So, you have decided that you need to get CAD software for yourself or for your business. Or, maybe you realized that the software you currently use does not cut it. With dozens of software packages available and prices from $50 (and sometimes free) to over $10,000, what would your next software be?
The first thing you need to do is set up a list of the objectives you need to accomplish with the software. The most logical strategy would be using a workflow to narrow your choices and provide weights to the categories based on their importance to your business.
Industry
You may need software that is suitable for multiple industries, but you will probably use it for one main industry while supporting others. For example, your main industry or focus is mechanical design but you may still need to interact with thermal, fluid or electric simulators. You may design machines and then need to provide a conceptual environment design of how they will be positioned on shop floor plan and in addition use piping modeling to connect to HVAC systems.
Some industry sectors include:
Mechanical
Electronic
Architecture
Fluid dynamics
Piping
Etc.
Geometry type
Even though 3D is common almost everywhere, 2D is still the most widely used. Your choices will probably be:
2D (drawings, floor plans, schematics)
3D (Wireframe, Surfaces, Solids)
2D/3D
File format (or who you are going to interact and exchange data with)
Almost every software has its own unique native file format. In addition, each software usually comes with some translators to convert from their proprietary file format to others or vice versa, either directly or using a standard translator (IGES, STEP). There are some de-facto standards that many software packages support, including DWG, ACIS and Parasolid. Some of the requirements would be embedding images or PDF files in the design or export them so that they can be used in publishing applications for marketing and training purposes.
Some of the common software are (alphabetically):
ARC+
ArchiCAD
AutoCAD
CATIA
Cimatron
CoCreate
DataCAD
Delcam
ELCAD
EPLAN
Inventor
Ironcad
MicroStation
NX
Pro/Engineer
Revit
Solid Edge
SolidWorks
SpaceClaim
Others...
Some software like CATIA and NX are very rich in functionality and include features and modules that fit very well in multiple industries and excel in each. On the other hand, some software package are very good in what they do, like AutoCAD and SolidWorks and they are used as a platform to 3rd party specialty programs. For example, you may use SolidWorks for your mechanical design needs and purchase ANSYS for your finite element simulations within SolidWorks.
One of the major CAD software is AutoCAD which is widely used by 2D users, primarily for its DWG file format that provides easy collaboration with the huge community of AutoCAD users. You have a choice of purchasing AutoCAD or AutoCAD LT from AutoDESK, Inc. or its distributors, or purchase other software that use DWG as their native format, like ARC+ EXEcutive that is based on the Open Design Alliance's Teigha platform.
Vendor
Some vendors trace back to the 80's while others are new to the market. That does not mean that the new comers are not qualified or that their software is not mature and high quality. In fact, many new software products are the fruits of savvy industry veterans that use their vast experience in previous companies to create new breed of software, like SpaceClaim.
Price
Price is one of the main concerns when CAD software is considered. The cost of ownership is not just the initial purchase price but include other expenses to be considered, like maintenance, support, upgrades, training, etc. If your software was less expensive but you cannot get support when you need it what good was the low cost for you? On the other hand, if you purchase software in reasonable price and then you need to spend big chunk of your budget to keep up with new versions, won't you consider moving to another software with lower cost of ownership?
Summary:
Once you gather all your requirements and research for available candidates, consider a few runner-ups and benchmark or test them for at least 30 days with your real work and data. This means working with live data in parallel to you current software (or manually). In addition calculate the Cost of Ownership to make sure the final choice has the balance of function and cost.
No comments:
Post a Comment