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Old 05-05-2007, 11:25 AM
John Scheffel's Avatar
John Scheffel John Scheffel is offline
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Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: San Jose, CA
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Re: OneSpace vs. SolidWorks

I think it is important to point out that OneSpace Modeling does provide the option of adding some design intent or more "intelligence" to 3D models. You do not have to define your design intent, but you can.

The optional Parametrics module can be used to define relationships between elements (faces, edges, etc.) within a part. For example you can specify that a hole should be a certain distance from a face and that relationship will be maintained as you modify the part. You can move the hole relative to the face by editing the relation.

The optional Assemblies module can be used to define relationships between parts in an assembly so that they maintain their orientation when the parts are moved or modified. It can also be used to simulate the motion of cams and mechanisms, check clash as parts move and create animations.

Both are included with the optional Advanced Design license, which adds other capabilities as well.

If it is possible to draw a conclusion from this thread, or any of the other endless debates on this topic (several are linked above), it may be this...

No current 3D CAD application is the best choice for everyone. All have advantages and disadvantages and proponents who will argue that their CAD is the best. Although it is good to solicit the opinions of others, you should not choose your CAD based only on those opinions. They are just opinions and may be biased by the way that person thinks about design or the type of design work that they do. You need to try them yourself (as 49again is doing) to determine which you like best and which works best for your design needs, especially how you may need to modify your designs in the future.

Although you should try the current popular 3D CAD, you should not chose one just because it is the most popular. Many people chose Pro/ENGINEER back when it was all the rage, only to find that it was not a good solution for their needs. Today SolidWorks is all the rage. Five years from now, who knows?

Anyway, that's my opinion.

For the new members and guests reading this thread, you can download CoCreate OneSpace Modeling Personal Edition for free from www.cocreate.com/free and try it yourself. You can probably get free trials of other 3D CAD tools as well from their web sites.
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