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Inventor Logo

Inventor

4.5
(240)

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Windows-based 3D CAD software

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(2)

Inventor Features

Features Summary

Functionality

4.5

/5

240

Total features

30

5 categories

Inventor features

2D Drawing
3D Design & Modeling
3D Imaging
API
Animation
Annotations
BOM Creation
Bill of Materials Management

Common features of Manufacturing software

API
Accounting
Accounting Integration
Activity Dashboard
Activity Tracking
Barcode/Ticket Scanning
Bills of Material
Compliance Management

Price starts from

290

Per month

Flat Rate

Pricing options
Free plan
Subscription
Free trial

Screenshots

Contenders comparison

Functionality

4.5

/5

240

Price starts from

290

Per month

learn more

Total Features

30

Unique features

  • Animation

  • For Manufacturers

  • Secure Data Storage

  • Design Analysis

Functionality

4.5

/5

80

Price starts from

ic-pricetag

No pricing info

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Total Features

12

Features in Common

3

Unique features

  • Inventory Management

  • Compliance Management

  • Supplier Management

  • Production Scheduling

Functionality

4.6

/5

11

Price starts from

75

Per month

learn more

Total Features

31

Features in Common

3

Unique features

  • CRM

  • Project Management

  • Service History

  • Maintenance Management

Common Inventor comparisons

Inventor logo
Fusion 360 logo
InventorvsFusion 360
Inventor logo
Solid Edge logo
InventorvsSolid Edge
Inventor logo
AutoCAD logo
InventorvsAutoCAD

Reviewers who mentioned features said:

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Steve G.

Events Services, 11-50 employees

Used daily for 2+ years

Review source

Overall Rating
  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Features
  • Customer support
  • Likelihood to recommend10/10

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Inventor for Millwork and Tradeshow Documents

Reviewed 4 years ago

Inventor is a great tool and easy to learn and be productive with. It is not a direct solution for any specific trade other than Sheet Metal, but can be tailored to fit.

Pros

Inventor is very easy to use to create realistic, solid designs for cabinetry and millwork. I have tailored the software to streamline my creation of repetitive tasks, and it allows me to effectively document my designs quickly and easily. The software allows you to design and see where problems are in real time. My absolute favorite thing is that the drawings created, are always 100% exactly what...

Cons

If there's anything I dislike, is that the software could be more cabinet and millwork friendly without having to purchase an add-on. The drawing sizes and model file sizes can get very large, in some cases I have drawings over 200mb, which can be painfully slow when loading over a network

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Mariana M.

Used other for 1-2 years

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Overall Rating
  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Features
  • Customer support
  • Likelihood to recommend6/10

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It is a 3D solid parametric modeling program produced by the software company Autodesk

Reviewed 5 years ago

In my case being a professional of iNGENIERIA IS OF GREAT BENEFIT BECAUSE Inventor is updated (with the help of users in Inventor Ideas) and improves with each new version It keeps the user competitive by accessing our latest innovations at the time they are available, along with the previous versions you need Configure your products more easily with new functions for assemblies and autocomplete in the rules editor. Work with data from any 3D CAD system while maintaining an associative link

Pros

It has many tools that are very useful not only in the mechanical area, but also in the design of circuits, in the design of pipelines, etc., that's why I like SW. However, what I like about inventor is that besides being a program where you can make designs (CAD), you can also manufacture them (CAM) and do not need an interface like solidworks to recognize it in a cnc. Moldflow analysis: because...

Cons

Java does not generate code for further deeper developments. It does not handle much flexibility like code does in Java It only works with an Internet connection and it is a great disadvantage when you signal it is bad at home or work It can only be developed for Android The program has a high cost, due to its license. Knowing how to fully use the software requires a lot of time since there are many functions, and even that they are of little application, since they are very specific. It requires a powerful computer to work with processing speed, and a high space on the hard drive

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James B.

Oil & Energy, 51-200 employees

Used daily for 2+ years

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Overall Rating
  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Features
  • Customer support
  • Likelihood to recommend7/10

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Inventor 2018 Experience

Reviewed 4 years ago

Overall it's been a positive experience. I will admit I came to Inventor late having stared with competitor products nearly 15 years ago but once you learn the syntax of how the everything is set up it is a smooth transition.

Pros

The software is easy to use and flows fairly well. The real beauty, especially from a hiring standpoint, is that it works very similar to competition so if you know one package you can quickly pick up on this one. the other thing I really like is the Vault that is included. The ability to work locally, but keep everything stored on a server, makes working with larger models much faster. It also allows a team to work together while keeping files safes and tracking revisions and changes.

Cons

Ever since the first time I used the software my main criticism has always been the inability to select a midpoint of a sketch. This drives me mad and many of us have found complex workarounds to what should be a simple problem. I will also say that setting up mates in an assembly is not always that intuitive. It's great to have many different options but when %100 of the time I only use this specific one it would be great if it would learn that, or allow me to change the default.

PP
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Piotr P.

Computer Software, 51-200 employees

Used monthly for 2+ years

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Overall Rating
  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Features
  • Customer support
  • Likelihood to recommend10/10

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Intuitive and powerful design

Reviewed 8 months ago

I was using Inventor for multiple years in my work and my private projects. It is an amazing tool, packed with an enormous number of features. Each of the functions is customizable and can be adjusted to the expectations of the company and designer. Inventor can make the work efficient, quick, and enjoyable. Each function has an extensive description with detailed instructions on how to use it. Also,...

Pros

A huge number of features. The intuitiveness of use. Customizability. Detailed descriptions and use instructions of features. Vast community support. Integration between different Autodesk apps.

Cons

The price is high. Subscription sell-based model.

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Lee J.

Industrial Automation, 501-1,000 employees

Used daily for 2+ years

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Overall Rating
  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Features
  • Customer support
  • Likelihood to recommend10/10

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Solid 3d CAD platform with an entourage of compatible software

Reviewed 4 years ago

We left Pro/E Wildfire 4.0 in 2013 as Creo originally wasn't all that stellar. We switched to Inventor and all-in-all have been pretty satisfied. Performance was an issue early on, but this has been addressed with multi-core support.

Pros

That drawings are DWG file formats, so no conversions necessary to open in AutoCAD. The ability to customize with marking menus, keyboard shortcuts, rearranging ribbons, and macros with VBA.

Cons

It acts up sometimes with sketch references (even when limited to one part), but there has been continuous improvements in this area. Edits to parts can take time as the workflow is to either open part up and make changes, or edit in place but still open up feature to make changes. However, I created a VBA form and macro that allows me to see relative parameters to a feature to make quick changes at the assembly level. Multi-core support took too long to be offered, but thankfully it now is utilized.

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Jonathan K.

Architecture & Planning, 1-10 employees

Used weekly for 2+ years

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Overall Rating
  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Features
  • Customer support
  • Likelihood to recommend7/10

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Seriously capable and customizable

Reviewed 9 months ago

A bit of a steep learning curve but so powerful once you get the hang of it. The increasing features for bringing data between Inventor and Revit are encouraging. I wish Autodesk offered a product suite that offered both Inventor and Revit for businesses involved in providing fabricated architectural products.

Pros

iLogic is amazing, it's like having a programming language built into Inventor, a powerful way to automate some parts of design and fabrication. Also, tools like iCopy and iParts can save a lot of time if you use similar parts over and over.

Cons

It can bog down if you use too many constraints, it's usually better to work out parameter and formula driven solutions and use techniques like skeletal modeling to keep everything from bogging down. This could be my inexperience speaking, but I wish there was a more intuitive way to identify parts that are cut from stock lengths of the same shape, I'm sure there are workarounds for that.

DA
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Daniel A.

Defense & Space, 201-500 employees

Used weekly for 2+ years

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Overall Rating
  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Features
  • Customer support
  • Likelihood to recommend10/10

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Excellent capability, decent learning curve for existing CAD/CAM users

Reviewed 5 years ago

Being able to flexibly work on design projects for work, hobbies, and STEM Education and Outreach work is incredibly nice, and linking this capability to much more accessible maker tech really opens new doors for rapid prototyping.

Pros

Really powerful software, surprisingly resource efficient for use on laptops, and the de facto standard for many uses. With a dedicated CAD rig (or repurposed gaming PC), performance even when dealing with large and complex models is excellent. The design and portability is really quite good, and when coupled with access to CNC machinery and 3D printing capability makes the prototyping process incredibly quick. Currently experimenting with amateur photogrammetry for metrology and rapid design capability (converting clay models or plastic-printing pens), and the toolset is powerful enough to leverage those capabilities quite well. Easy enough to use that high school students can tap many of the advanced capabilities with even limited background.

Cons

For myself as an old school Autodesk user the added capability is impressive, although the UI updates feel a lot like contemporary changes that fixed things which weren't broken in the first place. The biggest headache I have right now is that the install is tedious to reroute, particularly when repurposing existing computers for STEM outreach projects, anything other than the default installation is hard, and often inconsistent. Interfacing with open source tools is actually quite good, but innate support for that is unsurprisingly limited. Still, a really minor complaint, as properly packaged for export files are handled really well with existing CAM workflow and automation in slicing tools for experienced additive manufacturers.

SR
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Shane R.

Design, 11-50 employees

Used daily for 2+ years

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Overall Rating
  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Features
  • Customer support
  • Likelihood to recommend10/10

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Great software, unmatched design automation!

Reviewed 5 years ago

Model MASSIVE assemblies on not very powerful computers, design and process automation with iLogic.

Pros

If you have massive assemblies and love to automate processes, inventor is the ticket! This software runs well on computers that would barely be able to open SolidWorks. Huge assemblies (30,000 parts) open and are easily worked on. I can't imagine doing anything if this magnitude in any other software. I regularly use Solidworks, inventor and Pro-E (Creo), and inventor is my go to software for large machines. It's the best feature is iLogic which is a user-friendly programming interface to help you automate simple or complex tasks to save time and reduce errors. It is very similar to Visual Basic for applications, but you do not need to be a programmer to figure this out!

Cons

There is no global sheet scale in drawings and therefor no way to link a view scale to the title block in a drawing. It must be filled out manually.

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Godwin A.

Automotive, 11-50 employees

Used daily for 2+ years

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Overall Rating
  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Features
  • Customer support
  • Likelihood to recommend10/10

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My love for Autodesk Inventor

Reviewed 2 years ago

Most of my CAD designs are done in Autodesk Inventor and I've become so comfortable with it. The data management in Inventor is just top notch with easy switching from one project to the other without crash.

Pros

The fact that Inventor is easy to use is a huge plus. As compared to other 3D modeling softwares available in the market, Autodesk Inventor is relatively one of the easiest to navigate with beautiful and simple interface, as well as huge support from Autodesk Forum and way cheaper than most of it's competitions.

Cons

I think rendering is one part that should be worked on. More IBL environments could be added and better material texture. Surface modelling could be better and as well, sculpting (form).

PP
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Prajwal P.

Mechanical or Industrial Engineering, 51-200 employees

Used daily for 2+ years

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Overall Rating
  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Features
  • Customer support
  • Likelihood to recommend9/10

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Perfect for Manufacturing Company..

Reviewed 4 years ago

CAM integration, data management and option for Macro development.

Pros

Ease of use and Vault integration. Makes file management easy.

Cons

Some features can be improved to be in line with other CAD softwares in some aspects.

HC
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Haward C.

Mechanical or Industrial Engineering, 501-1,000 employees

Used daily for 2+ years

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Overall Rating
  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Features
  • Customer support
  • Likelihood to recommend10/10

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Where magic happens

Reviewed 2 years ago

Overall inventor is where I am more comfortable at and it gets the job done.

Pros

modeling in inventor is just satisfactory. As a designer theres no better feeling than whatching what you imagine becoming real and thats just what happens when modeling with inventor, it flows.

Cons

modeling piece by piece is one thing but when the assembly time comes that's when you start crying. as an inventor user i am already use to it and have come to perfect it and even prefer it over other software. Let's just say that if you don't recall your dynamics lectures you won't be having a good time.

TP
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Tharindu P.

Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing, 501-1,000 employees

Used daily for 2+ years

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Overall Rating
  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Features
  • Customer support
  • Likelihood to recommend10/10

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Usage of Inventor

Reviewed 4 years ago

Overall I can recommend that this the best software for designers to make their work easy.

Pros

As an engineering student this is very useful software to me in my designing projects.There are lot of features include with this software.Due to that we can get better outcome by using this software. Inventor has very friendly and smooth 3D interface as well.

Cons

The only problem that I can see in this software is it takes some considerable time to load.

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MITCHELL P.

Machinery, 201-500 employees

Used daily for 2+ years

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Overall Rating
  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Features
  • Customer support
  • Likelihood to recommend10/10

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MOST ADAPTIVE CAD SOFTWARE

Reviewed 4 years ago

I have had a extremely positive experience with Inventor, I was originally a solidworks user, but now that I have switched it is difficult to go back!

Pros

The flexibility iLogic gains you in this software is an absolute must when working on bigger assemblies. Also, with a 2D background, adding on the 3rd dimension has a logical flow compared to other programs.

Cons

its not supported by many 3rd party solutions for processing structural steel out of the box

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Scott H.

Plastics, 11-50 employees

Used daily for less than 6 months

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Overall Rating
  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Features
  • Customer support
  • Likelihood to recommend7/10

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Autodesk Part Modeling Software is Very Powerful!

Reviewed 4 years ago

We have been able to offer Revit files to some of our customers who ask for them. We also are able to show them what their product will look like after it is done.

Pros

I liked that this software works with all the other pieces of software you can use as tools in Autodesk's line of products. It is very easy to sketch and draw just about anything. You also have a lot of control over the parameters that dictate the shape, size and area of the part you are creating. I also like the ease with which it works with other software data. You can open just about any file from any other software company.

Cons

I didn't like how some features like decals don't transcend down from a part variation to an assembly. Also, in oder to make a part adjustable and controllable in size you have to design it from the beginning as an iPart, which means that when it is in an assembly, all the constraints will break when it becomes an iPart. Sometimes playing with geometry is tricky because of constraints, but also because you can't always tell if a chain is fully connected to be able to extrude.

AR
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Verified reviewer

Machinery, 11-50 employees

Used daily for 2+ years

Review source

Overall Rating
  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Features
  • Customer support
  • Likelihood to recommend10/10

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Inventor Review

Reviewed 4 years ago

I love inventor I use it 9 hours a day 5 days a week

Pros

Speed, I can do so many things and make parts right so they go straight to production without modifications.

Cons

one thing I think would be nice if they added a way to add simple way to add total to tables and have them update automatically, right now I have to export to excel and import back.

MF
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Mario F.

Design, 1-10 employees

Used daily for 2+ years

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Overall Rating
  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Features
  • Customer support
  • Likelihood to recommend8/10

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Inventor is Decent

Reviewed 2 years ago

I feel 80% is enjoyable. I can build structures or components. It’s getting better every time, the other 20% is just basic frustration not being able to mirror components in assemblies and keep them linked, and not being able to copy mates on assemblies is just a big time waster.

Pros

I love the rendering and Frame generator! Frame Generator is freaking Awsome! Literally allows you to build a complex frame out of a sketch or a simple extrusion. The frame members can be trimmed and you can create your own profiles! Also ipart creation make things easy.

Cons

This is a real great software, but I must be honest at 2 Major weak points that are deal breakers for me and maybe others. There is no “copy with mates” like others softwares have. So if you insert 100 Identical components, it’s gonna take you forever to constrain them in your assembly. Also there is no assembly mirror that associative! You have to use pattern, if you can! These are basic standards in even older softwares! How can Inventor not have these Basic staples! Weak points for sure.

BF
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Brandon F.

Aviation & Aerospace, 51-200 employees

Used daily for 2+ years

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Overall Rating
  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Features
  • Customer support
  • Likelihood to recommend1/10

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Inventor...only 10 years behind

Reviewed 4 years ago
Pros

I like that it's fairly quick to rebuild parts after changing a feature early on in the tree. I like the view cube in the upper right hand corner, very easy to reorient the view any way I want. The measure tool is very useful and easy to use. I really like how easy it is to start and orient a sketch, super simple and intuitive. The hole tool is nice and easy to use, good GUI.

Cons

I don't like: 1. I can't measure between the edges of sketched circles without putting points there to measure from. Why shouldn't I be able to measure the web thickness or specify that as my measurable value? If that's something that's a CTC on my print, then let me spec it, don't tell me it's not "good engineering". 2. Why can't I split/trim projected geometry? You make me import it as a line, so...

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Alejandro S.

Oil & Energy, 51-200 employees

Used daily for 2+ years

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Overall Rating
  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Features
  • Customer support
  • Likelihood to recommend9/10

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Why I use Inventor in my daily work

Reviewed 2 years ago

I started using inventor 15 years ago at university and although the software has grown a lot, its use is still just as easy, of course with certain improvements and additions that must be learned with each new version. Although inventor generates high-quality blueprints, many times the drawing standards of each country or region are not met, so I usually edit the drawings in AutoCAD before presenting them

Pros

It is very easy to learn, it is a very intuitive software and you can start designing pieces from the first time you use it. Being Autodesk software, it is compatible with other important software such as AutoCAD or Fusion 360. It has a large number of libraries, so it is not necessary to draw standardized parts

Cons

This is very powerful software, so it requires a high-end computer, so the initial investment is somewhat expensive and the more elements an assembly has, the more RAM memory it will need, which can easily reach 64 or 128 GB.

AR
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Verified reviewer

Used daily for 2+ years

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Overall Rating
  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Features
  • Customer support
  • Likelihood to recommend8/10

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Very helpful tool to model components and help visualize real world assemblies.

Reviewed 5 years ago

AutoDesk included a modelling and drawing software, as well as a simulation aspect. We use other softwares for other applications so this is the extent of my knowledge with autocad.

Pros

I have used this product for over 3 years now and couldn't be more satisfied with the product. My team and I use Inventor to model assemblies to be used in real life to help us visualize any potential flaws regarding manufacturing and assembly. The gear tool has allowed us to construct complex gear trains within minutes and simulating the motion has never been easier. To add to that, being able to visualize the motion of the gears through simulation has helped us fix several overlooked flaws in the design, including improper teeth meshing distance and collision with the frame.

Cons

My one complaint with AutoDesk is the pack and go feature. Once, I used it to export my assembly and various part files into a compressed zip file, checking all the correct boxes, and my zip folder was later corrupted. It has only happened once but it cost me a lot of time. It could have been a user error on my part but I have packed and gone since and it has worked fine every other time.

JC
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John C.

Mechanical or Industrial Engineering, self-employed

Used weekly for 2+ years

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Overall Rating
  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Features
  • Customer support
  • Likelihood to recommend7/10

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Intuitive and powerful 3D CAD, yet it takes time to master the more powerful features

Reviewed 10 months ago

I created many solid models, assemblies and drawings. Compared to a previous high end system I used, it has been very robust and rarely crashes. Once you know it it is very intuitive.

Pros

Easy and powerful solid modeller that can create Assemblies with both Part and Assembly variations. Bill of Materials with tables can be generated directly in the Assembly drawing. A lot of functions are available under the right mouse button, which saves time not having to go through menus.

Cons

Once you get deeper into the software, the more powerful features can be somewhat difficult to learn. Support does not always understand your exact needs. Some of the lesser used powerful features do not get the same attention from their R&D. An example is that it took about 2 years for a feature to be corrected.

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Lilians C.

Used weekly for 2+ years

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Overall Rating
  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Features
  • Customer support
  • Likelihood to recommend10/10

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Excellent mechanical design software, extremely efficient and practical.

Reviewed 5 years ago

It has allowed me to quickly design metal structures in 3D from your library, which has saved me time, in addition to an impeccable finish. Therefore, I consider that it has given effectiveness to my work and my professional life.

Pros

Mainly it has allowed me to design pieces, machineries, structures and endless figures, creating parameters that streamline the assembly of the models that I have created, since it has a complete library of structural elements that facilitate the task of designing from the elements of the library and can easily be modeled, it is also very easy to create parametric drawings without the need of being...

Cons

The main disadvantage that I find to this software is that it requires a very powerful equipment and with certain specific characteristics to be able to use it, since in a conventional machine its use is impossible.

AS
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Abhishek S.

Mechanical or Industrial Engineering, 11-50 employees

Used weekly for 1-2 years

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Overall Rating
  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Features
  • Customer support
  • Likelihood to recommend7/10

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Reduces electro-mechanical system design

Reviewed 3 years ago

It has helped to collaborate with the engineering teams effectively in the system design process. For more complicated systems that have inter-dependency on mechanical and electrical domains, it has helped.

Pros

Autodesk Inventor integrates really well with other Autodesk products that provide collaboration to a deeper extent between various engineering disciplines that include mechanical, electrical and civil. Whenever a mechanical assembly is updated it automatically notifies and updates the electrical wiring. Autodesk rendering of the assembly and components helps to visualize things effectively.

Cons

The user interface is not friendly as compared to Solidworks. The amount of time taken to design a mechanical part in Solidworks is much faster compared to Autodesk Inventor.

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Wayne O.

Dairy, 11-50 employees

Used daily for 2+ years

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Overall Rating
  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Features
  • Customer support
  • Likelihood to recommend10/10

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Why I like Inventor

Reviewed 4 years ago

I work in for a process engineering company, so it helps to be able when building my Plant 3D drawings to be able to design the specialty equipment in Inventor to import into Plant to be able to visualize how it will actually look in the facilities we build.

Pros

The thing I like most about Inventor is the ease of use. I came from a SolidWorks background and was able to jump right in and start working with Inventor with very little instruction. The interface is easy to understand and there is plenty of help videos and white papers on the Autodesk website to help you out if you get stuck.

Cons

Inventor has crashed on me a couple of times, but that was remedied with a patch.

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Manuel Alberto M.

Mechanical or Industrial Engineering, 11-50 employees

Used daily for 1-2 years

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Overall Rating
  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Features
  • Customer support
  • Likelihood to recommend8/10

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A great but expensive tool

Reviewed 5 years ago

It's easier to create the piping system in Inventor than it is to create it in Solidworks. The rules-based routing tools allow to select the correct fittings and helps ensure that they comply with the industry standards. I can also import it to other files easily if I need it.

Pros

I use this to create elements for 3D models of marketing activations activations. This is a simple and user friendly 3D modeling tool. to add, once you learn this tool it the interface carries throughout other autodesk programs.

Cons

The price of it is a bit expensive. A single license can cost about 7,000. Regardless of cost, the Inventor doesn't have symmetry check. The symmetry would also the user to find whether the part is symmetric at all or the axis in which it is symmetric about. This would be helpful for users running FEA analysis and want to reduce the run down time.

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Jeffrey L.

Machinery, 11-50 employees

Used weekly for 2+ years

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Overall Rating
  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Features
  • Customer support
  • Likelihood to recommend8/10

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I've been using 3d software since 2001

Reviewed 5 years ago

Being able to re-use existing 3d parts in new projects without having to re-make the part every time.

Pros

I use this software for creating custom-made equipment that is unique to each customer. The ability to store a single part with multiple configurations built into the part's file saves me considerable time. I also use the pipe routing part of the software and have had very little issues when using it.

Cons

Every time I have to migrate the Vault part of the software, I have to pay my distributor come set it up for me, because YOU ALWAYS have some type of issue when migrating the vault. This wouldn't be too bad if my distributor was close, but when they are over 200 miles away it becomes costly. I also have a gripe with having to pay my distributor an additional cost to support the Autodesk software. Not sure if the other 3d software companies have the same support setup, but in my mind, if your paying this kind of money for software shouldn't you have access to the software developer itself?