AutoCAD vs Inventor

[bobgaggle]

Can't seem to find a discussion of this yet... Thoughts on this? I know designers and lighting guys like VW, but on the fabrication side CAD seems to be the standard. I've been using CAD for a few years and have made my foray into the 3d side of it. In the interest of trying to continually learn stuff, I've been thinking about learning Inventor. Seems like it would be useful for some of the fiddly complicated steel bits we make (2 axis hinging bracket things, I think we've all had to make something weird at some point), also for when we need to know where load will be carried etc..

Anyone have input?

 

[BillConnerFASTC]

I'm a 35 year user of AutoCAD, and don't know Revit nor Inventor BUT, I believe some large rigging companies use Inventor for their shop drawings, so I'm guessing what you sense is correct.

 

[jonliles]

I like plain CAD for doing the majority of 2D renders and orthogonal projections. It is clumsy to render to 3D. Inventor is better at the 3D rendering than AutoCad was, and at least to me provided better visibility to how an item would be machined/manufactured/assembled. Now, take this with a grain of salt, I have not used inventor since 2005. AutoCAD 2009 was better than 2000 or 2003 versions at 3D rendering, but still a bit clunky. I'm just starting to use EagleCAD - but that's for a different hobby.

 

[Protech]

2D CAD is still the industry standard and likely will be for quite some time. That being said, we are starting to see construction submittal requirements starting to include 3D drawings/3D capable drawings for BIM modeling. Many if not all engineering programs these days are teaching primarily in 3D. Learning Revit/Inventor/Solidworks along with Navisworks makes a lot of sense for the future.

 

[chausman]

Inventor is fun. If you like learning new things and already know some AutoCAD, it's a good thing to learn. Even if you don't use it much, the same sort of principles apply in SolidWorks, Revit, and other 3D programs (even in the artsy side with 3Ds Max). I'd say there's a lot of value in practicing how you're drawing and moving around in a 3D space on a 2D computer screen.

 

[MNicolai]

I would say Inventor is Sketchup on steroids. Very similar process in terms of 3D modeling but much more of an exact science than Sketchup is, and it can spit out exploded assembly diagrams and drawings/documentation/bills-of-material like none another. It's particularly well-suited for 3D printing, rapid prototyping, and creating fab drawings for 3D parts and exploded diagrams for assemblies.

In terms of doing a full scenic design or lighting design, I think you'd be hard-pressed to come to a happy workflow in Inventor because it's better with components and assemblies than showing a full set on stage, but it's very powerful in the 3D fab realm in a way AutoCAD has never been suited for. Solidworks is Inventor's primary competitor, and if you're not doing CNC or factory-grade fabrication it probably doesn't matter. I've seen more manufacturers working in Solidworks than Inventor for their fabrication drawings, but my very uneducated impression is that has a lot more to do with being able to push their projects straight out to their mills and tooling than anything else.

Grand scheme of things --- I would use to make scenic construction drawings for the scene shop but I wouldn't use it to do conceptual massing of the set, sightline studies, lighting designs, etc. Just not where its forte lies.

 

[bobgaggle]

Grand scheme of things --- I would use to make scenic construction drawings for the scene shop but I wouldn't use it to do conceptual massing of the set, sightline studies, lighting designs, etc. Just not where its forte lies.

Thanks for that, most of what I do is generate construction drawings for individual units. Other people in the company handle the other aspects of the show, like you mentioned. Seems like Inventor is worth exploring...

 

[BillConnerFASTC]

I'll restate after confirming with a few people that the some major rigging manufacturers use Inventor and Solidworks for their products, mixed with AUtoCAD for the shop drawings, especially the installation drawings. So a loft block, a winch, a platform deck or support - probably Inventor today. Whole sets, an assemblage of blocks and winches, etc. - seems AutoCAD and perhaps Vector Works, that not in the building design and construction world. It may be that if your work ranges across manufacturing to design and construction, you can't use just one program.