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

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Copyright 1998-2009 All world wide rights reserved.

Jean, star out with the operatos manuel for the various programs which you
can find on ebay at about $40 each. You are looking for a 3D program with a
loft command which makes the smooth surfacecs and solids  between two or
more cross sections. The programs are expensive. solidworks about $2950,
rhino v4 about $850 and catia v5(similar to solidworks) and autocad are more
expensive. You buy them on the internet, found by entering the name.com
such as rhinocerous.com

There are student licences available for all the
programs under $300 for a one year licence also found on ebay or a
university book store. If you go this route each years repurchase keeps you
in the latest release. Don't get the low end versions such as autocad LT or
2004 because these are basially 2D programs that let you assemble solids in
3D but don't do a loft or render. All 4 of these programs do parametric
design. This lets you sketch something and drag the elements on screen
changing the geometry with all the line or solids staying conncted. This is
the basis for testing and amimating linkages such as retractable gear to see
how the parts move.

There are other programs such a alibre design  and proE
(pro engineer) at lower prices but I have not reserched them. Alibre is
normally $999 but due to my internet searches for cad software  got an email
frome alibre with a $99 limited time offer. CAM (computer aided machining)
is done by converting the drawn solids into a code to run the milling
machine, router, lathe etc. This is an add on package to the cad programs at
about $1500, and the finite element analysis, also an ad on is more
expensive. There are  stand alone analysis programs such as Femap-Nastran
(for FEA) which let you analyze composie laminte structures with  different
fiber orientations  and show the stresses as a color output overlay of the
parts. Program such as Fluent analyze the flow of fluids in and around
objects and output speed and presure of the fluid. As far as cad programs go
almost eveybody likes rhino and the original version 1 has loft commands,
they are now on version 4.

The rest of the world is intensly loyal to either
solid works or autocad and it is like oil and water or cats and dogs etc. I
learned on autocad esigning wooworking equipment and really like their user
interface, huge list and variation of drawing commands and mathmatical
underpinnings. The users of solidworks are just as loyal, and many machine
shops are running solidworks.They import my autocad drawings into their
solidworks and make the parts.

I can't import solid works native files, but
they can be converted to dxk,3ds,stl etc which I can import.If you like
installing linux on a computer you will probably like solidworks. If you
like winows XP you may preffer autocad 2010. I would suggest getting manuals
on these two programs on ebay and compare them on drawing commands, lofting
capabilities, import and export formats, and their rendering capability. I
use about 20 commands regularly and having read the 1400 page manual a few
times am aware of much of what is available  but not on the onscreen
toolbars if I need to use it.You will often see Rhino renderings in the
newsletter and this is obviously a very capable program although I don't
know if there is  add on FEA or CAM modules available from Rhino.

george grimes