Once it's built, you can then *test* it works, by rotating the input shaft, and seeing the output move. one of the first things the solidworks tutorials does (or at elast did) was have you build a universal joint assembly. In fact, openSCAD doesn't even do 3d manipulation. Or (quite critical for what a lot of my friends do) you can add material properties (are you using 6160 aluminium, or a grade 9 titanium? last time I tried openscad, you had to manually enter properties, with solidworks I could just pick the grade from a menu as far back as 2002) which would also help as I modify - oh no I'm over my weight budget, so let me add some holes - now how does that work with stresses? Yeah, openSCAD don't do that. It also lets you do more, like specify your materials properly, and make proper plan sets to send out. The same basic principles of part-building is in solidworks, but the menu system is very different (because it's more powerful). They're poorly coded for resource usage, slow (which is a major issue with CAD programs) the interface is janky, and options are poor. Those basic programs are great if you're doing a really simple 3d print. The difference is the interface, and the power. The basic principles in all of them are the same - much like libreoffice versus Microsoft word. Instead I was taught hand-drafting.Īnd by saying 'ignore solidworks and use openSCAD', you're just reinforcing what you said at the start - that you have no clue what you're talking about. BTW, I wasn't taught any CAD software, even at uni. I'm glad those hobby programs work for you, but they don't work for a lot of people, and they don't work for anyone looking to go forward. Hell, my 9th-grader was taught inventor in High school, they'd love to do solidworks, but for what they can do (basic 3d printing) it's not worth it. One of my very best friends just went from a university job (15 years running the wind tunnel) to Red Bull Racing, and what clinched it was CAD software - knowing both Catia and SW, while almost every other applicant couldn't do much beyond the hobbyist programs. I know people who use all of them, working in roughly the same field, and sure, many do 'ok' with inventor, but I've never heard of anyone having issues when using one of the big 3. Have you ever used solidworks? pro/E? (now THAT is a complex PITA) inventor? If you work in the field though, or intend to, then learning how to use the tools that are used professionally are worth it. It works fine, if you're doing really basic things.

Let me guess, you're gong to go with autodesk inventor?

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