On Mon, 10 Mar 2008 21:21:16 -0700, Abrasha
wrote:

John2005 wrote:
Hi Everyone,

I have always used AutoCAD mechanical but I am currently evaluating 3D
design Software. I have narrowed my choices down to Solidworks,
Autodesk Inventor, or Solid Edge. I have heard good things about
Solidworks, but I'm having a hard time obtaining a demo CD from my
local reseller.

You did say you want Solidworks, but I'd suggest you have a look at
Alibre Designer unless initial cost and recurring costs are not issues
for you. No sarcasm intended, SW cost should not be an issue for
those who spend 2K hours a year designing stuff.

http://www.alibre.com/

Solidworks is cool, but it is pricey. Alibre does everything I want
to do (on my own nickel), in a manner quite similar to Solidworks if
perhaps lacking some of the bells and whistles.

Don't go by their free downloads, they suck. Alibre offers a 30-day
moneyback deal where you only pay shipping if you opt out. The real
deal works a lot better than the free download.

Their manual sucks and included tutorials aren't much better, but
their (extra cost) tutorial CD's are very good.

Parametric modelling (Solidworks and/or Alibre) is quite a paradigm
shift from AutoCAD, so be prepared for that.

I've used AutoCAD for over a decade. It took me a bit of effort to
learn how to think in terms of parametric modelling, but I'll now say
that I really like Alibre. I did do a seminar with Solidworks. Would
I like Solidworks better than Alibre? Perhaps, if someone else was
paying for it, but the price was well beyond my reach.