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I'm sorry but the number of post for pro/e is not a function of the popularity, but a function of the number of problems. It's more complicated than it should be. SORRY, IN ADVANCE.
Amen dmboze. that's all i'm saying. i have been using cad packages for a while (autocad for about 10 years, pro/e for about 6 years, and solidworks for about 8 years). i have never seen a company so SECRETIVE about there HELP information. Solidworks and Autocad both get big KUDOS for their help information. As for Pro/e, i have learned not to say anything negative about the "Almighty Pro/E"; some people are really sensitive!
As for mganzer, i will answer your question on one condition. if you can honestly say you have more thana few months experience another cad package, i'll answer.
I have used UG for 18 years, Pro/E for 6 and I have CATIA V5.
No package of this complexity level is free of bugs. While I cannot speak for CATIA, UGS has a great support system, GTAC, that is easier to navigate and more friendly then the people at 1-800-4PTCHEL.
I have also found that PTC tends to let all of their customers do Beta Testing, it is called any build prior to M100!
i feel ur pain. i had to call 1-800-4PTCHEL. One guy had a clue but that's about it, the other guy was clueless and i think he thought he was "cute" because he wouldn't speak up.
And I guess i would be a beta tester b/c i am using WF 3.0 M050. Ain't that something. Edited by: jelston
One point to ad here is that China uses Pro/E. This fact alone is why my company uses Pro/E. If you're going to have something manufactured in China then you're going to have to use Pro/E.
There's plenty of ways to get models across without using ProE !!!
Anyone should first consider their own needs, comfort and speed. Next comes the guys that are making the stuff. The advantage of translating is that they can't alter your stuff inadvertently.
And it's far more cost effective to let them spend an extra hour on importing foreign models than spending extra time over here trying to get ProE do what you want.
One point to ad here is that China uses Pro/E. This fact alone is why my company uses Pro/E. If you're going to have something manufactured in China then you're going to have to use Pro/E.
Here is my wortheless virtual 2 cents on the matter...
I have used many cad packages through the years, starting with a nice pencil and a drafting board and currently using ProE... and I am going to try to bring this a little back of topic...
Bottom line is the package doesn't define the engineer or his carrer path... and good experienced "CAD Guy" should concentrate his training in two basic ways...
2. Parametic solid & surface modeling (3D) teqniques...Extrude, Cut,Loft, Array, etc... because once you learn the teqniques the package is irrelivent for the most part...
Any good engineer/designer with experienceor "has been around the block" will tell you that you should be able to pick upand be funtional just about anypackage within a week or two and be 90%+ profecientin about amonth depending onlevel of the package...
And to further answer your question...
Of the mid to higher end packages ProE, Catia, UniGraphics... all are still in use out there with a few others.ProE probably has a slightly larger growth curve... due to hitting a bit more of the mid-range market as well as the higher range one...
Of the multitude of lower to mid products out there... Solidworks/Inventor are two of the biggies but there are plenty out there.But, I belive Inventor growing a bit faster by getting onto a lot of the late adopters of parametric modeling by getting the AutoCAD converts being a fellow AutoDesk Product by packaging a copy of AutoCAD & MechDesktop with Inventor.The latest Revision has made some good strides from it's lack luster begingings and has adecent file management package in the autodesk vault... Hey it's autodesk...They buy inovation....
So don't fear the package and be sure to state your confidence that you can quickly and efficently pick up any package your potential employer has.
Any good engineer/designer with experienceor "has been around the block" will tell you that you should be able to pick upand be funtional just about anypackage within a week or two and be 90%+ profecientin about amonth depending onlevel of the package...
Couldn't agree with more. But just to add a note to it, I have found that the guys who have trained and used the higher end solutions (ProE, UGS, Catia and to an extent SDRC Ideas) find it much easier to translate their knowledge to other ('Low End', and that is not a blast across the bows) packages
U are apparently a newbie to this site, so I will TRY my dang-est to excuse u...but it probably won't happen. Apparently, no one has told u that i "own 51% stock in Solidworks",and happen to think that Pro/E is lacking supreme. I will try to excuse this.
U are apparently a newbie to this site, so I will TRY my dang-est to excuse u...but it probably won't happen. Apparently, no one has told u that i "own 51% stock in Solidworks",and happen to think that Pro/E is lacking supreme. I will try to excuse this.
No I didn't know you own 51% stock in Solidworks... I thought I had met most of the Solidworks management team at one time or another and don't ever remember the name Elston but I aplogize if I am wrong...
Looking back at my post I don't remember ever really giving praise to ProE or Bashing Solidworks... I use ProE only by my employer's choice not mine... And agree it is lacking in some ease of use... I have also used Solidworks in the past, and think it does have a easier interface to some basic modeling features... but as I said in the prior post that this is just a worthless virtual 2 cents and in this post that I am not advocating one package or the other...
When I refer to Low to Mid Range products... I base that statement more on price point and what I think are generally accepted points of view and not any definate ranking system. But I do use the fact thatSolidworksalthough a nice drawsome blocks,stick um together, get a nice print package... It does lack some of the higher end (higher cost) features of the other packages (some top down modeling features, pshysics, and virutal testing) that you can get for spending more money...
As for my comments that Inventor is growing faster in that price point... again this is solely my point of view and worthless virtual 2 cents on that matter gleaned only from what I have seen in my limited persective and talking with friends in the industry and sales/support world...
So again sorry for anygibberish I may have tossed out there that you may of found to be mildly offensive...
Interesting view points, I have been using AutoCAD for many years and I do some nice detailed 3D concept drawing with it as well as 2D parts for plate and sheet metal CNC cutting operations. My main job is Nesting on an older CV UNIX system.
I had to do some Catia V-4 learning and it was a horrible dreaded time, I hope the PC version of Catia V-5 is better. I wonder if it has something to do with the French language V4 is also all menu driven and can't believe how much Catia costs! Its also complicated because its a Unix network linked up with all kinds of databases and parts and material need to be linked and processed in a particuliar way for different CNC machines after a part is built, building the actual part is usually the easy portion of it all, and so the learning curve can depend on the complexity of the companies product being built and the more automated the more complex things can become.
The 3D is Catia does seem top notch though, but I would say also that only very large companies can afford it and I am not convinced its the way to go.
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