PRO/E vs. Solid Designer

[Walter Brokowski]

I've recently seen a demo of PRO/E and was very impressed. I've already committed myself to purchasing the newest version of Solid Designer. Please someone give me reasons why I shouldn't be disappointed with my choice.

[Claus Brod]

Walter,<p> you are certainly not surprised if I as a CoCreate engineer would tell you that there are certainly lots of good reasons to prefer SolidDesigner. You don't need to take my word of it - just recently SolidDesigner has been voted "Best CAD system of the year 1997" by a leading French magazine, "Industries et Techniques" (see also http://www.cocreate.com/english/news/press/actual.htm).<p> As a general note, what you get with SolidDesigner is a different and, not only in our view, better approach to solid modelling - SolidDesigner does not depend on the history of your models. This has many advantages, but in my personal opinion, the most important benefit is that someone else can take your model and start improving/changing it without first learning about the way you designed it and what kind of restrictions and constraints you put on it. This is a very important basis for collaboration.<p> I would be interested in hearing which parts of the Pro/E demo you saw impressed you most and why. This would give me some idea of what areas are important to you, and we could focus on those.<p> Claus

[Mark Guthrie]

Walter, ProE demos very impressively. For a real test have them let you get in the drivers seat and model your own parts. Then after you are done, throw in a change that was not anticipated. You'll prove your decision to yourself. -Mark Guthrie

[kurt botsai]

I am a project manager for a design firm that uses both ProE and SolidDesigner. The number one reason is time. If I have a project that the client wnats in ProE I have to budget 50 to 70% more hours to the project. Two, would be flexibility, changes are much easer and smoother in Solid. Three, ease of use. I am often frustrated by the cumbersom architechure of Pro. Four, lack of history. This means I don't care where a file came from or who or how it was created. I can work with the file as if it were mine to start with. I could go on, but I hope this gives you the idea of why we consider Solid a better product.

[Mike Poirier]

Walter, This is just another opinion. Like the other replies, I am a former PRO/E user and I do find SolidDesigner much more easier to use. SolidDesigner lets you, as a designer, think more about your design and less about what the computer wants. This is one of the more frustrating parts about learning a new system as a designer. Most programs care more about you being a computer jockey than being a designer. Stick with SolidDesigner, Even though I still own PMTC stock!

[Been There - Done That]

Ummm.... Sorry.