Comparing Solidworks with Inventor+Alias

[pareto]

Hi Guys,

New member here - although I must confess to reading posts on this board for quite a while now. Thanks for all the helpful comments.

It's a question that comes up from time to time. Rather than asking a general question, I wanted to ask in form of a list.

1. Someone commented a couple years ago (I think... it may have been more recent) that he observed more students signing up to learn Solidworks than Inventor and that it was the first time this has occurred. Has this trend continued? Do you see Solidworks gaining more popularity?

2. Relates to question 1. Has Autodesk done anything to counter this trend in terms of pricing? I have asked around and found out Inventor sells for 3,300 (Not Inventor LT or professional). Posts from a couple years ago mentioned of that Inventor ranges 4,000-5,000. It seems to me that Inventor prices has come down.

3. For someone in product design that is in the computer peripheral industry - designing products like ergonomic computer mice (quite of bit of curves) and keyboards, which product do you recommend getting? Obviously this person is me and I plan on also getting Alias if I get Inventor. I've asked around and the combined cost of Inventor (regular) and Alias (design) is around 7,000, which I think is pretty comparable with Solidworks. Please correct me if I'm wrong and if Solidworks sells for less. I figured the Inventor+Alias combo is cheaper that getting the inventor premium suite.

4. Which product is better for patent drawings? As some of you may already know, USPTO only accepts drawings with black and white colors only. The color grey or prints made in greyscale is forbidden. They do not allow any shades done in grey. If shades are included they must be in forms of black lines. Do either program provide a way to include shades made with black lines?

Thanks in advance!

[pareto]

Sorry I guys, I meant Inventor Ultimate Suite. I don't think the premium suite includes Alias.

[JD Mather]

This is simple math.
Inventor = SolidWorks.
I think you can figure out the Inventor + Alias equation. Not even comparable.
Inventor does have an Illustration render type that somewhat resembles typical patent drawings and can be set solid black lines on white background. I think you might still need to turn these over to an experienced patent artist for final work - but as the Inventor output is very close it would reduce billable hours to get the final art.

[pareto]

I see. Thanks.