Today, engineers and engineering students use many software programs while designing new constructions, mechanisms and systems. Of all those software programs; Autocad, Solidworks, Unigraphics, Catia and Proengineering are the most popular and preferred programs. Autocad is usually used for 2D design. However, others are for 3D design. I've started using Solidworks after one year experience in Autocad. I realized that Autocad sometimes doesn't meet my requirements. I discovered Solidworks and what I would do with the assistance of this program.
Why solidworks? Because it is very easy to use. Eveything is clear in Solidworks. If you know English and have a little computer knowledge and technical information, you can easily learn how to use Solidworks wtihout needing any additional source like books and tutorials. It is very easy to understand the fundementals of SW.
Other plausible reason is that there are many Solidworks books in Bookstores. One can find many resources written in different languages. For me, it is easy to find such sources written both in English and my native language Turkish. Solidworks have been given as two-semester course in most of European and American universities.
Designing starts with 2D in Solidworks. Above all, you should have a knowledge of drawing in 2D. You should be capable of making 2D sketches. You should be capable of forming the main 2D construction of solid systems. Rest is very simple because it goes on with simple extrusion, hole making, cutting, lofting and revolving processes.
Another advantage of Solidworks is that it works well with all versions of Windows operating system. The last version, SW 2008, is installed and worked on Vista after loading Service Pack of Vista. Without Service Pack, it doesn't run on your system.
To learn how to use Solidworks and how to design systems or just making drawings for fun, follow my tutorial set. My next article will be about simple 3D drawings. In the next articles, you should learn how to draw cylinders, rectangular prisms and cubes with very different dimensions.
In a nutshell, Solidworks is a good way to explain the things in your mind with simple lines and curves.
