ETAP, headquartered in Irvine, offers ETAP PS, their suite of power system modeling. simulation and optimization software, supporting power management, grid transmission analysis, and other electrical systems.
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SOLIDWORKS
Score 8.2 out of 10
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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.
ETAP is highly recommended for evaluating static conditions in electrical power systems, whether in high or medium complexity networks. For example, study of load flow, analysis of frequency harmonics.
On the other hand, I would not recommend ETAP for the simulation of highly complex control systems that require a dynamic analysis of the variables.
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 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.
ETAP PS is really easy to use. When recreating the power system to be simulated, it is easy to obtain a result close to reality due to the multiple components offered in the interface. As for the electrical studies available, they are simple to execute and require really little configuration to make them work, always offering a wide variety of options to adjust the program to the simulation of the desired condition.
Sometimes when the program crashes for a random reason, it is difficult to find a direct solution to the problem. I think better documentation is needed for this type of case. Still, more and more people are sharing their work on the web, making it easier to orient yourself when these issues occur.
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.
Simulink allows to analyze and simulate different variables with respect to time in an electric power system, but it is more focused on visual programming On the other hand, ETAP is better designed for static simulation of power systems, offering options and studies in a very more direct and easier to execute.
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
