arj1 wrote:
LeSving, did I understand the EULA correctly that you have to stay EAA member to be able to continue using it?
Yes. At least I had to insert my name and EAA member number to be able to download etc.
In any case, works like a charm on my “aviation simulation training platform” aka gaming laptop 
(Lenovo Legion Y740)
Seems the license is time bound. It says it expires 31.12.2021. Everything is included, all the modules, simulation, PCB etc etc. Now I have to figure out what to use it for
I went looking for the price of this thing and found a vast range of options.
It looks like this is a $150 student edition which works for just 1 year. After that it gets a lot more expensive…
This type of software is useful if you want to design parts to be 3D printed, or CNC machined. This can be done straight out of the data file. Then you can go to a moulded part for production.
Otherwise it’s a fun toy
Frankly, I would not get out of bed to save $150 on this, because the cost of the learning curve to become productive is going to be way more than that. I have seen this so many times, starting with AutoCAD in c. 1982 (it came on a load of 5.25" floppies then). Great fun mucking about with the models they bundle in with it, but actually doing something you want takes serious effort. Exactly the same with video editing software; something I spent a lot of my time on and I am still using just the very basics, and anything more clever (like making a text caption track an object moving in the image) is forgotten if you don’t do it for a few months.
My son does a lot of this 3D stuff and uses Fusion360.
LeSving wrote:
What card is that? Some Nvidia Quadro card?
Sapphire Radeon RX 580 Pulse
Peter wrote:
the cost of the learning curve to become productive is going to be way more than that
Perhaps, but lots of homebuilders already have previous experience in CAD/CAM/FEM etc as well as working with engineering drawings, machine components and so on. If you start with Solidworks with no sort of previous engineering experience at all, I would think you will be near completely lost though.
It is rather different from 3D modelling in games also (flight sims for instance), and the difference sits at the very concept. CAD is the digital version of paper engineering drawings. The drawings are made to produce physical objects of correct size, correct material, correct fit, correct strength etc. 3D modelling for flight sims is more a digital version of free hand drawings, the only criteria is it shall look nice/cool.
Airborne_Again wrote:
Sapphire Radeon RX 580 Pulse
OK. I thought AMD had their “Pro” line for CAD (OpenGL). Nvidia have the “Quadro” line.
