In order to use the Dimensions 3D printer at TechShop, I needed some 3D CAD software, so I purchased the Student Edition of SolidWorks. In my spare time have been learning to use it. The built-in tutorials are good, but I felt that a book might also be helpful, so I purchased a copy of SolidWorks for Dummies.
So far I’ve designed one piece, a calculator button similar to those of the HP-41C. I need to update the dimensions and add a draft angle for moldability. I have been impressed with how easy it is to use SolidWorks. The last time I used any commercial CAD software, it was incredibly difficult to create even simple 2D drawings.
I really wish there was a Linux version of SolidWorks. However, it seems to run fine on Windows running in a beta of VMware Workstation 6. I wasn’t sure how it would perform since it uses OpenGL heavily, but I haven’t observed any performance problems.
There is a Linux version of Pro/Engineer Wildfire, one of the competing CAD programs. I might buy the student edition of that for comparison. When I’m ready to start doing 3D work for business purposes, and need to spend big bucks on a commercial license, the availability of a native Linux version will factor heavily in my decision, unless Pro/E is significantly more difficult to use.
Have you taken a look at student version of Inventor from Autodesk?
I haven’t looked at Inventor yet. Do you find it to be better than SolidWorks, or easier to use?
Eric
I am also interested in Wildfire Personal Edition on a Linux platform. Unfortunately only the commercial edition is available in Linux. The commercial edition can cost up to $6000 for 1 license depending on what add ons you get. Its a real shame that there is not much CAD option from the likes of Solidworks and Proe for Linux users.
There is a terrible AutoCAD clone for Linux, but I won’t mention it’s name here because the company who creates it spams. Does anyone know of a Solidworks clone for Linux?