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By Design News Staff -- Design News, November 22, 2004
Keep it simple
I read the CAD review (DN 09.13.04 http://rbi.ims.ca/3859-531 ), in your comparison you didn't cover the "creative" process—in which the designer tries many variations of a design before committing to one. Ashlar-Vellum has a product called Cobalt that is fairly inexpensive, easy to use, and easy to come back to if you haven't worked on it in a while. The best part is that it allows you to sculpt using solids or surfaces so you can create odd shapes. I think you need to look at this product. Engineers typically don't work much on CAD as I see from my experience. It is too expensive for companies to pay to have an engineer learn CAD and then sit at a workstation for hours on end. The actual detailing gets farmed out to designer draftsmen who know how to "CAD" but don't necessarily know how to design parts, or, more importantly, cannot see opportunities for improving the design. The best ideas come while working on details yourself. End results: 1) The engineer takes a back seat in the design process, which makes them frustrated that they don't get to do what they went to school for; and 2) CAD can make bad designs look good. Hence, a program that is simple to use by engineers is what is most important.
Mark Bilitz, Minneapolis
More than enough
I use both Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire and SolidWorks 2003, and there is no contest for usability. SolidWorks wins hands-down every time. It may not have everything. But for most companies, it has more than enough.
John Hoogendoorn, Melbourne,
Australia
What about IronCAD?
I was surprised that your list of vendors did not include IronCAD, which I use for product design and mechanical assemblies in my company. Like the others, it would have a check mark next to most of the features, and there are a few that should've been included—but were not. One is what kernel does the software rely on? With IronCAD, you can choose either ACIS or Parasolid. Also, does it have a 2D documentation package? Yes, IC also has that although you can get Innovate if you don't need it. Another feature that seems to always come up in the 3D world is, "Does it have a variable radius tool?" Answer is 'YES! Of course, there are many more qualities like "ease of use" that you just need to read about or actually try it out. To see more features, go to www.ironcad.com/product/IronCADV7/IronCAD7.htm. For a free 60-day trial, go to www.ironcad.com/product/trialdownload. So, I'm just saying that I'm a very satisfied user of IronCAD, and designers should evaluate the capabilities of this software package before choosing any of them.
Don Petracek, Santa Rosa, CA
Paul E. Teague's response: Also not included, besides Ashlar and IronCAD, was thinkdesign from think3 Inc. (www.think3.com). It is a 3D CAD product that the company says is designed specifically for midsize companies. It includes capabilities for integrated sheet metal, large-assembly management, and a PDM foundation. But, as with the other packages profiled, it's best to know how much functionality you really need, and then benchmark or run tests with all the alternative packages available that relate to your needs. Check out other readers' comments and post your own at http://rbi.ims.ca/3854-558.
More Polymer Bearings
In the Ask The Search Engineer column (DN 09.13.04), a reader asked for recommendations on polymer or ceramic bearing manufacturers. Specifically, he needed a bearing for idler sprockets or rolls in ovens reaching temperatures of 350-500F. One manufacturer was suggested, but I want Design News readers to know that there are other options out there. It would be a benefit to engineers to provide more than one recommendation when this type of question is posed. Our company, igus Inc. (www.igus.com), makes a couple of different polymer bearings that can sustain such temperatures, and our iglide Z plastic bearings can endure high speeds, both linear and rotating, in addition to handling high temperatures.
Tom Miller, Igus Inc.
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