Paul,
You guys have it wrong with SolidWorks. You own it once you buy
it. The
annual fees are for updates and ongoing tech support. If you don't
pay the
annual subscription, you just don't get the updates or the new
versions when
they come out, but your serial number is licensed forever.
Are you getting new versions of Rhino every year with quarterly
updates and
unlimited tech support for free?

Granted, the learning curve is steep, but the surfaces capability in
SolidWorks 2010 is outstanding for doing very complex shapes with very
smooth transitions.
If someone is willing to spend the time to learn solidworks, it is
far more
powerful than the other systems out there at the same price.
I make my living designing, and if there was a more powerful
system for less
money....... I would have found it.
I am sure Jarret will agree....

Larry

Linux is a bargain. Cost me $16 dollars and I am getting automatic
updatesonce a week. SW is way too rich for my blood :)

Paul Lamar


Larry, I do.. I do..   :) It isn't a cheap program but it is also a highly diverse product
that meets many different demands. What other program out there can go from
mechanical design to pipe cad w/ parametric's as well as electronic's layout, and wiring
schematics,  organic surface design and consumer products mold design w/ internal
Plastic flow, along w/ full rendering and motion animation not to mention FEA and CFD
for the same price tag.. it's expensive but you get alot for the price..

Some of the new surfacing abilities are functions to which I've never seen anything compare..

Take a 3 or 'n' surface model that has a center void grab three or more edges and it fills the void
and does C2 surface continuation from the neighbouring surfaces.. you can't see the joint.. it's
seemless..  I've seen alot of surface 'stitching' or 'pinching' in other CAD programs models that
are just not there in a SW model.. it is fairly easy to get a Class A surface that is Class A
across all joints and mating surfaces when using SW. This is pretty tough to do w/ out the right
tools.  I've machined several molds now that go from the mill straight to the mold room and w/ a
simple polish are then pulling parts..

You can see the surface smoothness in a machined part like that... The proof in in the pudding..
Btw, I built the hull parts for a world record setting kayak about 2 yrs ago.. the software enabled
me to machine a surface which was basically impossible to produce by hand. The small details
matter in stuff like that, but to the un-experianced eye most people don't see it when they look at
a CAD model..

Love my SolidWorks tooo  :)

Jarrett