Best software for industrial/product design?

Question

A couple of years ago Autocad and Solidworks were kings and you didn't have too many options. Now there are dozens of good programs for sketching, rendering, planning, etc. Autodesk hasn't helped us either. There are billions of versions of Inventor, Alias, 3DS Max, Maya, Autocad, etc...

Some designers create only the aesthetics of the product, not the mechanical parts. They need something robust but not so complicated and technical. Others prefer an all in one solution like SketchUp.

I also get this question all the time from other designers and architects. There are some recent trends in the field and people are experimenting new software, trying new stuff. Some say the "industry standards" are gone, this is the time of flexible designers that adapt and evolve with the technology.

So, what are the most popular applications used by product designers?

Answer 1

I am industrial designer and use SolidWorks primarily due to the ease of use, engineering focus, parametric qualities and rendering options. It is rather expensive but it is very easy to understand and learn and allows a seamless transfer to engineers.



I think it depends on the company and who has the money to make the decisions and how close they are to the design process. With SketchBook Pro you can do the sketching if you want but I am so fast with SW that I can come up with good concepts that are clear, quick, realistic para metric (updates and changes on the fly at any point ).



I would suggest you do trials or educational versions and then make a decision which you like to get your concepts out, which should be the main focus.

Answer 2

Best Product Design Software

Answer 3

I am relatively surprised that IronCAD hasn't been mentioned. I am an Industrial Design student and much prefer IronCAD's design approach to SolidWorks (and everything else I've tried). In IronCAD you are able to produce models much faster because you can design in 3D not in 2D like in SolidWorks e.g. sketching then extruding. This 'method' of design is also much more intuitive than the way most if not all of the other programs use.



It is also extremely easy to use and learn, I've learnt both SolidWorks and IronCAD and definitely found IronCAD easier to understand and get started producing models.



There is definitely a place for many different types of software but in terms of a parametric modeler for Product Design, IronCAD is my favorite.



It is definitely more of a replacement for SolidWorks, Inventor etc not NURBS based surface modelers like Rhino.



Before you make a choice on software I recommend you at least trial IronCAD (and all other competitors) not just look at videos because it is in using it yourself that you understand and love its method of design. I strongly recommend trialing as much software as you can because using software is definitely a lot more informative than watching it being used.





If I was to recommend two products it would be IronCAD and Rhino at the moment. As said in a previous comment software is advancing and changing dramatically but in my opinion it will be changing away from SolidWorks towards IronCAD which provides faster and easier design.



There is a lot of software out there and you should definitely have a look at and trial many different programs before you decide to purchase.

Answer 4

For designers I'd say Rhino, Alias Studio, Inventor and Solidworks. Rhino and Studio are NURBS surface modelers whereas Solidworks is a parametric solid modeler. The difference is worth looking into.



Alias Studio, Catia and ICEM-Surf are more high-end Class-A surface modelers used mainly in the automotive and aerospace industries.



Pro-E and Solidworks are used mainly by Engineers.



AFAIK Autocad isn't really used in the product design industry but it's used in Architecture.



Poly modelers like Max, Maya, XSI, Blender, Silo, Wings, Modo, C4D ..and more, are used mainly in film, games and imagery.



You'll find that there's some cross-over between professions and tools