[Hasher]

HI

I have been looking at learning a CAD package. Unfortunately my local college/UNI doesn’t have any CAD classes.

A friend showed me around Solidworks which I admit is amazing but very hard to learn from a beginners point of view. Can anyone suggest a more basic 3D Mech CAD package, something I can learn CAD basics on

There seems a sea of choices out there. I dont mind if its freeware or shareware

Paul.

[DareBee]

If you are serious about learning 3D CAD SolidWorks is the way to go.
It is widely used and as far as learning goes the tutorials are very good.
I have toyed with some inexpensive 3D and found them way more difficult.
SolidWorks has the big bucks which has equalled big development and gives us lots of features and most (features) are fairly easy to use/learn.

[ger21]

I don't believe you'll find anything easier than Solidworks. Possibly Alibre, but basically all 3D Mechanical CAD software is very similar in operation. The best thing to do is work through tutorials, to get an idea of how the process works.
You might want to learn on a simple 2D package to start with, if you need to learn basics. A good free one is here: http://www.a9tech.com/products/a9cad/

[cncadmin]

I've been using Alibre, and with all the software I have used MD, Inventor, Alibre is the easiest to use, and the tutorials are very helpful.

[fragger6662000]

hi

I am a cad use UG and Solid edge and i would sergest lerning on the package you wish to use in the long run as you will end up relearning a lot of stuff as they are all slitly different.

[Dan B]

It sounds like this is something you want to undertake on your own, as opposed using CAD at work. If that is true, then most likely cost is going to be a factor. Unless you have a lot of money to spend, you probably should look at Alibre. It seems to have the capabilities of the mid-range products such as Solidworks, Inventor etc. at a fraction of the cost. An ideal scenario would be to get Alibre and Rhino, then with the new interface just released:

http://www.alibre.com/products/companion/rhino/

This seems like a great combo, and would still be cheaper than the others.

Dan

[brtlatjgt]

You can get Alibre and Rhino bundled togther for only $995. That's really a pretty good deal.

Go to www.ohyeahcad.com