Anybody using 3ds, Enovia, Catia, etc?
 

Any of you have an in-depth/working knowledge of this software? I am on a team looking at further implementation of this system and we are having difficulty getting real answers from our vendor so I have decided to go elsewhere. For anyone with hands on experience I would appreciate any help and look forward to your responses. I have a group that may even want to travel to see all the workings and limitations of the systems that we are thinking of adding.

Aerospace and machining guys I would love to hear from you.

Been using SolidWorks for a few years now. Only 3D I've used, other than dabbling with AutoCAD's 3D functions, which are junk. SolidWorks is very nice. Our vendor is very helpful. They offer all kinds of classes and workshops to learn what you can do with the software, which is way more than I'll ever need.

A motorcycle racing bud of mine is a instructor here. They may be able to help you find what you are looking for.

Design-Engine Education: Industrial & Product Design Training in Pro/Engineer, Solidworks, Maya, Rhino, Alias, AdobeDesign-Engine Education: Industrial & Product Design Training in Pro/Engineer, Solidworks, Maya, Rhino, Alias, Adobe » Welcome to the

I can't directly comment on the packages that you're looking at, but for CAD SolidWorks is a Dassau Systems product just like Catia, and is awfully powerful for the money. Autodesk and PTC screwed the pooch with this guy years ago and I've never looked back.

CAM has come a long way too- I use HSM Works (which was for better or worse purchased by AutoDesk) and it runs integrated with SolidWorks. Capability out to full 5 axis.

How big is your shop/office/operation?

I'm a SolidWorks user, and can get around in ProE mediocre-ly. We have some pretty talented ProE (Creo 2.0) and Catia people here (Aerospace co).

What sort of answers are you looking for? software preferences, specific capabilities & limitations, home-made add-ins (scripting) capabilities? What are you trying to do with it?

As far as preferences go, I prefer SolidWorks because it is more intuitive for me, and I don't get bogged down or overwhelmed when using it.

I thought those were ED drugs..

I'm pretty familiar with Solidworks and know quite a few people versed in both Catia and Solidworks. What's your question?

I've worked using Catia V5 for 7 yrs and Unigraphics for 11 yrs

I'm not in aerospace but the industry I work is very aggressive on how a 3D CAD system is used.

Start of CAD design to finished machined component is typically measure in days not years, occasionally in a panic the whole process is done in hours.

Catia is pretty much the gold standard when it comes to CAD, what do you want to know?

Thanks for the replies, I should not have asked a question and taken a few days off.
We currently own V6 and have a sizeable investment in the software package. We bought it about 18 mos. ago and are now really realizing what we have and its capabilities/limits. I am on a team (responsible for its success but not an SME) that has been tasked with evaluating our next steps.

We need the "extras" and are wading through our options so that when we go to our President and ask for more money we can show him exactly what we are getting and its benefits. We think Engineering Central is the next step and are evaluating it right now.
The questions we have now seem to be difficult for our vendor to answer. We have questions related to drawing and model revisions and synchronization to related parts and possibly tooling. How drawing/engineering changes impact multiple drawings during revisions and how they can be limited/expanded.

These are an example of our concerns. We are a relatively small company that needs to be smart about our next move. We don't need cool we need functional. We have some brilliant engineers that are jazzed about the software but we don't NEED a Bentley when a Camry would work just fine.

Anyway the original thought was to be able to ask questions at a user level to determine what our future needs are. I appreciate your help if any of you have any hands on experience or could point us to someone who does.