hEINSTEIN Posted March 10, 2021 Share Posted March 10, 2021 Hello We have finally got our IronCAD license, so now the learning starts again. Could you guys give me some advice regarding which drawing environment to choose? Thanx in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSIMMONS Posted March 10, 2021 Share Posted March 10, 2021 3 minutes ago, hEINSTEIN said: Hello We have finally got our IronCAD license, so now the learning starts again. Could you guys give me some advice regarding which drawing environment to choose? Thanx in advance I have struggled with this for a long time. ICD is ultimately what I and a colleague chose, but I am one of two people at my company that do 3D modeling and was essentially hired many years ago to bring us from AutoCAD to a 3D environment (there is A LOT more to this than you might think). This made me initially choose CAXA due to the similarities between AutoCAD and CAXA (might help some of the lifelong 2D users transition smoother), but in time ICD was ultimately chosen, but there have been thousands of choices made since then and I can not entirely remember why. I do hope that ICD will one day have the total functionality to eclipse programs like CAXA and it is growing. but if you want more functionality and the ability to manipulate 2D drawings you might consider CAXA at this point in time, Some of the ICD functionality limitations can make you want to pull your hair out, but in desperation work arounds are found and this ultimately leads to learning new things and a greater understanding of the software in general. A lot of the guys on here use CAXA very successfully and we use ICD successfully. I would suggest doing what we did and just try them both for a month or so and see which is better suited for your needs in particular. Bottom Line: CAXA has more functionality and more options. ICD makes me feel more closely connected to my 3D work and has a lot of future growth potential. -Spencer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tlehnhaeuser Posted March 10, 2021 Share Posted March 10, 2021 Spencer nailed it. If you require very detailed 2D documentation and more advanced 2D type functionality, then I recommend CAXA. If you have somewhat detailed 2D documentation requirements and want ease of use, then ICD is better. I too would prefer development in ICD over CAXA, It looks and feels more connected to the 3D and other mainstream applications. My2cents Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDEAR Posted March 10, 2021 Share Posted March 10, 2021 (edited) Hi, I started out using ICD because I had never used Autocad in the past and went straight from old fashioned drawing board, tracing paper, Rotring Ink pens, razor blades and rubber to 3D. ICD looked user friendly and you could liken it to comparing MS Excel to the old Lotus123 in terms of UI. However I got frustrated with various things ICD wouldn't allow me to do and Malcolm encouraged my to try CAXA, persevere with a bit of learning pain, don't give up straight away and see how it went. I now prefer CAXA because of what it can do and what ICD can't. If ICD ever had the 'technical horsepower' of what CAXA could do ( in terms of functionality ), then it would be a winner for me, however I don't really know how they'd ever achieve that. This is currently how I feel about each - other opinions will differ for sure; If you only ever go to the local grocery store and the neighbouring village and no further, then you drive your Toyota Yaris hybrid = ICD If you're always travelling out of town, going cross-country, travelling in snow, desert and crossing river fords, complete with your Thule Cargo-Rack on the roof, you drive the Toyota Prado Land-Cruiser = CAXA I'm still on the CAXA learning curve. It does have its frustrations but I am glad I took the plunge. Harley Edited March 10, 2021 by HDEAR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSIMMONS Posted March 10, 2021 Share Posted March 10, 2021 2 hours ago, HDEAR said: Hi, I started out using ICD because I had never used Autocad in the past and went straight from old fashioned drawing board, tracing paper, Rotring Ink pens, razor blades and rubber to 3D. ICD looked user friendly and you could liken it to comparing MS Excel to the old Lotus123 in terms of UI. However I got frustrated with various things ICD wouldn't allow me to do and Malcolm encouraged my to try CAXA, persevere with a bit of learning pain, don't give up straight away and see how it went. I now prefer CAXA because of what it can do and what ICD can't. If ICD ever had the 'technical horsepower' of what CAXA could do ( in terms of functionality ), then it would be a winner for me, however I don't really know how they'd ever achieve that. This is currently how I feel about each - other opinions will differ for sure; If you only ever go to the local grocery store and the neighbouring village and no further, then you drive your Toyota Yaris hybrid = ICD If you're always travelling out of town, going cross-country, travelling in snow, desert and crossing river fords, complete with your Thule Cargo-Rack on the roof, you drive the Toyota Prado Land-Cruiser = CAXA I'm still on the CAXA learning curve. It does have its frustrations but I am glad I took the plunge. Harley Just because I have a seriously curious mind and like to learn all I can...what resources (besides the all too familiar figure it out as you go) have you used to learn CAXA? Do any stand out as being really good and concise or anything along those lines? I also started in ICD and saw the limitations and moved to CAXA for a couple weeks and eventually swapped back, but this was many years and a lot of learning ago so I may pick it up much faster now. -Spencer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hEINSTEIN Posted March 11, 2021 Author Share Posted March 11, 2021 Thank you for the advice, I do know Caxa really good from previous experience. I think I'll probably just stick with Caxa, I was hoping the ICD has improved. But once again thanx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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