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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Autodesk Inventor

    Score8.2 out of 10
    N/AAutodesk Inventor 3D CAD software offers professional-grade 3D mechanical design, documentation, and product simulation tools. These blend parametric, direct, freeform, and rules-based design capabilities. Inventor includes integrated tools for sheet metal, frame design, tube and pipe, cable & harness, presentations, rendering, simulation, and machine design. It also features TrustedDWG® compatibility and Model-Based Definition capabilities for embedding manufacturing information directly in…

    $300

    12 days over 1 year via Flex pricing 100 tokens

    Simcenter STAR-CCM+

    Score9.5 out of 10
    N/ASimcenter, from Siemens, is a suite of simulation tools and software. STAR-CCM+ is a multiphysics computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to study how products operate under real-world conditions.N/A
    Pricing
    Autodesk InventorSimcenter STAR-CCM+
    Editions & Modules
    Subscription - Monthly
    $305
    per month per user
    Subscription - Yearly
    $2440
    per year per user
    Subscription - 3 Years
    $7320
    3 years per user
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Autodesk InventorSimcenter STAR-CCM+
    Free Trial
    YesYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsAlso available for limited use through tokens on a Flex plan.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Autodesk InventorSimcenter STAR-CCM+
    Considered Both Products
    Autodesk
    No answer on this topic
    Siemens AG
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    88%
    Would buy again
    15 Answers
    100%
    Would buy again
    14 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    15 Answers
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    9 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    17 Answers
    93%
    Happy with the feature set
    13 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    10 Answers
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    11 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    94%
    Implementation went as expected
    15 Answers
    91%
    Implementation went as expected
    10 Answers
    Features
    Autodesk InventorSimcenter STAR-CCM+
    Computer-Aided Design Software
    Comparison of Computer-Aided Design Software features of Autodesk Inventor and Simcenter STAR-CCM+
    Feature
    Autodesk Inventor
    7.6
    3 Ratings
    2% above category average
    Simcenter STAR-CCM+
    -
    Ratings
    3D Modeling8.13 Ratings00 Ratings
    2D Drafting7.73 Ratings00 Ratings
    Rendering and Visualization7.83 Ratings00 Ratings
    Parametric Design7.93 Ratings00 Ratings
    Collaboration and Sharing4.33 Ratings00 Ratings
    Compatibility with other software and formats7.93 Ratings00 Ratings
    Assembly Design7.83 Ratings00 Ratings
    Simulation and Analysis8.53 Ratings00 Ratings
    Documentation and Annotation7.83 Ratings00 Ratings
    Customization and Extensions7.93 Ratings00 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Autodesk InventorSimcenter STAR-CCM+
    Small Businesses
    Onshape
    Score6.4 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    Medium-sized Companies
    Onshape
    Score6.4 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    Enterprises
    PTC Creo
    Score7.6 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Autodesk InventorSimcenter STAR-CCM+
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.0
    (28 ratings)
    9.5
    (14 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    9.2
    (2 ratings)
    7.3
    (1 ratings)
    Usability
    8.0
    (2 ratings)
    7.3
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.1
    (12 ratings)
    9.5
    (8 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    6.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    7.3
    (1 ratings)
    Configurability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Autodesk InventorSimcenter STAR-CCM+
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Autodesk
    Autodesk Inventor is a great tool for students and faculty for engineering areas that don't require great precision or development of more thorough scientific results. Is you are conducting research, or deal with very intricate and complex systems I would recommend a more robust platform that complies more to industry standards.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Siemens AG
    A case where you are interested in modeling various physics such as
    Aerodynamics,
    Hydrodynamics, Heat Transfer & Thermal Management, Multiphase Flow, Fluid-Structure
    Interaction (FSI), Combustion & Reacting Flows, Aeroacoustics, Electrochemistry, and Electromagnetics. STARCCM+ is recommended. But if your interest is complex Structural dynamics, durability, or Motion analysis, etc. better to go with other tools.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Autodesk
    • The program is very good at simplicity. Each of the buttons, menus, and options has an explanation of exactly what the feature does, and even a more advanced description if you desire to learn more about what each one does.
    • Autodesk Inventor is a very fast program. Everything renders extremely quickly and there are no delays when examining a 3D model, part, or assembly. This is especially useful when giving a presentation about a product or design, and you need to be able to show a concept to an audience in real time.
    • The software has an extremely accurate simulation feature that lets users do stress analysis on a 3D model. It can calculate precisely where the stress concentrations are going to be in a particular model and even give you an accurate depiction of where the part could likely fracture and/or fracture during loading.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Siemens AG
    • Meshing is very easy to do in STAR CCM+
    • Post-processing results is also very intuitive, making extracting results very enjoyable and easy to use.
    • The Advanced rendering options that are available in STAR CCM+ can really help make very well-generated videos that can make the simulation easy to visualize, share with non-technical engineers, and showcase the study done.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Autodesk
    • most if it still runs on a single core. Please fix this
    • Crashes. In our experience, too many crashes. We have high end machines and crashes are way too common.
    • Autosave. I think it is simply unacceptable that Autodesk Inventor combines common crashes with no autosave functionality. We feel this pain all the time.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Siemens AG
    • Maybe a little bit on the automation side and if you want to script something, if you want to automate procedures, that happens through every simulation round that you have. That part could be a little bit cumbersome right now, depending on the operating system that you use.
    • Introducing the software on other platforms like Mac OSS.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Autodesk
    Inventor continues to meet our enterprise needs. I don't see a need to change unless we change our business model significantly.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Siemens AG
    No answers on this topic
    Usability
    Autodesk
    It is quite user-friendly as long as you have the computing power to download and use it. However, this makes it quite inconvenient if you are trying to access files on different devices, as Inventor has to be loaded on all of those devices. While the program itself works just fine, it would be much better for my application if it, or a version, were web-based and allowed users to access and modify projects from anywhere.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Siemens AG
    Great single window GUI
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Autodesk
    I think the support for Autodesk Inventor is very good. The staff at our reseller were very knowledgable and able to walk us through problems pretty easily. The training we received was very good also. I will say that there were a couple of times we reached out to support with a question or challenge we had, and the support agent was not able to resolve our problem, and after touching base back we found out that there was not a solution for the problems we were experiencing. One of them was just how Inventor represents colors inconsistently at times, all things being equal. Another was that Inventor would not let decals on parts transcend to the assembly level. they just would not show up.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Siemens AG
    STAR CCM+ technical support was very quick to respond when a ticket was raised for issues. For support in setting up a test case for the Lagrangian particle tracking technique, a support assist agent was assigned immediately, and after having a detailed discussion, my problem was understood by them, and a suitable test case was shared, which I was able to understand and use to build my case.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    In-Person Training
    Autodesk
    I got the training during college, so mostly i learned on my own
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Siemens AG
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation Rating
    Autodesk
    No answers on this topic
    Siemens AG
    It is super easy when it comes to implementing it.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Autodesk
    When it comes to solid modeling, the bad choices died out years ago. So we looked at the total ecosystem and chose Autodesk Inventor because of the integration with Nastran, HSM (machining), Autodesk CFD, MoldFlow, and AutoCAD. This means our legacy data (2D) is still a valid part of our design methodologies going forward, and we have the full breadth of engineering tools at our disposal. Other solutions in this space have similar offerings but not nearly as potent of a portfolio in total. It's worth saying that we do not consider Inventor in the same space as CATIA or NX, but that the entire Autodesk portfolio (e.g. Alias, PowerMill, etc) includes a total toolset that exceeds these industry giants.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Siemens AG
    Competitive tools, both Fluent and STARCCM+, but the user interface and ease of learning, along with everything in a single interface, and a wide variety of proven physics capabilities, along with good scalability and automation, made the choice easy for me. Also, the user guide and tutorials available to explore various kinds of Physics capability, and A single license for access to all physics, also made it easy.
    Incentivized
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    Return on Investment
    Autodesk
    • Working on a project designed with Inventor provides a modular design platform that can quickly be configured or changed as required. This allows for the quick turn around time for the design and revision of drawings.
    • We've used Inventor over the years (since 2013) and the updates and newly released versions of Inventor do not require re-training or restrict use.
    • Autodesk follows an intuitive approach and users or designers who have worked on other design platforms like SolidWorks can transition easily to Inventor.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Siemens AG
    • Time saved in creating a inhouse code, tens and tens of hours.
    • Time saved in experimental setup, tens of hours.
    • Does add some time in testing to confirm star is doing what you think it's doing, but an overall net gain in productivity.
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Simcenter STAR-CCM+ Screenshots

    Screenshot of Multiphysics Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulationScreenshot of Car aerodynamics CFD simulationScreenshot of Integrated Design Exploration and OptimizationScreenshot of Fully integrated CFD based topology optimizationScreenshot of Multiphysics CFD - Electric Motor CoolingScreenshot of Multiphase Flows