

Additonally, product support for edge is above and beyond what you get with either inventor or solidworks. Works and inventor rely on resellers to provide product support. Well, and user forums like these. With edge, you have GTAC. You can  call and ask them anything. I spent so much time on the phone with them my first year using the product, really just to learn the product. Any issues you have they'll work through with you. And this isn't a reseller, GTAC is provided by Seimens, the parent company of Solid Edge, NX, Unigraphics and many other CAD/CAM programs.

[explodingbee]

Hi Chad38,

I agree entirely with your sentiments that we should not have to keep paying each year in order to use a program which we have already purchased.  If that was really the case with a program I would not buy it.

Regarding your comments about Solid Edge, when you refer to synchronous vs ordered modeling, I guess you are using terms equivalent to direct modelling vs. history based modelling.  I have read that Solid Edge does both.  I guess you are saying that history based modelling is better. 

I am interested in trying out Solid Edge.  I have downloaded a trial version and plan to try it.  (However, right now I am still trying out IronCAD, which also uses both history based and direct modelling.  IronCAD, I think, is much less expensive.  When I am done trying out IronCAD I will probably try out Solid Edge.) 

[blair]

Part of the annual license fee for SE also covers the support your receive. This is very common in commercial software were you pay a annual license fee for using the software. Especially with specialized software

[explodingbee]

Sure, I understand.  There are probably significant costs in paying tech guys to be on the phone with people who need help.  But I object when payment of that annual maintenance fee becomes mandatory instead of optional.  If I don't pay I don't get the support.  Fine.  But I don't want to hear that for the rest of my life whether I use support or not I must pay that company each year in order to just use the product that I already purchased.

[blair]

You would need to read their EULA agreement, sometimes you are only leasing the software.

[karthur1]

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@chad38 wrote:

.... You can  call and ask them anything.....

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You can do that with Autodesk also if you purchase phone support with your subscription. Sounds like that was probably included for the first year on the other product you were using.

[Anonymous]

Hi guys,

I realise that this is a 6 month inactive thread, so please go easy on me.

I am a solidworks user. I've used solidworks since 2006 and use it daily. I also use modo 701 for my rendering.

A opportunity has come up which requires Inventor experience and I was hoping that I coul transition into inventor fairly easily from solidworks. How hard would this be? Is it worth me applying for the job if I have no inventor experience? I don't want to waste my time if they are too different.

Thanks

[Mario428]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hi guys,

I realise that this is a 6 month inactive thread, so please go easy on me.

I am a solidworks user. I've used solidworks since 2006 and use it daily. I also use modo 701 for my rendering.

A opportunity has come up which requires Inventor experience and I was hoping that I coul transition into inventor fairly easily from solidworks. How hard would this be? Is it worth me applying for the job if I have no inventor experience? I don't want to waste my time if they are too different.

Thanks

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I did the same thing almost 2 years ago. A solid modeller is a solid modeller and they both do the same thing BUT they do it differently and finding the right buttons can be fustrating. I was lucky to work with some great people who helped me out a lot to get up to speed.

A training course of some kind to get the basics would be a huge help, always remember RMB (right mouse button ) the right command is surprisingly almost always there.

[stevec781]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hi guys,

I realise that this is a 6 month inactive thread, so please go easy on me.

I am a solidworks user. I've used solidworks since 2006 and use it daily. I also use modo 701 for my rendering.

A opportunity has come up which requires Inventor experience and I was hoping that I coul transition into inventor fairly easily from solidworks. How hard would this be? Is it worth me applying for the job if I have no inventor experience? I don't want to waste my time if they are too different.

Thanks

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If you enjoy your job and enjoy working with Swx then stay.

Inventor has a different workflow (eg very poor inter part relationships so requires extensive use of derived geometry which will be new for you) and less functionality than SWx (eg less mate options)

A new staff member that was ex ProE quit because he couldnt take the daily frustrations of using Inv, not because of lack of training, but because of bugs that force us to use a long winded and inefficient series of work arounds.

[Anonymous]

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.