CAD package for editing/making FEA models

barmin

Hello,
I was recently searching for an affordable cad package to defeature/make/edit CAD models for FEA purposes.
It seems that so far the best one is the DesignSpark - is anyone using it? Or do you have any other nice and cheap (1000 USD range) software for this purpose?

Sergio

I'm using Alibre Atom at home for creating models, have bought a licence a year ago (about u$d 149). Some operations must be done in FreeCAD (split surfaces and boolean), but still is the best option for starters, freelancers or hobbyist in my humild opinion. It works like a clasical parametrical CAD, you made sketchs, then extrude/revolute, then create parts, assemblies and drawings.

https://www.alibre.com/atom3d/

They have other version professional (less than u$d 800) and expert for u$d 1400.

At work I use Solidedge, and in the past Solidworks, NX, I-DEAS, Inventor, CATIA... all great tools, but not really affordable for freelancers.

afro_samurai

FreeCAD has some impressive capabilities.. but im on Rhino.. like many others here... worked on countless numbers of CAD systems... find what you can afford... find what you like... add other tools as you need...

barmin

Tested Rhino and DesignSpark, leaning towards DesignSpark (it's SpaceClaim minus some functions) but maybe someone is using something else that is also decent

ehoule

Don't know if it fits your needs, but OnShape offers a free plan for non commercial use.

https://www.onshape.com/en/products/free

abtoms

I've been using ViaCad 2D/3D. Retails for $199US but you can regularly find discounts 25-30%.

Mishal

@barmin, how was your experience with DesignSpark? Is it decent for modelling surfaces?

barmin

I bought the export package, seems best at doing surfaces and manual midsurfacing Also featuring is nice, because you just select feature and delete it, simple as that

JMF11

Hello,

I'm all but an expert here, as hobbyist. I did my basic CAD learning on Fusion360, but the constant evolution of the hobbyist plans turned me to FreeCAD, which I had discarded at the beginning. At the end, even if not as consistent as Fusion360 (multiple workshops with in my view some duplicates), it looks to me as a very viable option.

What is missing in your perspective to compete with Design Spark, Atom Alibre, Rhino or others for FEA purpose?

JMF

Sergio

FreeCAD lacks of a standard (unified) assembly and drawing enviroment. There are several assembly/draft workbenchs, but all work in a more complex/weird way than traditonal comercial CADs. That´s why I like Alibre, it just works (well :-) )

JMF11

Understood, thanks for the explanation. This can be the issue with Opensource efforts. More perspectives, less coordination, less consistency...

I try tyo find my way between the different wokbench and determine something that works for me. But it is just for hobby activities. Efficiency is a bit less critical

JMF

MikeMcMullen

Correct about Freecad, and I don't use it for that reason. Its method of just defining constraints and relationships has its virtues when the dimensions are unknowns, but I don't work that way. That is the part of the design process that I occupy. I design, the software verifies, I adjust design after a think. Thats why I changed to Mecway.

MMK66

Look on →IronCAD. I use Solid Edge ~ basic version 4k$. Ironcad full ? 4-5k$.
FreeCAD yesterday instal- and → I'm learning freeCAD, I liked the fact that it has a script console. And the corporate policy of subscribing does not satisfy me. FreeCAD will grow very strongly at an expotential rate: D

afro_samurai

i used ironcad since version 2.. very good.. very fast.. reminds me of the modeling freedom back on UG v10.. back in early 90s.. ironcad became what UG would have become... special place in my heart for ironcad.. been on Rhino since v2 also.. now on v7.. that program has become a beast over the years.. 1g not bad at all.. but yeah.. ironcad is at 5 g.. if you add multiphysics partnered with ampstech analysis.. it goes up to 15 to 20g... soooo.. i parked on rhino.. never looked back.. add Mecway to take the place of my ALGOR / Ironcad system... now Rhino / Mecway is my system...

Again... find what you can afford.. find what you like.. add tools as needed.. . fun stuff...

I am willing to hit the donate button a few times for Mecway.. something tells me this software is headed in the right direction... hell i remember when turbo cad was in office depot.. and Alibre Cad was free... same goes for them all... they gain traction and you get to see them take off.. exciting stuff... i want to see the same for Mecway.. mecway was easy for me to pick up. since the interface behaves alot like early ALGOR... before becoming autodesk simulation... I like the ALGOR and MECWAY interface better than ANSYS.. used ANSYS for many years... good software.. sticker shock..

MECWAY... where is the donate button?

Victor

@afro_samurai no donate button but I appreciate the sentiment.

JohnM

We use Solidworks/Creo/Inventor depending on the project, and unfortunately come across CAD like the attached figure more than we'd like. Meshes look awful from GMsh and Netgen just fails. I need to find a standalone like SpaceClaim without bloated code it is now attached to. Is Rhino or DesignSpark a decent application for cleaning up CAD like this?




@afro_samurai, no donate button but do the next best thing- tell a friend!

MikeMcMullen

Buy two licenses. I did, but it was due to a very fatal CPU/MB crash, until Victor sent me an e-mail after I had purchased another, I had lost the KEY due to this crash. He offered to refund me the price of one of the keys, but I refused due to his never ending help for this old newby who used FEM (no GUI) a little over 40 years ago then 20 years ago, and the suitability of the software for my needs now. I had researched many alternative programs including LsDyna, Ansys, and Solidworks, but none had perpetual licensing anymore and all were too expensive to even learn, and probably had too steep of a learning curve.

Sergio

@JohnM , have you tried removing faces in Solidworks? I use Solidedge at work, and is possible to just delete those radius and chamfers.

JohnM

@Sergio definitely a reasonable option, but in many cases we are dealing with these things after the fact, as a STEP (from Solidworks or Inventor or Creo) so I would prefer a way to correct things "after the fact". What I find interesting is that then engineers that do a lot of simulation usually make better CAD

Sergio

@JohnM , Solidedge and Solidworks have tools to delete faces (radius, chamfers, holes...) that can work with imported geometries. I agree that after making lot of simulations you learn to draw your models in a clean way, first the big shape of the part and then add draft angles and finnaly small features like holes, small chamfers and radius. Maybe you can ask your desingers to draw in that order and export before the last steps of modeling, and you made only those radius/fillets that works as stress relieving.

afro_samurai

rhino is very good on geometry modification.. whenever you run out of options using boolean methods.. or typ solid modeling .. you move into face and surface manipulation.. and rhino has that in abundance... ive worked ironcad .. ug.. catia.. proe.. solid works.. solid edge..... this CAD and Analysis stuff.. like many others here.. im a mech eng... for 30 years now...

Absolutely.. doing alot of analysis make you a better modeler...

sad to say im only a company of one... but im not offended to having a donate button for liscenced users... so we can stock the tin and boost mecway a bit.. just a thought..

Sergio

With Siemens NX or Abaqus CAE you can work at geometry levels such as "delete that wire", "move that wire end to that end line and avoid having stupid 0.2mm lengh dirty edges" and things like that, but they are very expensive. Maybe with moi3d you could work that level of detail. In your desing is not the fillets whats wrong, but that very small edges were different small radius converge.


http://moi3d.com/

Sergio

As far as I remember Abaqus CAE doesn´t need so many tokens to run, is the solver what needs a lot. Maybe could be interesting see if is possible to buy only Abaqus CAE and do the meshes there.

barmin

@JohnM - try DesignSpark, it's just poor's man Spaceclaim, without some functions but MUCH cheaper. I ended up buying the STEP/IGES addon

cwharpe

DesignSpark install note: had difficulty registering for required (free) account at end of install (~2 Gb). Had to go through website to register, then software let me in.

For those familiar with Sketchup, it has a similar feel at the outset.

henglao

For free CAD programs look at LibreCAD, QCAD, NanoCAD, FreeCAD. For low cost CAD programs look at DraftSight, and BricsCAD.
There are other freely available CAD software packages (mostly for non-commercial use) that might fit with your style better: Fusion360, OnShape, TinkerCAD.
more cad programs here: https://www.xp-pen.com/forum-6119.html

Sergio

Alibre is on black friday with a comercial licence of Alibre Atom at usd 100, is a great product for such a low price.

Mishal

Hi Sergio, please share a link. when I search I cannot find the black friday special

JohnM

https://www.alibre.com/buy-now/?utm_campaign=**LP Branded&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=408493471432 Alibre Atom&utm_term=alibre atom&gclid=Cj0KCQiAg_KbBhDLARIsANx7wAwbfAu8VMNWPa1Nt4-KjVzSoIKDKkib7w_CdTL3GZ2ehcDmquMWR4MaAvxiEALw_wcB

Mishal

Random question, if one makes the purchase of Alibre Atom, you obviously get a maintenance period. Are you still able to move the license after the maintenance period? Or will it be locked to the installed PC? I assume that as long you have the installation for the version you purchased you can then activate it on another PC.

I can't really find much information on this as it seems to be a grey area

Sergio

You can choose to don't buy maintenance, and still you can move the licence between different computers.