Solidworks xDesign  

RE:

I can't comment on xDesign since I have never used it (yet). But to get help for Fusion, I found ChatGPT surprisingly helpful: Describe in laymen's terms what you are looking for or want to achieve, and it is pretty good at suggesting the relevant Fusion function(s) and describing how to use them. It seems to make stuff up much more rarely than with other topics I have tried it on. (But it does, occasionally.)

No idea whether ChatGPT is as proficient in xDesign. But maybe it's worth a try if SolidWorks' help system is less than convincing. 

Edit: Regarding SVGs, it tells me that xDesign can indeed not import them, and that I should convert SVG to DXF.

RE: Solidworks xDesign

You may also have a look to FreeCAD...

It's free and OpenSource.

Best regards.

RE: Solidworks xDesign

Posted by: @rgb

You may also have a look to FreeCAD...

It's free and OpenSource.

Best regards.

And "freely" crashes all the time on MacOS. I like it but I've recently switched to Fusion 360. Pretty much everything I learned on FreeCAD transferred across. Enough to tell me that FreeCAD was derived from (inspired by) Fusion 360. Like GIMP and PhotoShop for example. 

RE: Solidworks xDesign

I’ve been using ChatGPT a lot for them both. It seems to be much better for Fusion than it does for xDesign. Apparently it easily gets confused between Solidworks, Solidworks xDesign, and a myriad of other “x Design” products that cover everything from photo design, to stitching, and something else I’m forgetting at the moment.

Side note, originally ChatGPT told me I could import SVG’s, I may be the one that trained it that no, you can’t. And none of the workarounds it provided work either for various reasons. 😄

Posted by: @jurgen-7

I can't comment on xDesign since I have never used it (yet). But to get help for Fusion, I found ChatGPT surprisingly helpful: Describe in laymen's terms what you are looking for or want to achieve, and it is pretty good at suggesting the relevant Fusion function(s) and describing how to use them. It seems to make stuff up much more rarely than with other topics I have tried it on. (But it does, occasionally.)

No idea whether ChatGPT is as proficient in xDesign. But maybe it's worth a try if SolidWorks' help system is less than convincing. 

Edit: Regarding SVGs, it tells me that xDesign can indeed not import them, and that I should convert SVG to DXF.

RE: Solidworks xDesign

Unfortunately FreeCAD appears to have been discontinued. Not sure it’s worth my time learning that.

Posted by: @rgb

You may also have a look to FreeCAD...

It's free and OpenSource.

Best regards.

RE: Solidworks xDesign

FreeCAD abandoned? looking at the commits it's pretty alive https://github.com/FreeCAD/FreeCAD/graphs/commit-activity

RE:

Posted by: @razor

Unfortunately FreeCAD appears to have been discontinued. Not sure it’s worth my time learning that.

It's only the commercial company Ondsel (who were aiming to make and sell a "better UI/UX, fully supported" version) who have given up: https://www.ondsel.com/blog/goodbye/

But having used Fusion, I am not going back to FreeCAD. It may do most of what I need, but I am spoilt now regarding the user interface.

RE: Solidworks xDesign

Posted by: @razor

Unfortunately FreeCAD appears to have been discontinued. Not sure it’s worth my time learning that. 

FreeCAD is very much alive. There are over 100+ developers contributing. Version 1.1 will be released next month. 

RE: Solidworks xDesign

Ah, ok, thanks for the clarification. That was a bit confusing.

I think Fusion has the best interface/usability, but as some who moderately tinkers around I’m not able to justify the almost $700 annual price.

I’d like to give them a few bucks to have some additional “quality of life” unlocks, but not that much.

Posted by: @jurgen-7

Posted by: @razor

Unfortunately FreeCAD appears to have been discontinued. Not sure it’s worth my time learning that.

It's only the commercial company Ondsel (who were aiming to make and sell a "better UI/UX, fully supported" version) who have given up: https://www.ondsel.com/blog/goodbye/

But having used Fusion, I am not going back to FreeCAD. It may do most of what I need, but I am spoilt now regarding the user interface.

RE: Solidworks xDesign

That was my misunderstanding, thank you. I will give it a look.

Posted by: @hyiger

 

Posted by: @razor

Unfortunately FreeCAD appears to have been discontinued. Not sure it’s worth my time learning that. 

FreeCAD is very much alive. There are over 100+ developers contributing. Version 1.1 will be released next month. 

RE: Solidworks xDesign

Posted by: @razor

I've been using Fusion 360 and recently started looking at alternatives. I've was getting a bit irritated at the limitations the free version of Fusion has, and can't justify the expense of moving up to the paid version. I came across Solidworks xDesign and liked that it was device agnostic. I could use it on my older laptop, whereas Fusion no longer supports it. And it's an affordable license. But as I started using it more I noticed some glaring omissions. It appears there is no SVG import, or text on a path functionality.

Worse, for me xDesign support and documentation is horrendous. I feel like every time I go to their help section it's like a server grabs anything remotely related to one of my search terms and dumps it in to the search results.  And when I do find anything of use, I have to bookmark it because the odds of me finding it again are slim to none.

Am I just an idiot or is Solidworks documentation is as bad as it seems? And can I import an SVG or have text on a path in xDesign? 😄

I ditched Fusion some time ago and am a happy user of the onshape free plan; the online help and documentation is excellent. Answering your question about SVG import take a look at https://forum.onshape.com/discussion/7604/importing-svg-into-a-part-studio

RE:

My problem with OnShape is that all your files are publicly accessible. To have them protected you have to pay more than 2x of what Fusion costs. Im not designing anything earth shattering, but I would like to keep access to my projects private. Are you concerned about someone stealing your work?

Posted by: @brianjordan-2

 

Posted by: @razor

I've been using Fusion 360 and recently started looking at alternatives. I've was getting a bit irritated at the limitations the free version of Fusion has, and can't justify the expense of moving up to the paid version. I came across Solidworks xDesign and liked that it was device agnostic. I could use it on my older laptop, whereas Fusion no longer supports it. And it's an affordable license. But as I started using it more I noticed some glaring omissions. It appears there is no SVG import, or text on a path functionality.

Worse, for me xDesign support and documentation is horrendous. I feel like every time I go to their help section it's like a server grabs anything remotely related to one of my search terms and dumps it in to the search results.  And when I do find anything of use, I have to bookmark it because the odds of me finding it again are slim to none.

Am I just an idiot or is Solidworks documentation is as bad as it seems? And can I import an SVG or have text on a path in xDesign? 😄

I ditched Fusion some time ago and am a happy user of the onshape free plan; the online help and documentation is excellent. Answering your question about SVG import take a look at https://forum.onshape.com/discussion/7604/importing-svg-into-a-part-studio

RE: Solidworks xDesign

I'm not too concerned but I do give my creations random names, for instance my angled doorbell mount is called n3pqz (or something similar!) and it is hidden in plain site among thousands of public documents. Searching for 'doorbell' produces a massive list with my creation not in it.

RE:

'sight'

I am guilty of browsing other people's work from time to time and have picked up some interesting techniques rather than work I would want to claim as my own. I presume the worthwhile industrial espionage creations are tucked away in those expensive accounts.

RE: Solidworks xDesign

Posted by: @razor

Ah, ok, thanks for the clarification. That was a bit confusing.

I think Fusion has the best interface/usability, but as some who moderately tinkers around I’m not able to justify the almost $700 annual price.

I’d like to give them a few bucks to have some additional “quality of life” unlocks, but not that much.

Fusion 360 for personal use is free