[cncadmin]

Ok, I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on getting Soildworks.

I'm a hardcore autocad guy, I have played with SW and really love it, but does SW allow for keyboard shortcut for the most used commands or is it all icon driven?

[DareBee]

You can go into flyout/menu customization dialogue.
In there you can set any command to almost any key you chose.

I thought AutoCAD was the best at one time as well. Now I can't force myself to use it annoys me so much.

[cncadmin]

ok i see that, now.

[MAS]

How much does a copy of SOLIDWORKS cost these days?

[Deltic_Engine]

I was an AutoCad Guru for 13 years. I started with version 2.17b in 1985.
Ran it at first on a dual-floppy lunchbox (no hard drive, 640K memory only)!
(Thats 0.064 megabytes of Ram, for you youngsters!)

I switched to Solidworks in 1999.
I still use AutoCad for non-parametric 2D stuff, like Cutting Die Patterns;
Plus it is still handy for it's import/export filters.

The hardest thing about Solidworks is that it is a 'Temporal' program.
When editing in 'Assembly Mode', it is actually possible to generate
'Temporal Paradoxes' that cause rebuild failures intermitantly.

History-based CAD programs like SolidWorks are the only softwares
that I know of that can simulate temporal paradoxes.

In other words, If you like Star-Trek, you'll love SolidWorks.
It lets you 'Mess with the timeline'.

Tip: Solidworks Comes with a 2D program "DWG Editor" that has all the
same Keyboard shortcuts and acts exacty like AutoCad.

Fun & Games:
You know youv'e done too much AutoCad when:

1. You have learned to type in "zoom w" in 0.234 seconds, even though
you are only a 3-finger typist.

2. You can inexplicably tell at a glance which side of a 3D part you are
viewing in wireframe mode, even with the perspective turned off.

3. (add your own here).

Jeff Krause
http://www.polyradial.com

[DareBee]

I used to keep a copy of ACAD LT for editing customers dwg's.
My experience with SolidWorks DWG editor is that it is much better than ACAD LT.
Needless to say I havent had ACAD on my machine for 2 years.

PS dwg's can also be imported into a slddrg within SolidWorks for editing, but it is too easy to change it inavertently and not realize it because none of the geometry is "fixed" within the coordinate system

[cdlenterprises]

Our company was recently quoted $3995 for a seat. If you want maintenance add around $1300.

[DareBee]

If you are doing ANY sort of assemblies that will require fasteners, bearings, gears, etc you WILL want the toolbox addin as well. And then at that point you might as well spend the extra few $ to just buy SW Office.

[Tom Long]

Just curious - you've mentioned getting Solidworks in December. It's now almost March. Did you get it? If so, thoughts?
If so, did you get the training?