Codeware COMPRESS vs. Rhino 3D

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

Rhinoceros 3D is very well-suited for buildings with repetitive bay layouts as a design can be quickly be updated (span, number of bay, height etc) simply by updating a couple numerical sliders. It is also well suited to quickly update one model (for example Revit) based on the changes in another model (either another Revit model or an analysis model). Rhinoceros 3D is not well-suited for teams that are not interested in learning GrassHopper as most of Rhino's value is in GrassHopper.

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

• Rhino3D is a great translator. I use it to take in customer models and then add optical components to it in a detailed and precise way.
• Rhino3D has excellent workflow from curves to surfaces making the translation from optical to mechanical seamless.
• Rhino3D can be paired with Grasshopper to create interesting and unusual geometry for aesthetic or functional purposes.

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

• Rhino has very limited sheet layout tools.
• Grasshopper could be better integrated into the main interface.
• Lack of backwards file compatibility can be frustrating.

Incentivized

A majority of the support for Rhinoceros 3D does not come from the company itself, but from online forums and boards where other Rhinoceros 3D users outline their issues and solutions. The Rhinoceros 3D website does not offer much in-depth support and just outlines general how to's. At the same time, online forums allow for more specific issues to be addressed and solved by the Rhinoceros 3D community.

Incentivized

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

Incentivized

Rhino is a generic platform. For BIM, you can combine it with Revit or ARCHICAD or look for extensions, such as VisualArq or the GeometyGym extensions for Grasshopper. Due to its good interoperability, I often use it for reviewing AutoCAD drawings or converting 3D models. That said, the most efficient and fast mesh modeling for non-organic geometry is still SketchUp, due to its many smart approaches to automatic mesh cleanup.

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

• Personally a lot of really cool designs have made it into the real world thanks to my good friend Rhino. Being in the architecture, the ROI is elevated design through giving talented designers the right tool to pull it off.

Incentivized