Top CAD Software Used by Professional Engineers

[ank_gl]

CAD software?

which CAD software is mostly used by professional engineers?
i have worked on UGS NX3, Dassault Systems solid works, Dassault System Catia V5R16, PTC Pro E.
i work really well on NX3 and catia(according to me only, though), not much on solid works and i am currently going through Pro E. i haven't ever used any autodesk software like autocad or inventor(though i have inventor).

so which software is mostly used by professional engineers? and this sounds silly, which one is more advantageous to learn(i know the standard answer)??

 

[LazyLlama]

I think AutoCAD is the most popular, at least from what I've heard.

 

[ank_gl]

but some profs. and seniors said you better work on catia or pro E.
ok as you say it, the most popular is autocad. is it most commonly used in the industry also?

 

[caslav.ilic]

Of what I've seen so far in the mech industry/research, it was all the way either ProE (used it for some time in my previous work place, when we were also getting ProE stuff from Siemens), or Catia (where I work now, it's the norm in cooperations with Airbus).

It was indeed during my university days that we mostly used AutoCAD, but I think it was because of its great "availability". Unless it has drastically changed in the last 5 years since I've last used it, it is simply a different category of tool compared to ProE/Catia. And, although haggling over prices at these levels is fiercer than on an Istanbul's marketplace, the price difference between them is like order of magnitude...

--
Chusslove Illich (Часлав Илић)

 

[ank_gl]

thanks Chuss.
actually computer engineering students and electronics students are taught autocad in our college. so general thinking goes like "oh u better do pro E or catia then autocad". i don't know but its like this only. i have never practiced autocad although i once won a prize in designing competition using autocad. it just took me 15 minutes to familiarize with the tools there(i have kinda good enough knowledge of NX3 and catia).
availability is not an issue, i can get it from college.
i personally like NX3 the most(maybe coz of my longest experience with it) and then catia.

 

[FredGarvin]

In the states, it's a draw between Pro-E, Solidworks and Catia. I use both Pro-E and AutoCAD. I like AutoCAD because it is way easier and faster to do all of my preliminary concept cross sections in AutoCAD.

 

[ice109]

why can't there just be an industry standard

 

[FredGarvin]

why can't there just be an industry standard

There is no way that every engineering company would agree to one package. Every company has different needs. Plus, if there was an accepted standard, there would be no competition and no real driving force behind innovation. There would be no negotiation possibilities on the part of the consumers since there would be a monopoly.

Design standards do exist in terms of actual hardware components but how they get put on paper and analyzed is up to the individual company.

 

[TheRyan]

I've used both Autodesk Inventor Professional and AutoCAD in school, both of which I think are great. I've also played with TurboCAD, which I didn't like much. There was a teacher I had a while back who said Inventor was made "idiot-proof", which is pretty much true.

It's probably one of the best programs for making prototype assemblies in a short period of time, accurately, and still be able to make changes if need be. That said, it's also over $5,000 for a single-user license...

 

[SRode]

I found in designing that solidworks is a lot more stable than ProE. I only used autocad for 2d work, but friends in surgical engineering said autodesk inventor is standard at this time, but everyone is moving towards solidworks.

 

[FredGarvin]

I found in designing that solidworks is a lot more stable than ProE.

I have never had a single issue with the stability of Pro-E.

 

[ank_gl]

what does stability mean in designing??

 

[FredGarvin]

I am assuming stability is a reference in the software sense, not a design sense. A stable platform implies a well operating software package with no quirks or unexpected shutdowns or results. I am sure you have heard about people talking about how unstable Windows can be...Same thing here.

 

[ank_gl]

geez unstable windows is in pre historic era now. my windows has not crashed for years now, neither did any software that i mentioned i used.
and srode, i heard dassault systems has stopped working on solidworks, they are now concentrating on catia, they launched a v5r17 a few months back.