Solidworks Vs Pro Engineer

Frankieboy

Im just wondering peoples (that would have used both of these) opinions on these two programmes. So which one would you prefer or you think is best? Id prefer to use Solidworks but have been told Pro engineer is much more powerful, which I believe, but can be a pain trying to get some things to work.

dave2pvd

In mech eng design, SolidWorks seems to be becoming the standard. Like AutoCAD used to be. At least that's what I'm seeing happen over here.

TimG

have used both, SW is prob the market leader at the moment, most small design companies use SW nowadays, the full proe package is suppose 2 be very expensive. At the moment I'm mainly using proe, its defo slower than SW, you need more mouse clicks to do simple things and the middle mouse button is the main select button which is a pain in the ass. TBH, I don't think there is anything really extra on proe, it certainly isn't "much more powerful". I would look at SW first, and only go with proe if there is something that you need which isn't in the SW package.

Solid edge is another very good package, but from what i hear it is also very expensive.

slickmcvic

I'm an engineering teacher in 2nd level and its gonna be announced very shortly what PArametric modelling package will be used for the new Design & communiciation Graphics Leaving cert course.....Personally I'm rooting for solidworks Over ProE,Inventor & Solid Edge!!

Nukem

ProE has it advanages but as mentioned it is one finicky mofo. Havent used it in ages but rememeber late hours working due to its awkwardness. Would lean towards SW.

gucci

I used SW in college but use ProE in my work. have to agree that SW is a simplier package to use and offers more in the basic package than pro E, the tools that make pro E "more powerful" seem to be all add on packages?? not too sure. the wildfire 3 version of pro E is alot better than older ones although be warned the 64 bit version dosnt give you the option to write pdfs which is a real nusicence!!:mad: but the matings and stuff for assemblies are alot easier to use in wildfire 3 than older ones

gucci

does anyone use photo rendering software?? do they have communication difficulites with either SW or Pro E?

annemarie09

It usually turns out that if you learned 3D Modelling using Pro/E, then you are going to root for Pro/E and it does not really matter what package you have used subsequently. The same goes for the rest of the other package users. I have come across many people like this. One big big factor that Pro/E has going for it is that the file size that it creates is very small in comparision. This helps a lot with the hardware side of things and therefore will have an impact on hardware costs in a design office for example.
(It would be interesting if people specified what Modelling package there learned on first, while also giving their opinion to the question - I learned on Pro/E.)

annemarie09

TimG wrote: »

...you need more mouse clicks to do simple things and the middle mouse button is the main select button which is a pain in the ass. ....

Anyone designing using a solid Modelling package should not be clicking that much anymore. I don't know if you are using a spacial controller already or not, but you definitely should be. I use the Astroid from Spatial Freedom and it is the cats pajamas. I tested quite a few, and when it came to selecting one, the astroid stood above the rest when it came to value for money. Always test before you buy though.

Flying Abruptly

I was taught Pro/E in college but the company I did my 9 month work experience with used Solidworks so I taught myself how to use it (not that difficult because the basics are the same).

I much prefer Solidworks as its alot more user friendly in terms of creating parts, assemblies and drawings. The basic packages does eveything (and more) that the Solidworks one can but is presented in a much simpler fashion. The toolbox and hole wizards are excellent features. The only bit that I prefer in Pro/E is the Assembly module which has better options for making mates for moving parts.

Offy

I used ProE in college and Solidworks in work. I find Solidworks easier to use and also quicker. I have no problems with animations, FEA, etc. in either packages. If you find either packages difficult then try using AutoCAD's AME!

peter_de_tool

Pro/E is generally more stable, more configurable,and is not built using closed third party libraries so therefore more secure. Pro/E is also much more capable when dealing with large assemblies. This is where SW really sucks.

Larger companies/corporates tend to prefer Pro/E or Catia, since they need their CAD/PLM system to communicate with databases, accounting software and other stuff running on Unix Boxes. SW will meet the requirements of small job shops but If your planning on designing a car, a jet liner it is probably not a good idea to use SW.

Zodiacc

Ive used both and to be honest I do find SW easier to figure out. Pro E was like rocket science at the start with 2000i but has improved especially with Wildfire. SW has taken all that was awkward with Pro E and simplified it. It all depends on what you are using it for. Eg: Wildfire Sheetmetal is much better than SW sheetmetal but SW solid modelling is easier to comprehend than Proe E 2001 and back.Again it all depends on what you are using it for and which version. Pro E were the fore-runners though.

dooleygav

Pro-E big advantage is the add on of the Mechanica which allows FEA to be done....


Solidworks is a great package though in my opinion, very simple to use and can be self thought

Turbulent Bill

dooleygav wrote: »

Pro-E big advantage is the add on of the Mechanica which allows FEA to be done....


Solidworks is a great package though in my opinion, very simple to use and can be self thought

SolidWorks also has an add-on FE package (COSMOSWorks) - you get a very basic version with the standard installation. I didn't think this was powerful enough for any practical work, but it's well-integrated with SW, so maybe the full version is good.

In my experience, combined design/analysis packages are never as good as dedicated packages - features are always missing from one of the other. I'd be more concerned about the export quality and options of the design software (IGES, STEP etc.) so you have a choice of analysis options.

Red Alert

One common enough FEA package is COMSOL and that seems to have a very tight link available with SolidWorks.

Granny Lover

I'm a 3rd year in college studying mechanical engineering and Solidworks is the way forward that is what they are teaching us anyway