[quote=RogerM;64634]Solid works is fast becoming the standard in the Automotive industry. The company I work for is one of the largest component suppliers in the automotive scene and all the sub suppliers and all of the customers my business devision work with all use Solidworks as their 3D modling package.
Not sure what company you work for but Tier 1 suppliers tend to use the same CAD system as their customer for data compatibility i.e. Benteler would have IDEAS seats for a Ford project, CATIA seats for a Renault project etc. I've never seen any Solidworks data after 10 years in the iindustry so can't agree it's becoming a standard. However with CAD translation tools getting better all the time, converting data between software isn't the problem it used to be so perhaps things have moved on since I used to sit in front of a workstation.
Catia/Pro-E/NX etc tend to be used by bigger companies because of their ability to incorporate tools for change control/BoM generation/FEA/tolerance analysis/3D visualisation etc. The comments about these programs being too complicated and for weirdos with too much time are true if you sit at home playing with CAD or work for a small company, however with licenses costing tens of thousands of pounds that's not the market these CAD programs are aiming at. They are designed for companies creating large assemblies such as planes with 15,000 components and 100's of suppliers all contributing data.
They all fairly easy to pick up if you have any CAD experience, although not in the same league as say Solidworks for ease of use. To get an RC reference in, it's like the difference between a RTR and full blown race kit - both have the same basic function however one needs more knowledge and skill, but ultimately offers superior performance.
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