What would be your choice NX8 or SolidWorks?

i think it is a question about software ability or using of it.
NX is one of best software in the world with 40% of total percentage of using Engineering software(specially CAD) but SolidWorks is more user friend than NX.for instance when u using constrain in SW it is more comfortable than NX.however i think NX is more powerfull but recently SW has acceptable improvement.finally i prefer SW because:
1-price
2-being more user friend
3-cool up to dating
4-good analytical parts(cosmos flowworks,piping,cw,..)with good accuracy

it's your opinion dear Nesher Amir, but i worked with both , specially SW.what do u think about CAD?
CAD=computer Aided Design
that means Design by Computer Aid!
therefore u should review your answer brother!

dear Ivan Spasić i see what u and Nesher Amir said , if read the question again
u see that tell you "What would be your choice NX8 or SolidWorks ? "
i know NX what the awesome software is , we should see the result like strain , price , development ,...
if u design some part (in reality) u must assign some factors like material , safety , price , usage , ... . in software u have same parameter but is a little different in use!
i means u should choose software with all factors.i think NX is the best software now and i like it more , my choice is SW because of following reasons.by the way NX is more complicated just in using constrains :)

difference can be explain like this:
if you want to make cheap Fiat, use SW, if you want to make top Mercedes model use NX. Nesher Amir is right, maybe best solution for small companies is SolidEdge with or without PDM.

Why so many people work in SW i do not understand, i tried Catia, ProE, Inventor, SW, SE, and NX is still my first choice. People who say that NX is confusing just didn't try hard enough to learn it. In NX 8 you need around 25 icons to make some medium complicated design, i do not see how that can be hard to use? And if you spend time to tweak NX and customize it, you can work fast as you think.

NX8 By far the best CAD / CAM software

What is your industry focus? do you want integrated CAD/CAM/CAE? your budget?
What CAD system do your suppliers and vendors use?

Dear Nesher Amir ;
i did not say that NX is poor or such sentence!
i just said SW is easier to use than the NX
i ' m teaching some CAD/ CAE software and base of my little experience i see that using of SW for constrain is better than NX and this is a fact:)
but i tell u again that NX is awesome CAD/CAM/CAE software but in some cases as i said SW is better,then i prefer SW for those reasons!and this is my idea as i worked by both of them.

NX8 By far the best CAD / CAM software

High end = NX
middle end = Soliedge
PDM = Teamcenter
http://www.americanmachinist.com/Classes/Article/ArticleDraw.aspx?HBC=Issue&NIL=False&CID=87808&OASKEY=Issue

thank you for answers. I'm working on vehicle design ali. sometimes it is neccesary to make analysis. we dont use CAD/CAM/CAE. my designs only for technical drawing. and thank you nesher, I havent think as you said before. it is difference approach, interesting viewpoint:))

I totaly agree with you coolwin. I read a few articles, generally writes nx is better then sw. I'm sw user and I interested the nx. I tried it about a month. and end of the month, I decided that sw is wonderfull. even if I have assebly problems in sw, I love it. nx is more more more confused. if are there somebodies who have used sw and nx, please write here

NX8

Having been brought up on IDEAS and transitioned to NX I would have to agree the NX is confusing and more then a little annoying, but when you can get it to work it works so well.
That said some of the old IDEAS stuff I still want back, buttons that stay where you left them and are in the same place on every machine (non of this customising rubbish) and the workbench which allows many different parts (this allows sketches and ideas without having to create names and new part files)...
I use SW every now and again, its easy to use, quick and good enough for basic applications and small, especially if your paying for it! but would say there could better/cheaper choices out there.

Any software will take some time to get acquainted with, so that's no argument. If you just tried NX once or twice you may think it's confusing. NX if by far the best CAD/CAM software I know

This is a giant can of worms, a question that have started flame wars for a long time... I'm pretty sure SW will do your job, so will NX, or any major player still on the market these days. NX is far more capable, and therefore has a steeper learning curve, this is natural. That doesn't mean SW is not a capable system. I also grew up as an engineer using I-DEAS (pre Master Series, weak CAD but strong FE functionality), and worked for SDRC for 10 years, including a few years under the UG regime. I do like I-DEAS, I even did like I-DEAS better than NX for quite a few releases, but nowadays, that trend has been reversed.

I WOULD LIKE UG ,UG AND SW ARE ALL FREE IN CHINA IF YOU ONLY USE IT PERSONALLY .

Well I've used both software and both are good all depend on the use to which will be proposed. Of course solidworks has limitations because it is of a lower tool in many ways, but this is very relative, if I had to choose a software for a small business with simpler designs without the use of complex surfaces and without the focus on high productivity in projects certainly choose the solid works. Have NX with all modules it offers is much more than a CAD, CAM and CAE has also without intermediate conversions, it is highly customizable and focuses on increasing productivity countless times, but here comes the question, you have a team designers who are able to take all that it offers?
Do you have patience to configure any software to your need? (it's very, very, hard work)
Have options where you can pay for someone to set you but technical Siemens are not very cheap to hire, although honestly think most worth paying if the NX than trying to do it yourself.
So the basic question is what you expect from the software and how much money you have available?
I believe that the difference in cost is approximately 1: 8 between them at least.

I have used solid works but nx is more user friendly then solid works. Nx is more comfortable in surfacing work and analysis. It's sheet metal module is more accurate and comfortable. I love to work in nx

Sorry but Solidworks is NOT a CAD software!
what is it then?
A bottomless hole where your $12000 + $2000 yearly are flowing in the stream of no service user abuse policy. A hole where your delayed time to project delivery is costing you more & more by the second while your frustration with customer support is pushing the moon out of orbit!
Did you ever wonder why there is such a wealth in external tutorials & books?
Answer: because solidworks don’t have it! Translate it to more $$$$ per station!

However NX ($30000) is not on the same price level of Stupidworks ($12000)… You really need that level of investment only if you are dealing with assemblies larger than 500000 parts, to manage such size of assembly you need the PDM too. ST4+PDM will give you the same results at half price. Any way it is very advisable to use external specialized consultant service, one that doesn’t sell hardware or software from any kind!
Of course if you just play with it – TOTALLY PRIVET UN COMMERCIAL USE – you can download the p2p versions, morally it is not a theft!!! Moral is defined by the majority & everybody downloading everything possible. However the simple truth is that legal version will save you money in time of trouble free operation as you got the updates & support at a cost of slavery support contract but will still save a lot assuming you are working on something worth your time.

SolidEdge ST4 is vastly superior to Solidworks with 100% better workflow, documentation & service it is also a bit less expensive + the automatic benefits of Siemens not wasting too much money on shiny UI while to software itself still dragging bugs from 1998 & with every update the list just get longer, as is always the case with Solidworks.

Test st4 you will never look back on solidworks with anything but contempt!
Combine the power of st4 with Spaceclaim working together in PDM on JTopen file format & you got something that is lighter & faster than a supersonic rabbit fart that can do anything a CAD system of $30000 to $60000 can do + IT’S FUN & JOY TO USE!!!
When was the last time you smiled while working on CAD? See my point now?

Good Luck :)

Aykut Dana you're welcome ;)
anal-sis can be fun DOUBLE ROLF, however analysis module like Ansys is starting from $60000!
That’s not a problem for itself but you really need someone specialized in interpreting the results, it is smarter & cheaper to outsource it to some external contractor.
& btw the only crapier CAD system then Solidworks is ALL PRO/E products with it’s unbelievable junk of legacy code!

software is just a tool..so what is impoetant is your knowledge....so ..which is more good is no important .....

i use SW2002-2012 version in my dell precision for 10 years especially for making checking fixture , plastic mold and special purpose machine.
but honestly i try solidedge st4 from siemens and spaceclaim 2010 is far beyond SW.
and other said if you want high end surfacing for checking fixture and mold you use NX siemens.

Maybe 10 years ago the best option was Catia.
At that moment both Catia and NX were difficult and old-fashioned.

Nowadays NX has surpassed Catia in all aspects and is as easy to use as Solidworks but with many more options. I you don't want to use that options just forget them.

The problem with NX is that is really expensive, almost as expensive as Catia.
If you want something cheaper go for Solidworks.
Solidworks has one advantage, you can find thousands of tutorials and people that can help you.
Another option is Spaceclaim. Almost as powerful as Solidworks but more comortable and cheaper.

If you have a limited budget and or you're always going to do mechanical things I guess solid edge or sw. But UNIGRAPHICS ..,NX s tools are designed to create anything you can throw at it. Once you start using it you really do not want to go back to the rest of the stuff... They feel like a plastic toy next to UG.
TTFN :0)

I think someone earlier asked the question, "what industry will you be working in"? If you're moving to something say automotive, I'd go for NX. If consumer products, home appliences, etc.---SW.

HI there . What i can say for those 2 products in not very diferrent that already people before me said .My personal opinion is .
SW - easy to learn , better price and it will do the job in most cases.
NX - it is expensive , hard to learn and powerful , but it is stupurd like a donkey.
I other word NX is like you tray you claim a mountain peat with each task , and just you think i control it , there are 10 more mountain pick to claim . With SW will be normal walk throu the valley .It is a matter of person to choise which path it want to go.

Hallo all,
My opinion :In general all the CAD systems have bad knowlegde off human interface and that results in bad performance. I understand the problems software designers have. But looking to all the money we paided the last 25 years the result is very poor. I gues a lot off money went to people with no or less contribution to solving our problems (and concerns).
So what I was thinking: We as a professionals have to use am amateurish software platform. And "the amateur" has the best software using his smartphone. Has anyone any idear about motivating our CAD-tool manufactures/deliveres to move to the next level?.

NX 8.0

NX8 is more powerfull

I have Siemens NX 8.5, Siemens Ideas NX 6.3, and Solid works. You can still buy Ideas NX 6.3 from Siemens Vars for under $10K and about $1400 / year in maintenance. Given all three packages, I still prefer to use the old IDEAS product as it has some features that are best every such as measurement, focus commands, ability to extract geometry, multiple parts on work bench, no dimension required for wire frames, and most of all if you move your part all the sub feature move with it. Whereas in NX 8.5 and with Solid works, parts tend to blow up. When I need a complex surface I make that in NX 8.5 and export it to Ideas (rarely need to do that).

My company used genuine NX6 last 3 years,and now is NX8.5.

NX, We use it for design, drafting and Manufacturing. If you have little money get Solidedge. both have sychronis modeling technology that is patented. Solid edge is cheaper than sw

Depending on what is the use you're gonna give to the software, nx have more accurancy on the analysis applications, such as motion simulation and fem simulation, but if you're planning just make a model of parts and then an assembly, solidworks would suit fine

NX8.0 is better I think

I use NX 8.5 and understand that there is a learning curve but once that has been overcome you will not be limited to what you want to do, I am ALWAYS learning news functions within the NX suite

I started using Unigraphics in the early 90s, back when computer hardware was too weak to run shaded images. Freeform modelling back then was a black art. 20 years later, I still like UG the best, but its really because I'm so familiar with it. I do freelance work for GM in Europe from time to time, and UG is what they use. Catia and UU are both great, and depending on your application, I'm sure soldworks is good as well.

Automotive industry commonly uses NX.
Aerospace industry commonly uses CATIA.
If you're looking to learn a CAD system to later find a job with your skills, maybe look at companies you want to work and see what CAD system they use.
Thing about CAD systems is that it's like a foreign language in that you could be an expert at say NX and not even know how to measure something in CATIA.
My current boss recommended I just get really good at using one CAD system rather than try to learn as many as I can so that's what I did.
Also, people around you will be your primary source of CAD education so what ever everyone around you is using, use that unless you have a good reason not to.

Use rhino build contours of reoccupy NX8 until the mold to complete the main body and structure
NX in China mainly depends on a more powerful design scheme to the actual production
Because I work city will basically NX exaggerated said one might have about ten
The people I know use SolidWorks in medical equipment or machine more

nx8

NX8

I like to use nx for my design portion and like to use solid works to transfer cad data

I am currently learning AutoCAD then go for advanced software, i am currently into automobile sheet metal fabrication industres and try to focuss on Tooling, Progressive tooling with simulation and failure analysis and actual behaviour of tool I will design. Currently I want to know which software I have to go with SolidWorks or NX. Please Suggest!

It's got to be Solidworks - It is, by far, a more user friendly piece of software compared to NX.

I've used both and found NX to be over complicated, more expensive... and combined with Teamcenter - a nightmare to use.

SolidWorks

I'm using Solid Edge for over sever year to do mostly progressive dies . I get very good productivity with this software . Also because my boss insist to do the project in NX , because he knows NX i do also progressive dies in NX progressive die wizard . It's realy dificult and hard to get productividy from this software , may be in 2-3 year stright work in it , may be . But this is a big investment in time , with downsize productivity . So i don't say it is stupid software , just i'm comparing my progress and my abilities in Solid Edge with what i got in NX .

I am user of SolidWorks a long time. I realize training in SolidWorks a long time already, NX8 is one of the best programs of CAM, but to accomplish projects with practicality he showed complex, I found it very confusing, for new users of software projects it cause dismay due to its complexity, I don't accustomed to use NX8 it don't attract to user, é confuso e complexo não é dinâmica, ie it complicates simple tasks of everyday life.

I have used Solidworks for the past 10 years. We are an American company that merged with a German company and our colleagues in Germany use UG NX8 while we here in the States use SW2014. I have been commissioned to redraw a complex casting for our German counterparts using NX8.5 so they can take control of the part and revise as necessary using NX8.5. So now that that's out of the way... I can tell you hands down Solidworks is a more intuitive design software. If you like to beat your head against a rock go with NX. What takes me about 4 hours of design work in SW is taking me days to do with UG. Now I understand that there's a learning curve so that's why its taking me so long but this is ridiculous! I can see that NX is a very powerful program but why there's no Loft feature is beyond me! As with a lot of functionality that most design software's should have and this one does not! The price over Solidworks is definitely not worth it!!

I've used SolidWorks
I used catia
I used NX8
There's absolutely no doubt the fastest SolidWorks
SolidWorks good
NX8 ridiculous things and crazy people are a lot of small bugs
nx unnecessary software