I am currently still doing work in Solidworks. I’m no longer employed by the old company, but I’m still an owner, and still the only design engineer. Fortunately there isn’t much need for my services, but when there is, I’m working in Solidworks.
I’m also doing tutorials in NX to prepare for the new job.
At the same time, I’ve decided to do all of my side business work in Fusion. It is affordable, and allows me to do PCB design and structural analysis when needed. I wish I could report that I’m doing tutorials for Fusion, but the truth is I’m just bashing my way through, and hating every minute of it. It can get the job done, but it is missing much of the efficiency I’m used to from Solidworks.
That sounds like a lot of fun. (I’ve been on one or two forums that allow you to change text colors, and purple was used to express sarcasm, but hopefully it’s apparent without that.)
Fusion 360 makes some very illogical decisions regarding their UI. When users question / complain, the response is almost always “we’ve decided this is the way. Get over it”
Not sure what your “side business” work is, but did you know that there is a version of SOLIDWORKS that only costs $24 a year (on sale now). It is called SOLIDWORKS for Makers. Here is the website to check it out: SOLIDWORKS for Makers.
I know that they limit the amount of money you make using the software, but you can make some profit while using it.
To the best of my knowledge, it is full fledged SOLIDWORKS (maybe watermarked so you cannot bring the data into a commercial license version).
If you want, check it out. And no I am not a salesman, but I am a SOLIDWORKS User Group Leader.
Siemens Designcenter Solid Edge is an option you may want to check out. The Student/Maker versions are free and there is a Solid Edge for Startups program where you can get a free Premium license if your sales are under $1,000,000/yr.
Very comparable to SolidWorks in functionality and also based on Siemens Parasolid kernel. Since it is part of the Designcenter suite it can be used collaboratively with NX (even sold together in a bundle).
