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Ellipsis is the official blog of Autodesk's Technical Evangelist Team. We will discuss all things design and manufacturing related with a focus on industries such as automotive and transportation, consumer products, industrial machinery and building product manufacturing and fabrication. We also have resident experts who will blog about specific product developments in CAD, Simulation, Industrial Design and Data Management.
We look forward to providing you, our user community, with the most relevant and up to date developments in our industry, and hopefully with information that will assist you in doing your job better, faster, and more precisely.
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YouTube Question
November 5, 2009, 11:57 AM Rob CoheeEvery now and again I get a question like this. What's the difference between Inventor and [insert CAD software here]. Fundamentally it comes down to standards, analysis, documentation, motion, collaboration, that makes a difference as I see it. Read on:
Q: OK...I know you're biased...but can you be "Candid" and tell me why Inventor is better/easier than using SketchUp Pro? I haven't tried Inventor but I use SU professionally with great results...but inventor is making me scratch my head. Your thoughts?....
My Answer: SketchUp is a geometry creation tool where Autodesk Inventor is an engineering tool. FEA, Part Libraries (750,000+ standard components), Sheet Metal part creation and flat patterns, Tube and Pipe, Cable Harness, Document in 2D DWG directly from the 3D model. I could go on and on, and that's not being biased - just honest.
Sure you can create 3D solids with SketchUp, but is it the right size, the right material based upon its application, can you create 2D DWG's from the model, can you test the strength or fatigue of a part in an assembly while in motion? That's the difference between a geometry creation tool and an engineering tool.
So, was I biased? (This is the interactive portion of this blog...really I'm looking for your thoughts....)
-Rob
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