CATIA vs. Vectorworks Landmark

CATIA is probably the most preferred 3D modeling tool in the automotive and aerospace industries. This specific surface (it can be handled well by the experienced users) is well suited to use parametric design principles and hence result in great products. One of the issues we have in the automotive industry is to work with large surfaces for body exterior (main body, gate, hood.) or interior trim (door, headliner.) panels. CATIA enable us to design surface perfectly through the lines. Also, assembly features for intricate designs (gearbox, exhaust, engine, suspension.) are more than adequate. I did not find any inefficiency while designing products with CATIA. Only the interface and handling of the menu and mouse is not the best - or at least you need time to get used to it.

Incentivized

Vectorworks is just as useful for perfectly measured, hard-line CAD drawing as it is for making beautiful presentation drawings and renderings. Tools in the application allow you to transition between working drawings and presentation drawings without modifying the underlying geometry. DWG exchange with other design team members works very well

Incentivized

• There really is no 3D software that offers all the design modules, drafting and assembly options and manipulation tools that CATIA offers.
• There are a specific module and tool for just about anything you need to do, so the design process with CATIA can be very optimized.
• Great surface modeling capabilities.

Incentivized

• I tell people that Vectorworks is CAD for people who know how to draw. You can control the appearance of all the objects on a layer, or you can tweak the way a single object looks. Most of the barriers to producing good-looking, legible drawings are removed.
• Vectorworks Landmark is made for landscape architects.Creating hardscape, planting, and irrigation plans is pretty straightforward.

Incentivized

• Updating an existing design can become really frustrating. You have to reassign all the radiuses, for example, even if they moved slightly.
• CAE function is not that good.
• Radiuses are slightly bad and can cause you lots of problems.

Incentivized

• There's a bit of inconsistency in the operation of some tools that would appear to the user to be more similar.
• Importing complex Revit models takes a long time and, if the model has a lot of symbols in it, the import might not finish.

Incentivized

It is a good software for conception. But it is too hard sometimes to work with and understand the different options available

I generally contact with IT or internal CATIA support team, so I cannot comment in detail. I remember we have struggled to move to v6 update, and it required a long and detailed work to update all the systems. There were some times we had limited support from Dassault, but it is normal for a company of our size. So I cannot criticize much.

Incentivized

Once major advantage I realized when using CATIA is surface modelling, and modifications or changes in part model later. SOLIDWORKS provide a really good and quick way to part modelling. However, part modifications and assembly modifications take time. In CATIA, complex geometries can be easily generated, when compared to SOLIDWORKS. Managing and updating designs of large scale models and complex geometries made me realize an advantage of CATIA over other CAD software.

I was an AutoCAD user before switching to Vectorworks when coming to work with my current firm. Vectorworks Landmark includes tools specifically designed for landscape architects - it's not an AutoCAD add-on. The initial investment for a new seat is much less than AutoCAD, and the Service Select program pushes down the annual upgrade cost even more

Incentivized

• The ease of modeling helps a lot to save time, in both modeling new parts and also assemblies, which in the end makes a great positive impact on the development.

Incentivized

• There is a learning curve for new employees, as regionally Vectorworks is not in wide use and generally not introduced in the academies
• However, because it is more intuitive as far as WYSIWYG drawing, most people pick up the basics pretty quickly.
• It's a really powerful suite of tools. Sometimes it's good to spend some time afforded by a larger project to explore ways to use the software more efficiently (e.g., improving worksheets, using different smart object tools, etc.)

Incentivized