January, 1999 - TechniCom announces the publication of Version 6 of its report comparing mid-range mechanical MCAD modeling systems, priced at less than $6,000 US list. The report now reviews six of the leading systems, encompasses 235 pages and includes charts of the ratings, details on how the modelers performed and graphically shows intermediate results of the tests. Version 6 of the report updates the report to add the results of testing the latest versions of Mechanical Desktop V3, updates the results of Solid Edge (V5) and adds the results for Artisan V3. The former results of SolidWorks 98 and Helix are also included and compared.Click here for a .pdf brochure describing the Report. For the price of the report please visit our Publications and Services List Page. This report allows readers to gather enormous insight about these products without even leaving their desks!

By reading this report users can find out how these systems performed in an actual benchmark. The benchmark tests solid modeling, associative drafting, and variable driven modeling by building real models. We anticipate that these results will allow users to select systems useful to their environment. Click here to see some of the models we built.

These fast evolving systems raise the bar

Not only are the systems quite robust, but most are certainly of industrial strength. For many users these mid range systems, possibly coupled with third party applications will be all the MCAD systems they will need. Modeling systems in this class have ushered in a new era of lower priced, more usable software for mechanical engineers. This will only expand as more entries make their way to market, putting even more pressure on high end vendors. Users with medium needs modeling will find that such systems, along with third party applications, can perform all of their required tasks.

All of the systems reviewed in this report are serious contenders for MCAD design systems. Each has its strengths and weaknesses. The graph below shows the results of the latest tests.

We advise readers that our tests are heavily slanted towards complex design functions. These include parametrics, designing with constraints, lots of filleting, producing drawings from the model automatically, building assemblies of parts that have inter-related equations, and spline based solidic surfacing.

Of the systems tested, two scored near the top: Solid Edge and SolidWorks. In the combined tests, except for one test, SolidWorks still leads in six of the seven categories, with Solid Edge following closely. Of the leading systems, except for our spline based solidic modeling test (#7), they had few serious weaknesses! SolidWorks and Solid Edge all were able to build complex fillets and alter parts easily. Test scores in the 90's demonstrate outstanding abilities. SolidWorks scored in the 90's on five tests, Solid Edge scored in or very near the 90's in five tests, Helix scored in the 90's twice, while Artisan Series and Mechanical Desktop scored in the 90's once.

Artisan, the latest entry in our test program excels at the more complicated operations. Virtually identical in modeling to its big brother I-DEAS Master Series, the software is the only one of the ones tested that provides a smooth upgrade path to a large scale integrated systems, as is I-DEAS Master Series. Unfortunately to achieve the same graphic user interface (GUI) Artisan emulates the Unix GUI and in not Microsoft Windows compliant. Solid Edge distinguishes itself for its ease of use, introducing a technique, called SmartStep, to guide the user through the complicated series of steps needed to construct parts. In test suite 6, SolidWorks and Solid Edge differed greatly in their approach to complex modeling, with Solid Edge using a high level assembly layout to relate parameters, while SolidWorks relates across parts by allowing direct selection of elements. The methodology sections describe these approaches in more detail. Mechanical Desktop and Solid Edge offer outstanding production quality drawings, each associative to the solid model. Solid Edge, Mechanical Desktop and SolidWorks offer excellent assembly modelers. Mechanical Desktop offers a low priced upgrade from AutoCAD and excels at assembly modeling, but suffers in complex filleting, shelling, spline based modeling and feature functionality.

If legacy data is a major issue, users can achieve high quality transferability from data in the formats of AutoCAD or Helix by using their respective solid modeling systems, Mechanical Desktop or Helix. In exchange for the legacy readability function each of these latter three systems require users to give up solid modeling function when compared to the others reviewed.

Click here to see what functions of the software we tested.

Why a benchmark?

Even mid range systems demonstrate enormous complexity. Paper analyses are incomplete and too simplistic to compare the design functionality, usability, and performance of such systems. Such a determination can only be made by trying to perform similar functions across different systems.

Our previous testing experience allowed us to construct a wide ranging series of 7 tests, with 64 steps, that can be completed in about one day. The test scripts containing most of the tests are provided to the vendors prior to the testing. To insure that operator influence is minimal, vendors supply their own operators for the tests and perform the tests at our site. We record the methodology used, and rate the test performance using predefined expectations. The ratings reflect a combination of analytic and subjective analyses.

How to get the report

For the price of the report please visit our list of publications. Contact TechniCom, the publisher, for information on how to get a copy. Updates to the report to include new software and new releases are planned for the future.

About TechniCom

TechniCom, founded in 1989, specializes in market research, analysis and consulting for the mechanical CAD/CAM Industry. The company publishes the CAD/CAM Watch newsletter.

TechniCom has extensive experience in developing, producing, and documenting the highest quality benchmarks for the mechanical CAD/CAM industry. This report follows up on their 400 page, landmark study, completed in 1992, entitled Parametric, Variational, and Feature Based Modeling Benchmark Report.

For the press only

Contact us for a complimentary copy of the Executive Summary section of the report.

Press contact:
Raymond Kurland, author of the report, at the address shown on our home page