AutoCAD LT vs. Solid Edge

It is suitable for use with students who are familiar with using a computer. Unfortunately, we still have many people without access and basic knowledge, such as a simple application of the oficce package.

For simple steel construction, it is great. When you want to do other stuff like electrical wiring, factory planning, etc. it's not great, and the solution you can buy does not fit our needs so we need to develop our own.

Incentivized

• Drafting and layouts generation
• 2D Modeling and measurements
• Layers and property features
• Useful commands like mirror, copy, move, array, offset and rotate etc.
• File recovery feature

Incentivized

• Allows designers to work as they choose and not have to acclimate their work for the product's requirements. This results in productive use of Edge, thus an ROI for the company.
• Manage large (high count of components) assemblies very well. Users spend little to no time trying to overcome speed issue with respect to assemblies.
• Synchronous Design! This highly productive design process is unique to Edge and very addictive

• Incremental savings (if possible) because autosave on big drawings took time to get done because it saves the whole file
• Some custom macros that I made should be made standard (like infinite horizontal or vertical lines)

Incentivized

• Being used to 2-key and 3-key commands from the keyboard, it would be nice if this was more robust in Solid Edge. The capability of programming keystroke commands exists in Solid Edge, but it would be more user friendly in that regard.
• Editing hatches can be a challenge.
• I'm not a fan of the ribbon bar, but that seems to be a feature across software platforms in Windows.

Incentivized

For being a light version of the program it has a ton of functionality and features. I found the system fairly easy to learn how to use once I took an intro course on it. Overall i think the usability is great and it was easy to jump right in and get working in the program

Incentivized

As mentioned previously, Siemens Solid Edge is not the most user-friendly of products at all. It requires intense training to make sure that the basics are understood, and after that, there are numerous other training interventions needed to be able to perform expert-level CAD functions. The GUI is not intuitive, as many other packages are, and the features built-in are not well defined. The process to use many of these features is counter-intuitive and requires a mind-shift.

Incentivized

I have been involved with support and training of Solid Edge for 24 years. Given that I based my business model on support, and have been successful for all these years, I know excellent support. Siemens support for Solid Edge, "GTAC", is the definition of support for a product in every aspect.

Although AutoCAD LT is the lite software when compared to standard AutoCAD, it does all the work when it comes to 2D modeling and issuing design drawings. When comparing it to BricsCAD, AutoCAD LT shines, as it works without freezing and is usually more responsive than BricsCAD, it just outclasses it.

Incentivized

SOLIDWORKS has a really intuitive interface for a traditional CAD package. It is easy to use, easy to learn and is perfectly suited for any user. Solid Edge lacks this ease of use. Autodesk Inventor is great for personal use as well as in small businesses. It is easy to learn, produces great models quickly and is very reasonably priced. My personal favourite, Onshape has redefined what CAD is meant to be, as well as the way in which it is meant to be used. It is highly functional, intuitive, and changes the way in which CAD is perceived by the user. It is much more interactive than traditional CAD packages.

Incentivized

• We have been able to looks at CAD files that ordinarily we would not have been able to open. Giving us more control over our projects
• We are now able to create very accurate draft designs that save us and our engineering/architecture team valuable time in drafting.
• We can create our own plan sheets for when it is something that does not require a stamp. This saves us time and money.

Incentivized

• We have purchased a server version of solid edge so for one license 6 people can operate it at a time which is economically all viable.
• We have integrated it with PLM Teamcenter so we can share drawings and other files across other factories.
• Solid edge is less famous than Solid Works so sometimes you have to convert it into step files.
• It is very productive and easy to lean application for everyone.

Incentivized