Tony Smith Posted November 15, 2009 Share Posted November 15, 2009 Can any one help me. My company are about to purchase the Tekla programme for our steel fabrication shop. At the moment we are using AutoCAD Lt. I cant seem to find any where on the net to weigh up one against the other. We are currently using AutoCAD LT and have had an in house demonstartion of the TEKLA. Tekla looks good and we were inpressed with what it could do but the thing that is troubling me is the lack of web sites you can go to to get help and advice together with tips and hints on using Tekla. I have been told that I will have to do a one week training course in Leeds,(not very appealing when I live in south London). I do have the leverage in my company to change thier minds if I have to. Can anyone out there tell me if they have experience of both AutCAD and Tekla and tell me what they think of the two?? Cheers Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Smith Posted November 15, 2009 Author Share Posted November 15, 2009 I have started this thread in the beginners area but then thought maybe beginners may not be able to help. I want to know if anyone out there has experience of both AutoCAD and Tekla and can give me thier opinion on how they measure up against each other. I am just about to spend a pile of cash moving into 3D steel detailing and am a little unsure of where to spend it. Thanks Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cad64 Posted November 15, 2009 Share Posted November 15, 2009 Please don't cross post. Your question will be seen and answered regardless of which forum it is posted in. And just because you posted it in the beginners section, doesn't mean that only beginners are going to look at your question. We all read every question regardless of where it's posted, and if we have an answer we will reply, so please just post your question once and then wait for replies. Unfortunately, I don't have any information regarding the Tekla program, so I can't tell you how it compares to Autocad, but I'm sure someone will be along shortly with some information. In the meantime, it seems like your main concerns are the fact that you have to travel to Leeds for training, and the limited support via websites or forums. When you had the in-house demonstration, did you ask them about technical support? Do they have a support team to answer questions via phone or email? Or maybe they have their own web forum? Also, do they provide in-house training for people like you that live far from their training center? If not, won't your company pay for your hotel and expenses so you can go to Leeds to attend the training course? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Smith Posted November 15, 2009 Author Share Posted November 15, 2009 Thanks CAD64. Maybe I should have read the posting rules first. Sorry. Tekla do have a support line and back up. Its £1900 per year to subscribe. Its not really the money thats an issue nor the travelling since my company will pay for it all. Its more to do with the convienience of the whole thing. I have been on the Tekla web site but I must say that the ammount of AutoCAD information around on the web far exceeds Tekla. The Tekla demonstration was done by a guy that has knowledge of both AutoCAD and Tekla. He has told me that Tekla is far better than AutoCAD, He would do being the salesman but he does seem genuine and I have to deal with lots of salesmen on all manner of things. I just want to get someone elses perspective on this if I can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiger Posted November 16, 2009 Share Posted November 16, 2009 To say that Tekla is better than AutoCAD is like saying apples are better than oranges. what makes AutoCAD so good is the versatility of the program, not the specifics. But depending on what you're going to do, I have no doubts that Tekla is better. Haven't used it myself, only shared files with Tekla-users, but from what I see it's a good construction-program. Why not give it a shot, if nothing else you'll get another program under your belt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazjanx008 Posted June 11, 2017 Share Posted June 11, 2017 (edited) Hi all, Sorry but I couldn't resist to answer this one for you, I have used Auto-Cad, and Tekla for over 10 years now and I can tell you with confidence these are the Differences as follows: 1.) Auto-Cad is a manual input Software were by you are in control of the Drawing, Numbering, Quantities and over all production side of Fabrication. any information need from the drawings needs to be manually inputted or a manual take off has to be done, Where Tekla in Automatic in all of the Above. All Numbering, Material Take-offs, Drawing Creating from the 3D Model can be generated at the flick of a switch. Not to mention the CNC Data that is needed for Processing equipment like beam lines. Autocad cannot produce such rich Data. 2.) Tekla has a range of Automatic Connections which can be Changed to suit each Connection thereby making connections super fast to detail and again with the Click of a button. Auto-cad you have to draw in each plate and bolt every time you do a different connection. 3.)Learning the inner works of tekla requires some basic programming skills but all of this is provided with step by step Guides with Tekla. 4.) Tekla models in 3D Period and sections can be taken with ease at any point in the Model... Hope This clears Things, If not don't be shy to ask... To say that Tekla is better than AutoCAD is like saying apples are better than oranges. what makes AutoCAD so good is the versatility of the program, not the specifics. But depending on what you're going to do, I have no doubts that Tekla is better. Haven't used it myself, only shared files with Tekla-users, but from what I see it's a good construction-program. Why not give it a shot, if nothing else you'll get another program under your belt Edited June 12, 2017 by SLW210 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cad64 Posted June 11, 2017 Share Posted June 11, 2017 Why not give it a shot, if nothing else you'll get another program under your belt Since this thread is over 7 years old, I'm sure the OP is probably a pro with Tekla by now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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