Paul,I will have to get my wife to show me about the windows explorer
features. I use it as a filing cabinet to shift files around and
exportdrawngs to a CD. I was unaware of it's other uses. I have
XP home on one
computer ans XP professional with the nemesis titan overwrite on
the cad
computer. This internet computer is Vista and works well unlike
the first
Vista which was awful. It is constantly getting updates over the
internet.
I am reading the manual in Catia currently and find the drawing style
similar to solidworks without all the extra files for everything.
It is
similar to autocad 2010 in that the parametric relations and
constraints are
mostly created in the background as you dray whereas solidworks
requires you
to do that also. Both catia and solidworks use multiple line
colors on the
screen to show what level of constraint each line has. Autocad
does all the
parametric constraints without operator input and will run with
everyhing on
a layer the same color.Catia also requires constructing drawing
planes to
construct lines on where that is optional on autocad. I downloaded
what I
hope is the manual for Rhino V4 but can't open the rar file
extension which
is an alternative compressed file.I have bought a lot of software
to open
files and refuse to buy anothe. If people can't use one of the
hundreds of
current formats I am just not interested in their products. I may
buy a
Rhino book on Ebay to evaluate their system as I did with
solidworks, catia
and autocad. As it stands autocad is lightyears ahead of the other
contenders. Instead of twenty pages of sketch commands it has 800
pages of
drawing commands only 50 of which I actually use.All the systems
require an
add on to get usable finite element analysis or fluid dynamics.

george grimes

I want to see some ACAD renderings.

Paul Lamar

I'm certainly not trying to start a "this is better than that" argument. I've not run
Acad2010 but I am running SolidWorks and I would say w/ great confidence that
There is modeling abiliity in Acad that is better than SW.

As Paul has noted I'd like to see a ACAD rendering or 3D model which is as detailed
as a SolidWorks model, yet is parametric and renderable. I very much doubt that it can
be drawn as quickly as a SW model, or a Rhino model for that matter.

There is no question that these 3D modelers have a steep learning curve, but once your
over the hump the power is unbelievable.

I've attached a couple snap shots of model's that I had on this computer. Btw, the fuselage
shape on that plane is driven by ~85 equations all driven from a set of controling sketches.
I'm able to control the corner curvature of the model simply by dragging those controling
sketches.

Fwiw

Jarrett


__Hi Jarret

I bought a IMSI Design Cad V18 to design my project and i wondering if i should use the
Solidworks program .

Tell me how much is this cad program and where i can purchase it if you recommend it.

The shape of my project will be similar to the fuselage you had send below
but with swept wing and strake and small winglet.

From the program could you use the sketch and work from it.

I been working on reduction gear design and using the carbon fiber
tubing for prop drive shaft and drive shaft between engine and gearbox.

 Jean Prudhomme