Ha, maybe, although I don't find it too bad but also had some crashes here and there. Nevertheless it's too limited for me and I won't continue to do CAD with it.
I have been trying to use 123D after seeing it was their design software, I have watched many tutorials and have been trying to play with it for the last couple weeks when ever I get a chance. My issue with the software is I can't seem to figure out how to align complex shapes. For example if you have a hole in a part for a bolt and a hole in another part for the bolt, now I want to align the two pieces together centered on the holes. Both parts are relatively complex shapes which make it difficult to just type in dimensions. I have tried using the snap tool with little to no luck. In sketchup you can just drag corner for example to a corner on another part and line then up in 2 seconds. Is there a trick I am missing to get parts to align using edges and corners its making using 123d frustrating. Also the parts want to reorient on me a lot when I just want the part to slide in place in the same orientation is there a way to prevent the piece being moved from rotating itself?
Nice. The good thing about 123D Design is when you are starting to outgrow it you can switch to Fusion 360 which works in a similar fashion. Not all is the same but it will get you a good way. I'm not a very advanced user yet so I'm not sure about aligning holes.
I'm amazed they managed the design on 123D. I couldn't do anything sensible with it and had to go to Fusion
I too was surprised to see that - 123Design looks like the lowest possible entry level into CAD. Fusion seems to have still issues with its stability. My fruitless attempts to import some dxfs brought me back to Inventor - a professional level. I did not see any add-ons for 123D or Fusion that would allow for FEM analysis, e.g. An essential in my eyes when designing a dynamic system. Well, it can be done without it, but... I wonder what format they'll publish the CAD files in - something like OpenSCAD would probably be appreciated.
I don't think I have seen any decent FEM integration since I-Deas. Even though NX shows some good progress. In my experience the users of real high-end CAD systems rarely uses integrated FEM software for calculations. Rather stand alone software that meet the specific demands. My hopes for the CAD files is shurely STEP or any other well known standard (neutral) format (iges/jt/etc)
Oh I agree. Fusion has its fair share of glitches and problems but it is easy to use compared to any of the low cost alternatives and unfortunately I can't find either an viable FOSS alternative or anything for up to say £300 which is any better.
In an ideal world Solidworks would do a. An OSX port and b. Get their heads out of the sand and offer discounted community editions rather than just student ones. I'd happily pay more than the student version but asking full price from hobbiest users is very shortsighted as those that are willing to (I'm not) will just pirate it.
Hear, hear Dr Jeep. SolidWorks is a superb package and I have also commented on the need for a cut-down pack for personal use like Autodesk has done with Fusion 360, although the latter is a full package. By the way, FEM is available in the latest update but I am struggling with converting from SW, as the tutorials are inferior and there is no readily available library of parametric models such as nuts and bolts that I can find, although its integration with the CAM world, such as 3D printing, is great.
I am wondering what format BB will be releasing the parts in. As a SolidWorks user, I hope that there will be a format that I can import other than a .STL file.
Another vote here for usefully Solidworks-compatible files. What might they be if they are coming from 123D...?
yeah the effort to get the files to cross over to some of the bigger design platform would be great autocad, solidoworks(for me) etc. this really should have some time delved into so that we don't have import problems. that's just my 2 cents, I vote for direct compatibility with solidowrks and autocad for sure.
Bit of quick research suggests Parasoild or STEP are the best for bringing things into Solidworks. STLs will work, but nothing complex. Does that sound right to others? Sounds like 123D is a bit limited in its export capabilities List of Solidworks files with info here: http://help.solidworks.com/2011/Eng...s.htm?id=2e7d873ef2a84610a8f0537953fa1f2b#Pg0 And a great summary/presentation here: http://www.caddedge.com/blog/bid/193916/Importing-Files-Into-SolidWorks
its is almost guaranteed that a complicated part will not be 100% converted into solidworks even if they are saved with the extensions. I do it all day happens more than 5 times a day for us print step files that were created in inventor and trying to get them recognized 100% with solidworks.
