Re: SolidWorks for Architectural Work?

I tried some years ago. Led to a discussion about tolerances and
limits in SW. Here are some major sticking points for SW whether
architecture or industrial.

1. The 500M radius limit. Can't build parts bigger than this. On a
project built on 14 acres I ran into this.
2. Lack of a contour loft. Was proposed to SW at SWW2000 for dealing
with contours from a CMM. No action. CATIA has it. So does Autodesk.
3. Poor performance with models that have huge number so small
repetitive features. In the industrial world this means grills, PC
boards, etc.
4. Assembly speed. Buildings are notorious for simple highly
repetitive parts. Mating these can be a big job. Stability of the
mates is another thing. This was a major sticking point to
implementation in the RV and manufactured housing industry.
5. SW is sickenly slow when reading the typical architectural/site
drawings from ACAD. Just too many lines.

Some plusess that could really make SW take off in Civil:

1. Solidmodeling does have an application in earthmoving/landscaping
because it is so easy to remove and add solid volumes.
2. Solidmodeling also has application in actually visualizing what a
project will look like before, during and after construction.
3. Solidmodeling can better predict what is going on underground. To
better understand this statement you would have had to have watched a
project at the end of my road where two high lines, a water main, a
sewer, a storm sewer, a high pressure oil pipeline, fiber optics,
telephone and a few other things crossed over in a major intersection.
And this is a country road.

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