Hi everyone,
I'm looking to get an idea if upgrading from Solidworks 2012 professional license to 2018 is really worth the value.
Has there been any features that have really helped you save time? I'm looking for people's positive experiences.
If there is another thread about this please link me to it.
Thanks.
There have been so many enhancements in the last 5 years it's difficult to say what would benefit you most, especially without knowing anything about your workflow. I'd suggest you visit the What's New site and go through them and judge for yourself. That link is for SW2018, but you can access the earlier ones from the drop-down in the upper right corner.
From your experience, how long would you say (roughly) is the learning curve to switch from the old appearance to the new one?
Hard to quantify the benefit. But dont limit yourself to look at time savings. There are many types of geometry that you could not do in 2013. Eg. Conic, Curvature Continuous Fillet, Flatten Surface, new Sheet-metal features etc.
The learning curve for new interface is a matter of days if you are dedicated.
Disclaimer: I dont remember 2013 that well.
Thats a good way to put it, thanks for the feedback
Babak Shei wrote:
From your experience, how long would you say (roughly) is the learning curve to switch from the old appearance to the new one?
Pretty short. Don't let that stop you. There are a few things to watch out for. There was a major overhaul to the icons and colors in SW2016, but there is an option now to use the classic colors if you don't like the new ones. Also, Instant 2d is one that many people don't care for. I'm not one of them, but it's also easy to turn off. A search here for "Instant 2d" will turn up plenty of information about it.
I try to stress to people that everyone should review the "What's New" when updating so you don't get caught by surprise by a new feature. In recent years the SW people have gotten much better about giving options to turn off new enhancements. The color change was a notable exception, but when the uproar occurred they were quick to add the classic color option.
For me breadcrumb was enough to upgrade.
Where have you been?
Go ahead, make the upgrade.
For the first few hours, you would find yourself hovering around icons. Much has changed in that area.
On the positive side, the software runs faster, crashes less often.
Sheetmetal is a joy to use. And yes, 2018 now has a Tab and Slot Feature. More than 80% of design-time is saved as compared to modelling same parts in SW-2012 (or even 2017).
You can also now thread both internally and externally. I'm not sure there was such feature until 2016.
All in all. Close your eyes, make the jump. It's beautiful on this side.
I had horrible experiences with 2017, I was hoping to see more comments like this as I am looking into feedback to decide if I want to have my team upgrade. (we already have the CD's ready to download, just wasn't sure if it would be as much of a headache as it was last year)
hopefully I see more posts like this
Sorry about your situation, Meagan.
You probably had stayed too long with a much (much) earlier version. And going jumping five or six years ahead to 2017 got you some (culture) shock.
On my part, when I upgrade, I upgrade. I burn the bridge. So, I sort of, leave myself with no choice than to get used to and fall in love with the newest version I've got.
The rule of thumb is: "It is better, that's why it's called an upgrade." It is then my duty to find out how to bring myself to use it.
I don't consider a new version that crashes all the time an upgrade. And often that is the case with the release of SP0. My company usually waits for the release of SP 3 before we move up.
Actually up until the issues we had with SolidWorks 2017 we stayed up to date with all the new service packs & updates. I finally got a little bit of stability back with 2017 SP3 & haven't updated since because I was worried new issues would show up.
I have a love/hate relationship with SolidWorks at the moment; hopefully with this new version it will stop playing so many games with me.
Don't hesitate and don't procrastinate, jump now, you'll never regret it..... 2018 SP0.1
Pull the trigger buy a new computer too and install it with 2018. There is always something good and something bad about the upgrade. Just fill out the crash reports and call in the bugs if you find any. When I was the lead designer / drafter (heck I was the only one) I would back up the SolidWorks files and then upgrade to the new version all the time. That is how I ended up building a love hate relationship with my var. Id love to call them and they would hate to hear from me.... Not really....but I am known by my VAR.
Since 2016, I believe, you have been able to change the UI / background to 'Dark'. This makes everything super stealthy and has really helped my eyes by lowering the overall brightness of the workspace. It looks much less 'Windows 98' too
And yeah, all the above cool stuff too!
Oli Sparrow wrote:
Since 2016, I believe, you have been able to change the UI / background to 'Dark'. This makes everything super stealthy and has really helped my eyes by lowering the overall brightness of the workspace. It looks much less 'Windows 98' too
To each his own. I believe I'd finally slip over the edge into needing a padded room if I had to look at a dark background all day.
Babak Shei wrote:
Hi everyone,
I'm looking to get an idea if upgrading from Solidworks 2012 professional license to 2018 is really worth the value.
Has there been any features that have really helped you save time? I'm looking for people's positive experiences.
If there is another thread about this please link me to it.
Thanks.
Babak
Interesting to think back at all the changes. My favorite of all the improvements since 2012 are Style Splines. I use them all the time, and they do just what you want (if you need that sort of thing).
Dwight
it depends on the level of how much you use solidworks.
me personally if the founds are there i would it, since there has been so many updates to make your job easier.
Doesn't have to be for Solidworks 2018 specifically, but any of the versions from 2013 on wards.