[jimmyjames1981]

Is it me or is autocad old school? Maybe its because i started off with inventor but to me autocad is just too slow, in inventor i can make huge assemblies in no time flat, animate them for presentation, check stresses, and then load the ipt parts right into mastercam as a model and bam.... all done... if something or some feature isnt right its easy to edit a part with a couple mouse clicks, with an autocad assembly its much harder and takes alot longer, i just so see any reason to use autocad anymore , maybe im just too new school, i know alot of people that have used autocad for a long time and wouldnt even think about switching to inventor, and at the same time i see them doing something in autocad that i could do in inventor in a fraction of the time, and by no means am i an expert in inventor.... whats your thoughts?

[F22xSTEALTHx]

In Autocad you can do all your documentation and dimensioning much more precisely and neatly than you can in Inventor. You can setup up your own custom Dimension settings, colors, line-weights, and line-types with layers which are great for adding documentation details such as hidden lines and center-lines which inventor likes to ignore almost completely as Inventor's dimensioning standards tend to conflict with the ANSI drafting standards. I'm a student and have been taught both inventor and AutoCAD. If your are applying as a draftsman or for any type of engineering type job it will serve you well to know both because most companies will stick with older software, for example my cousin is a mechanical engineer and the firm he works for still uses AutoCAD 2007 because it costs a lot of money to update to the latest version. Relatively Inventor is much more expensive and newer than AutoCAD therefore fewer companies will be using it until they decide to upgrade to newer software. Don't get me wrong, Inventor is great, especially when it comes to generating large assemblies and prototyping if parts will fit as intended but it is very lacking in the documentation and dimensioning department which is something that you do not want to skimp on since drawings are still integral to the engineering and manufacturing market.

[txcncman]

Output of solid models from Inventor software to STP is still questionable in my opinion. Usually we run Inventor files through Solidworks to clean up and then export to STP.

[Bill3D]

I had been using autocad since R9 and never even open it anymore. All inventor all the time. It has all the line weight and marking features plus a fraction of the time to make a working drawing.

[Winks]

I had been using autocad since R9 and never even open it anymore. All inventor all the time. It has all the line weight and marking features plus a fraction of the time to make a working drawing.

I am one of those old-school old-fogies still using Acad. Having never used Inventor, where does the time savings come from?

[polaraligned]

I use both. Just depends what I am doing. 2d is AutoCad, 3d is inventor. I prefer it that way.

[Bill3D]

Not sure how to describe it. But you are virtually working with the actual part or assembly and it is very fluid after you acclimate yourself to it. Going back to the old way would seem like a boring slog. It's fairly easy to optimize as well. With common parts and features easily placed and manipulated. Drawings that would take a day now take an hour. Less if it is related to previous work. Very little room for errors as the working drawings are created from the virtual part. Granted it would be overkill and possibly waste time if all you need is a 2D profile.

[KUWill]

I am one of those old-school old-fogies still using Acad. Having never used Inventor, where does the time savings come from?

Winks, having only used ACAD 2000 and ACAD Electrical, I find that having a parametric model is extremely pleasant. I imagine ACAD has parametric Add-Ons but it is built in on Inventor. It is far more oriented to generating solid parts and then creating drawings from those models. Some commands are already very simple and built in as well such as spot-faced, counter-sunk, and counter-bored holes. Even tapped holes. It then carries over to the drawing because Inventor already knows all the features of the hole when you specified in the solid geometry.

Maybe that isn't quite what you were wondering. Obviously messing with large assemblies becomes infinitely easier too.

[polaraligned]

I use AutoCad Mechanical 2011 and it is parametric.
I prefer sketching large projects out in 2d. Some larger projects I just need to get a feel for the relationships for all the parts before I actually start designing the individual parts. This is where AutoCad is invaluable to me.

[rebcabarb]

Good luck with it.

[aucran]

I use AutoCad Mechanical 2011 and it is parametric.
I prefer sketching large projects out in 2d. Some larger projects I just need to get a feel for the relationships for all the parts before I actually start designing the individual parts. This is where AutoCad is invaluable to me.

This is how I work as well. I'll start with a 2D layout in AutoCAD. The second view is either in my head or drawn, depending on how complicated it is, then when I'm satisfied with the overall concept, I'll start pulling parts out and designing them in 3D and reassembling.

I like working in 2D because I'm faster with it. But I've never regretted taking time to draw the 3d model before I started cutting, even if I don't make any changes.

[Bill3D]

There really isn't a need to sketch in 2d rather than go straight to solid modeling. Especially now with Fusion that is free form solid modeling. Although if you must, you can use the 2D sketch as the skeleton model for the solid.

[Tafhmmy]

I'll start pulling parts out and designing them in 3D and reassembling.

[coherent]

I have become fairly proficient with ACAD over the years and am just recently diving into Inventor. It's definitely a whole new world and I think it takes a different train of thought and drawing process. My problem is that some of the simple 2d drawing tools (and making changes) is still easier for me in ACAD and then import to Inventor. I've used other 3D design software and none are as easy to use, fast and intuitive as Inventor has been for me. I think that once I learn more of the in's and outs of inventor and all of the basics better, it will become the go to software. For those who have heard of it, but really have no idea of it's capabilities, I highly recommend at least looking into it and what it can do. One of the first write ups I looked at (which doesn't go into details and specifics to deeply) that peaked my interest is here: http://lynn.blogs.com/Booklets/31341...g_the_leap.pdf
Once I actually played with the software I found myself saying "wow, that's cool" about every 10 minutes. (but then I am pretty easily amazed). I didn't want to spend money on expensive training, so got a copy of "Mastering Autodesk Inventor" by Curtis Waguespak. It's a pretty good learning tool as far as books go. There are also some video tutorials out there but I haven't had any personal experience with any other than those that come with the program or on the Autodesk web site.