laminar-flow

Wow, after taking a good look at Alibre, it looks very "Industry standard" with it's interface and assembly manager. Even a bit easier to learn. Too bad I'm fond of MAC. I did call Alibre and they do have several users using Virtual PC and running it on a MAC but I have never liked running under VPC. They have been getting more requests to support MAC OS X and I was sure to put in my vote. They said if they get enough they would do it.

Thanks for the info. That's what I thought it was but needed to hear it from a user. Concepts Unlimited has a great interface and one can model very fast. What it lacks are good 2D drawing tools and it's ability to manage projects with many parts. I'm currenlty on their case to fix these and other issues upon which it will be an awsome 3D CAD modeling package. Other things I'm trying to get added to CU is the ability for a designer to add value to the model during creation of parts. For example, when a shaft is created to fit a bearing, the tolerance of the shaft is determined and this tolerance should be entered into the model at that point in time. Trying to remember this when making a print days or weeks later does not work well. How do you manage projects in your CAD package?

I'm exploring other CAD packages that run on the MAC and thinking on switching from Concepts Unlimited to VW Mechanical for my 3D CAD. I mainly do mechanical mechanisms and the like. Has any one else had any experience with this change and let me know what I'd be in for. The assembly and mechanical features of CU is very limited and it's a struggle to manage a multiple part model. Does VW handle assemblies well? How is this done in VW? Is it similar to other CAD packages like SW or SE?

I am currently using Vellum Cobalt and am considering switching to Vectorworks. Having been a Mac and Vellum user for over 10 years, I now find the company falling apart again. QC poor, buggy, slow to impliment features and a general direction more towards ID and no improvements in mechanical which I do a lot of. Is there any one that has switched or has used both programs? Also, how does Vectorworks compare to SolidWorks for mechanical design solid modeling? Any comments would be appreciated.