Can we talk about why every drafter I meet swears by SolidWorks for sheet metal?

I spent 3 days at a fab shop in Omaha last month and watched a guy use AutoCAD 2007 for a whole panel layout because he said newer tools just get in the way, and honestly, his work was cleaner than anything I've seen from the SolidWorks crowd, so am I missing something or is the hype overrated?

2 comments

2 Comments

claire_wells871mo ago

SolidWorks is definitely popular for sheet metal but not everyone needs it. That guy using AutoCAD 2007 probably knows every trick in the book to make it work fast, but newer tools can cut down on mistakes if you learn them right. The hype isn't totally wrong, it's just that a skilled person with old software sometimes beats a mediocre person with new software.

margaret_taylor421mo ago

And honestly, @claire_wells87 you nailed it with that "old software vs new software" thing. I've seen guys who are absolute wizards with TurboCAD from 2010, they can spit out a whole panel layout in ten minutes flat. But the real kicker is when they mess up a bend allowance or a hole pattern because they're doing everything manually and the brain slips after hour 12. Newer tools like Onshape or Autodesk Fusion automate those little checks, so even a halfway decent user catches stuff before it hits the floor. It's not about the age of the software, it's about whether the person using it has built up those mental shortcuts to the point where the old way is faster than the new way.