Thread: Cad

**sinjin** · 6th November 2012, 09:21 PM

The so called high end CAD systems, Pro-Engineer,Solid Works, Unigraphics, Catia, and a couple of other are very expensive. Most have a starting price at 14k.
However some have student or academic versions which can cost as little as $140.00 and are not time limited. There is no doubting they are very complex to use but there is a reason and that is they can design
and draw anything you can possibly think of and really they are design packages not so much drawing packages. The world is 3D and so i am biased to designing only in 3D. But the returns are equally great and infact for the high end systems you can't actually do a design then analysis if it was only 2D.
The point is they are quite difficult to use but if you like you can get some of the student versions very cheap. They do have some limitations but none that would be a problem for a single user. They are intended for Uni students to have a taste of what a complex system can do.

**B80** · 3rd January 2013, 08:28 PM

Hi,

Further to the above, the Student Version of Solid Edge ST4 is free for students, so if you know anyone who's studying...

I've got an earlier version of the program (from when I studied engineering) that I'm familiar with, so I've not tried this myself, but I've been told you don't need an .edu extension email to get an activation code, so they are in effect free for anyone willing to represent themselves as a student. :wasntme:

The 3D design in Solid Edge is reasonably intuitive. 3D parts are drawn by extruding 2D drawings into 3D shapes and then "shaping them" by inserting holes, linear and revolved cutouts, chamfering edges etc, similar to what you would do if you were fabricating it. Individual parts are then "assembled" together by defining relationships between individual parts (i.e. by defining parallel surfaces, mating surfaces to one another, aligning concentric axis, or defining linear or angular offsets for each of the relationships). It is fantastic to check all your parts fit together, align properly, rotate with enough clearance etc etc.

For sheet metal fabrication, parts can also be bent into shape, stamped and/or welded. If material properties are defined correctly, the program will work out minimum bend radii, bend "shrinkage" etc, so it is a full design suite rather than a drafting program. Dimensioned drafting drawings can be easily produced from the 3D parts for manufacture, or exported to AutoCAD format for laser cutting. I cannot recommend it highly enough if you are prepared to invest 50 to 100 hours learning which buttons do what. There are several limitations (Drafting drawings have an "Academic Version" watermark, no FEA analysis, and designed parts will not open on non-academic versions to prevent use in a commercial environment).

I've included several examples of either designs, or fabricated parts based on Solid Edge designs that I have sitting in my ImageShack library

Checking fitment of a 4WD winch bar designed to fit the winch as close as possible against the radiator

Spacer for a turbo / thermocouple mount

Dumb irons fabricated to fit an army Land Rover brush bar + winch to a civilian land rover:

Brush bar / trial fit / finished product

Solid Edge student registration link - https://www.plm.automation.siemens.c...ge-student.cfm?

Cheers

Boyan

**DoctorWu** · 29th January 2013, 08:12 AM

Solid Edge student registration link - https://www.plm.automation.siemens.c...ge-student.cfm?

Cheers

Boyan

Hi, that's a great tip and I've downloaded this and it came with a code SE CID****** There are a number of options in the license activation menu and I assumed it would be under 'activation code' but came up instead with missing; "SIGN1=". Directed to flexerasoftware.com. Any ideas?

**DoctorWu** · 9th February 2013, 08:12 AM

Originally Posted by DoctorWu

Solid Edge student registration link - https://www.plm.automation.siemens.c...ge-student.cfm?

Cheers

Boyan

Hi, that's a great tip and I've downloaded this and it came with a code SE CID****** There are a number of options in the license activation menu and I assumed it would be under 'activation code' but came up instead with missing; "SIGN1=". Directed to flexerasoftware.com. Any ideas?

Fixed and all going great.

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