3 Things to Consider Before Choosing a CAD System

Aug 30, 2019 | , , , , , , , ,
3 Things to Consider Before Choosing a CAD System 1

Options are great things, but too many options and you’re likely to end up wasting more time deciding which CAD system is right for you rather than manufacturing the stuff that gets invoices paid. With this current abundance in the market, how do you determine which is the best CAD software for improving your design and engineering efficiencies so that your company will be more innovative throughout the product lifecycle?

Using mainly traditional CAD methodology, most design software simply does not provide the same level of productivity or ease of use as IronCAD. Fundamentally a better way to design, IronCAD’s innovative solutions allow everyone involved in the design process the ability to contribute to the design at all stages, enabling productivity and the delivery of the precise products in less time based on the customers’ needs.

Now before you rush to purchase a CAD system, let’s take a look at some points you’ll want to consider and do a quick analysis of what you have to gain.

 

Short Learning Curve

The time it takes to become productive in any design program is a key factor in deciding whether to buy it. Traditionally a CAD system often requires many weeks of training, including tedious onsite training courses. IronCAD changes that. 

Made to interact in 3D the way you do in the real world, our tools are not only powerful but built to be extremely intuitive. IronCAD can be learned in days, even hours, not weeks or months like most CAD software. Whether it’s a sprint to learn as fast as possible or a few things each day, everything can be learned from the comfort of your desk and in your own time. This means your workforce can gain the advantages of 3D CAD quickly so that your new projects and manufacturing stays on track when everyone is always busy.

 

Distinguishing Features

Having a CAD system that offers a variety of features that can actually meet your product development needs is a necessity. As obvious as that may seem, many CAD users do not go out of their way to seek out new features that could enhance productivity. In turn, they never really know if there is anything new or more productive in the market place. 

The problem with this is that it is not easy to do the extensive changes that may be required in the real world of design, we all know the only constant in engineering is change and by not staying up to date on anything new or more productive in the market place may be holding you back.

IronCAD is intuitive and modeled on real-world interactions due to 5 distinguishing features that make our software flow as a user would expect.

  • Unified Design Environment – Create multiple parts and assemblies in a single file (no PDM required). Users simply design what is needed quickly and can make assembly structure changes anytime. Gone are the days of wasted time creating a part file, creating an assembly file, inserting parts, and repeating this tedious process.
  • TriBall – Easily reposition and create components in any desired location using this powerful positioning tool. Remove the complexity of datum planes and mate & align tools with a single tool that is designed to work in 3D space allowing you to design faster and more accurate than ever before.
  • Handles – Use handles to intuitively resize objects. Sketches are useful, but the process of editing a sketch and exiting over and over to change geometry is not productive. Use intuitive handles to quickly resize objects to fit within your assembly design with just a simple push and pull.
  • Catalog – Drag and drop predefined shapes to kickstart the design process. Not only are there hundreds of objects for you to use out of the box, store your own features, parts, assemblies, and much more so that you can reuse anything! Stop searching PDM or file systems for your components, drag and drop them into a catalog and quickly search and reuse in your design.
  • Innovative Modeling – Seamlessly mix feature-based design and direct editing. Changes always occur and sometimes, the change needs to be performed by a different user other than the original designer. Once a complex challenge in traditional CAD has now been overcome with IronCAD’s Innovative modeling. Just make the change and IronCAD handles the mix of your features to perform the desired change.

Together, these distinguishing features streamline the design workflow for designers and contributing designers equaling faster design to production of your products. Still, need some convincing? Take a look at this video to hear from our customers that have made the change and are seeing the benefits.

 

Active Support & Community Resources 

Finding the answers to common questions through community resources is a key factor in buying a new CAD system. When examining different software, CAD users will find the most value in a system that offers support and provides an active online community.

In this regard, IronCAD happens to be especially strong and has an active online community with many users exchanging knowledge and sharing ideas on many topics.  Additionally, users have access to forums where they will find tips and troubleshooting help from our IronCAD support team as well as other users. The number of forums and resources devoted to our software is exponential, but the IronCAD community makes it possible for users to quickly and efficiently seek help when necessary.

 

Whether you are looking for a new CAD software or if you’re thinking about switching to IronCAD, you can expect huge productivity gains and an overall more enjoyable 3D design experience. Try it for yourself using our free trial and we will reach out to help you see how IronCAD will benefit your own product design.