AutoCAD is a CAD product from Autodesk. It allows designers to work in 2D and 3D, and is available on Windows and Mac, but with extensive online collaboration tools.
$245
per month
SOLIDWORKS
Score 8.1 out of 10
N/A
Dassault Systemes offers SOLIDWORKS, a computer-aided design (CAD) system for education and manufacturing supporting 2D or 3D design, electrical design, simulations, and product development with collaboration tools.
AutoCAD has been around for over 30 years. AutoCAD was one of the first CAD programs that ran on a PC. Intergraph ran off a mainframe until MicroStation came in a PC version at a later date. By this time, AutoCAD had a market on smaller companies because of the cost and colleges …
We use SOLIDWORKS almost exclusively, mainly for 3D modeling and simulation efforts. We cannot use AutoCAD drawings for the engineering work we need to accomplish for our products without a 3D add in - the main benefit to AutoCAD over SOLIDWORKS is that SOLIDWORKS does not do …
AutoCAD is improving day by day and update by update. Making their [features] smooth and more [efficient] with every update and it is very efficient in the things that it does. [The] functions that they provide are very useful and easy to use. [The] interface of AutoCAD is …
Verified User
Engineer
Chose AutoCAD
AutoCAD is still the top choice although the software subscription is more on the costly side. Time saved on every mouse stroke justifies the value of AutoCAD. After using AutoCAD for a while, other competitors' less expensive copycat versions feel very inefficient and not …
AutoCAD is definitely a more robust program than DraftSight. It provides much more stable features and flexibility with configuring the program. The support is much better as well, both from the official Autodesk support but also from community groups online. This is mainly to …
Modeling 2D structures in AutoCAD is more straight forward and easier to start with than other products above, and online tutorials of AutoCAD are everywhere.
AutoCAD is better than both of these programs because it is cheaper, simpler, and a smaller program. It also makes it easier to print files you draw straight to a laser cutter, shopbot, or other shop machine. Fusion 360 is a great program for 3D drawings, but it does not …
National Field Representative Coordinator (volunteer)
Chose SOLIDWORKS
Solidworks & Inventor are actually pretty evenly matched in terms of design & modeling capability. I will say in my experience that Solidworks is easier to learn the basics of 3d modeling on but at the advanced level both are very capable pieces of software. Inventor has the …
While AutoCAD really shines as a 2D drawing software I believe that the quality produced with SOdefinitelydefinetly outperforms AutoCAD for 3D designing and modelling. While SOLIDWORKS is not an easy software to use (as I have already mentioned) its 3D modeling tools are …
SOLIDWORKS has the advantage on Autodesk Inventor due to the amount of users and support that SOLIDWORKS has. The help you receive from resellers and 3DS themselves is much better. Also the other users on the internet in community forums provide a wider range of solutions. The …
AutoCAD, in many ways, still looks and feels like you are designing something in the 1980's. It definitely caters more to the generation of people who are used to drafting. SOLIDWORKS is much more visually appealing, which counts for a lot when you will have lots of engineers …
SOLIDWORKS seems to be the choice from my engineers in terms of the 3D aspect vs AutoCAD. If the software meets the needs of the users, I try not to change things.
Creo is basically focusing on pure solid 3D modeling, while on the other hand the SOLIDWORKS' modeling approach is more parametric type and it is suiting for my purpose of use. Easy to use interface of SOLIDWORKS as compared to Creo. Features are easy to use. Just one click …
In many scenarios, SolidWorks and Inventor actually compare fairly evenly to each other. However, I believe that where SolidWorks really stands out is the fact that it was designed from the start as a 3D parametric solid modeling application whereas Inventor comes from a …
SOLIDWORKS is simple to use and new users become proficient in a short amount of time. Operation is intuitive and with the aid of the built-in tutorials, most of the skills required for day-to-day use become second nature. The ability to collaborate and communicate ideas to …
SOLIDWORKS provides not only aesthetic appearance of a product but also provides the capability to analyze behavior of structural and material components.
SOLIDWORKS is better in terms of design speed of 3D parts. It is also better for pieces of high technical detail. Other CAD programs do not have a simulation of forces, SOLIDWORKS does. The user interfaces are, in my opinion, friendlier and easier to use than other programs. In …
I have always preferred SOLIDWORKS, but may be partial because it was the original program I learned to do 3D modeling with and the only one I had any formal education in. I think the products overall are fairly similar and the preference for either is going to fall into …
We chose SOLIDWORKS based on previous experience and relationship with the authorized vendor, as well as internal experience in SOLIDWORKS already existing with some of the engineering base. Cost, value and ease of implementation also were factors that led us to make the …
I think AutoCAD is great for creating precise site plans that show the layout of buildings, roads, parking lots, and other features on a piece of land. you can use it for designing roads and highways, including lane configurations, intersections, signage, and pavement markings, as well as for designing utility systems like water, sewer, and stormwater drainage. Engineers can create detailed layouts and profiles for these systems. However, I think it is less appropriate for advanced 3D modelling tasks compared to dedicated 3D modelling software, BIM (Building Information Modelling), advanced geospatial analysis.
As a mechanical engineer, it is one of the best tools to just start modeling and engineering with. The UI tools are intuitive and engineering analysis such Mold Analysis, FEA, are great! Other 3D CAD modeling tools have a longer learning curve to master. All in all, if you're not planning to design an entire airplane with large assembly files, then Solidworks is your tool!
The tools are easy to use and the learning curve is fairly minimal to be able to create blueprints.
The 3D application is very fun to use and it is nice to be able to see your product instead of having to imagine what it will look like.
The speed and accuracy in which students can create plans is a huge bonus. Students can plan their industrial art projects out and use their own set of plans to build them.
The collaborative work environment is a cool and useful feature where groups of people can work on the same model at the same time, and SOLIDWORKS ensures that you don't overwrite each other's work.
The ease and amount of customization options are very useful for creating a personalized and intuitive user interface, whether SOLIDWORKS is your native CAD package or not.
It is very easy to quickly edit a model you have already created. The software allows sketch and feature editing without having to take the time to actually enter the sketch/feature environment.
The use of configurations and configurations-specific dimensions in the same sketch is very useful for creating different forms of the same part
Save DWG 2D files in inches or metric easily, defaults to metric and has to be manually converted to inches
When using the sketch feature, the ability to disable ALL references. If I don't know the exact shape and I want to draw/adapt my design, it harshly interprets the references which have no value to me. The easiest exact is to think about when you have a Microsoft Word document that has a lot of formatting, photos, tabs, etc. If you accidentally hit the "enter" key, you can explode the formatting and everything goes crazy. SW does this to me, I just want to "doodle" my sketches, edit/delete/etc and not be bound by arbitrary references.
For the sketch feature, ability to use a DraftSight plugin of some sort. I'm super fast in DS, if I could draw using the commands in SW then I would probably never open DS again and convert to SW full time. Currently, I only use SW as a way to convert 3D files so I can build everything in DraftSight.
Because rarely we [would] rather wait for a whole year to update, sometimes the new updates don't bring many new features and we are still ok with the current version. Also the change of interface is always something that takes time for every partner in the company to get comfortable with. So those are the main reasons we may want to keep the same version.
Is an extremely usefull and accurate software , yo certainly can do almost every task requiered to document a project drawings and specifications , the only is that to be confortable with it you need a little of practice and to be familiarized with the commands and the core functioning to get expected results.
AutoCAD has the issue of crashing or slowing down the design procedure once a heavy design that includes several disciplines or multiple families/blocks is involved. Customer services gets the feedback from the crash reports but this issue seems like it has never been addressed in the software updates past several years.
We have an unusual arrangement. We don’t pay for support, but we’re partnered with a VAR for second-tier support.
I work with other users if I have questions but when we’ve had to ask the VAR, they always have answers. It appears that all of the VARs have access to a support platform from DS SOLIDWORKS that helps them answer most questions.
the implementation was realy easy , to set up our workstation we pay for the licenses we are about to use , there was a little bit of delay to get the payment processed to receive the serial but after that the install runs without any problem , so you can fell secure there will be not issue with the implementation.
I have experience with Autodesk Maya, and am familiar with their user interface with creating 3D objects. AutoCAD while from the same family, requires a steeper learning curve and more in-depth knowledge of the software.
I have experience with this software because it is the industry standard in the jobs that I applied to, and was required to the company that I interviewed for. Part of the interview process was a proof-of-work test to create a mock solution for a client, which would demonstrate knowledge and skill with using AutoCAD.
I have little experience with CorelCAD, but I found AutoCAD to be more in-depth with your options and what you could create.
Onshape is a direct competitor. It has great entry level pricing and it is easy to access with no installation required. Being a web based app there is sometime some lag being based in NZ. Management also have concerns over where the data is stored on the cloud. With SW we can control where it is stored
AutoCAD has helped our smaller firm produce lots of finished products matching that of a much larger size firm. With its many features, we have been able to do so much more and meet deadlines that much faster.
Since we do use AutoCAD, we're able to work with many other engineering firms to collaborate together to complete various building projects.
We have many clients now who expect us to provide for them at the end of a project not just printed construction drawings but also the digital AutoCAD drawing so they can in turn use it for future modifications themselves.