Autodesk Inventor vs. Codeware COMPRESS

Autodesk Inventor is well-suited for situations where you are creating 3D models of small, simple parts and assemblies. It is hands-down the fastest and most reliable way to get this done. When you are looking for a software that has many advanced features and controls to create an assembly of 20+ parts, you need to look for other software.

Incentivized

Codeware Compress is a very powerful ASME design tool. It is very intuitive and easy to learn. Anyone engaged in ASME related design projects will greatly benefit from investing in this software. It has tools for all types of ASME code products (pressure vessels, heat exchangers & boilers). Codeware is always improving the software. New features are included in almost all new releases. Their customer support is also great. They are quick to respond to questions. The web portal has great support tools. The ability to export the ASME design into 3D CAD formats is a huge time saver. The software can also be very handy for other types of non-ASME tank design work as well. For instance, you can use it to explore leg support structures for elevated tank designs.

Incentivized

• You can make designs (CAD) and you can also manufacture them (CAM) and do not need an interface like Solidworks to recognize it in a CNC.
• Inventor is very easy to use to create realistic, solid designs.
• The software allows you to design and see where problems are in real-time.

Incentivized

• Codeware Compress has a great user interface and is a very robust ASME design tool.
• Compress has a very well built 3D CAD export interface module that works well with SolidWorks and Autodesk Inventor.
• Codeware has a great user support network.

Incentivized

• Inventor demonstrates a lack of fluidity in the process of transferring data between programs.
• Inventor shows some lack of sophistication that certain features that are readily available in other design software packages are limited in use in Inventor.
• Inventor can often have difficulty in creating models that show true color, as in blacks can come out as dark grays in certain renders, even when the material and appearance settings are the same from part to part.

Incentivized

• Add more CAD functionality to create custom support structures and support brackets (clips, ect..)
• Partner with a major CAD platform (such as Autodesk, SolidWorks) for an "In CAD" solution. Which would allow quick customization of the ASME design model without leaving the native CAD environment.

Incentivized

Inventor continues to meet our enterprise needs. I don't see a need to change unless we change our business model significantly.

Incentivized

It is quite user-friendly as long as you have the computing power to download and use it. However, this makes it quite inconvenient if you are trying to access files on different devices, as Inventor has to be loaded on all of those devices. While the program itself works just fine, it would be much better for my application if it, or a version, were web-based and allowed users to access and modify projects from anywhere.

Incentivized

I'm giving the overall support rating a 5 only because I rarely have to use it. Trying to find the answer on the help pages hardly ever helps me because any problem I have is usually too deep for what the help offers. Given the popularity of Autodesk, I have always been able to find an answer online after doing enough looking!

Incentivized

I got the training during college, so mostly i learned on my own

Incentivized

ANSYS is far more expensive and has a steeper learning curve. Autodesk has many flexible and scale-able licensing options that adapt to our institutional needs and IT infrastructure. Furthermore, it allows our students to have free educational software running in their own personal computers, allowing them to work at home and be more productive with it.

Incentivized

I have only tried a brief tutorial on PV Elite so I can't provide a worthwhile comparison on features.

Incentivized

• We are working toward full engineering integration with Autodesk Inventor. This will remove most of the human error in our current processes.
• Production team is moving away from physical samples to using Autodesk Inventor models. This is a cost savings and helps us manage change better.
• Autodesk Inventor iLogic is allowing us to automate some of our engineering. This is proving to make one job 20% faster to complete with fewer errors.

Incentivized

• Codeware Compress is a huge part of our ability to design and release pressure vessels quickly. It has greatly reduced our engineering design cycle. We have built standards that allow us to release designs to fabrication in hours instead of days.
• The ability to export the 3D CAD files makes quick work of developing quotes and proposals.
• Codeware Compress greatly reduces the chances of errors related to meeting ASME code compliance. The software developers keep the software in sync with the current editions of the ASME code. That allows users to focus more time on the design aspects of the project and less time worrying about the actual nuts and bolts of the extensive ASME code rules.

Incentivized