MicroStation vs. TurboCAD

MicroStation is THE program to use for roadway and corridor modeling. Most departments of transportation and municipalities in my region require that the models be delivered in the dgn format, so it is MicroStation or bust. It is an absolute pain to use some of the add-in features though. Things that are easy in other programs like making smart tables that update with the latest information usually necessitate the use of Axiom or similar outside programs/add-ins. I design storm sewer systems, and it takes us 6 months to train up new hires on this software, because it is NOT intuitive. You need to know which buttons to press, since it is not designed to be easily command-based like AutoCAD Civil 3D.

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TurboCAD is well suited to a smaller budget, it is by no means the best there is but for the money, it fills the gap. Being an AutoCAD & DraftSight user I find the user interface a little old and the lack of common drafting industry shortcut keys a bit of a hindrance. However this product, TurboCAD gets the job done, other packages like DraftSight do not even come with an active 3D option on the cheaper end, standard license whereas TurboCAD does, even though it's a little clumsy to use.

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• Plethora of design alternatives to choose from right from design to completed models
• Detailed approach towards parametric, mesh and surface modelling
• Well integrated modelling workflows
• Intelligent parametric components with 2D and 3D designs

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• Produces accurate drawings to scale, and with several ways to show the "views" to people in need of them at our factory.
• Relatively easy to use, once you understand the toolset. You can draw anything with it.
• Sending files to CNC machine shops to produce parts is easy with this program.
• Sending to mold making companies works out well. Just ask them what file format they want and TurboCAD can give it to them.

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• Some of the more complex models have had a few issues exporting.
• We've struggled with external consultants using the custom Autocad engineering tools, and it plays nicely with MicroStation.

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• Some of the load times are lengthy is there a way to streamline this?
• Path Hatching and Object Trim could use a hot key
• More intuitive layer management system

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MicroStation is very hard to use for our newest employees. It is not intuitive, and you need to know where to find the buttons to perform the commands you would like to perform instead of typing in the commands like other similar modeling programs. Also, it has no good traffic turning add-ins. We continue to run ALL our turning in Autoturn, since this is not a usable feature with MicroStation.

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TurboCAD does all of the things we need it to do and some. The wide variety of options to create specificity in each of our projects is a large plus. The reason it was given a 9 is because the learning curve can be a little steep and sometimes certain processes are not as intuitive as they could be

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We haven't had to use it for many years, so not able to comment.

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The only general purpose CAD program that you can compare MicroStation with would be AutoCAD. MicroStation, in my opinion, is a superior product in every way but one. That one issue is that there are just more people who have and know how to use AutoCAD than there are ones who know MicroStation. This makes AutoCAD easier to get up and running for most firms.

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3DS Max is the one I use the most, the other two are good choices also. They have more online tutorials for helping learn them.

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• MicroStation usage is primarily necessitated by our major client who also uses the program.
• Without using MicroStation there would be many times where we would not be able to provide our clients with what they need.
• Therefore, MicroStation has had an incredibly positive impact on the business I work for as its usage has continued to secure contracts.

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• Ability to render quotes.
• Ability to supply complete drawings.
• Easy to use interface provides a faster design time window.

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A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info