Moving from SW To ProE. Advice?

Hi all.

For various reasons, we have dumped Soildworks where I work (well,
technically we've just stopped paying subscription), and are looking at
changing CAD packages. We are on SW2004, looking at the base package of
the latest Wildfire.

 From what I've seen it looks pretty good, and I don't see anything that
we currently do in SW that can't be done in ProE. Obviously some
methods, etc will need to change, but I can deal with that.

I have seen two demos, one canned web-demo, and one where a ProE guy
came in and showed us some things. It was refreshing to see things work
not-quite-as-expected.*

So, here's what I'd like to know:

-Are there any particular bugs to look out for (please see below for
what kind of parts we make here)? Anything killer or that I wouldn't
know to ask to see, yet is quite a pain to actual users?**
-How stable is it?
-Any recommended hardware beyond what PTC recommends/certifies?
Real-world memory size, etc.
-How is ProE with large assemblies (700-1500 parts/sub-assys)?
Stability, speed, etc.
-What is creating drawings like?
-Anything else I should look for in particular? ie: Questions for
reseller, etc.

What we do here:
Nearly all of our parts are simple blocks of steel with holes and cuts.
There's no surfacing or complex geometry. There are a few simple tubes
(bent tubing) and sheet metal parts. Nothing complex. So I'm not going
to be pushing the modelling aspects of ProE anywhere near it's limits.

We have a fair number of parts with configurations in SW, and from what
I've seen I'd likely make good use of the parent->child parts (similar
to SW's base part--sorry, I don't know what ProE actually calls it).
These are either one casting (or one blank part) to make several
finished parts, which are indential except for one or two features. Any
practical limits to this? My application would likely:
Base_part->Intermediate_part--->All_the_finished_parts. Changes in
Base_part do propagate to All_the_finished_parts, correct?

So basically, I want to know how good this thing actually is. Input from
anyone who's used both would be really helpful.

Thanks,
John



* Converting an AutoCAD drawing into a ProE model-->Open the model to
edit a sketch and change dimensions--->While trying to add reference
dimensions, the dim would place in the middle of screen, so we all
thought it wasn't actually placing the dimension. Took a while to
realize that.

** SW has a pretty bug where if you define a cut as "Offset from
surface" the dim appears (in the model and in the drawing) as from the
selected surface to the middle of empty space! This is something I
wouldn't think to ask a salesman (and they likely wouldn't show me), but
which becomes a real PITA when you have guys from the shop coming up to
you and asking "WTF is up with this drawing?!"

 

Wow, for simple prismatic parts, bent tubes, sheetmetal, etc. I would stay
with solidworks. In ProE you'll enjoy 1.5 to 2x more mouse clicks to
accomplish the same thing, not to mention a somewhat less-intuitive user
interface. Maintenance is slightly more and is in India (sometimes that
local VAR is a good thing). I would ask for a demo license to try out
Wildfire for a month before you make the switch.

 

Can't contrast to SW, but .....

The ref dim thing (hiding itself in the middle of the sketch) is common and
my reactions at first were the same. Makes me wonder how familiar the
demonstrator is with the program.

1500 parts isn't a large assembly in Pro/E. Think you'll find speed and
stability to be fine.... better define stability: Corrupt files are rare
to non-existant (in my experience, breath of fresh air after using Adsk
software). Crashing is hardware sensitive as any program, with acceptable
hardware I guess you could say it's at least as stable as other CAD
programs. Also think you'll find Pro/E doesn't require as much computional
horsepower as other programs to get comparable performance (my machine
doesn't meet current entry level specs for Inventor and a normal assy for
me is in excess of 2000 part instances.)

One thing I'd look into if applicable; working in a multi user environment.
Something I don't know anything about, but have seen the question asked and
seen few or no answers detailing how to go about it.

I'd definitely go the maint, at least first year, as it'll give you access
to a lot of "suggested technique" information that will be extremely
helpful while learning the program.

You might want to hook up to mcadcentral.com. It has a lot more traffic
than this group.

 

Lucky you. I'm not being sarcastic. I mean it. I used Pro-E for around 6
years designing injection molds. Yes the learning curve may be a little
steeper but Pro-E, at least with my experience, will do what you want when
you want to do it, period. I lost my job last year because the owners tired
of the constant challenges of trying to compete with the other side of the
world & decided to close the doors. Now I'm doing fixture design with SW. If
it wasn't for the fact that fixtures are typically primitive entity
components, cubes & rounds, I'd probably quit. I may still do that. SW is a
piece of CRAP compared to Pro. The only time Pro failed me was when I did
something wrong. Not because of any software glitches. Pro-E is mature &
robust to the max. Period. Enjoy man. Mike P.