solid works

Wow, I didn't realize Solidworks was so expensive! I am a taking a welding
class at the county tech. and picked up a little catalog of educational
discounted software at the bookstore. They have a Solidworks Student Edition
(with a 2 year license) for $249, but I do not know the differences between
the student and "pro" editions. It may be worth registering for a 1 credit
class in something just to get the discount. The company is
www.JourneyEd.com (I have not ordered anything from them yet, and I have no
connection with them) Their catalog says you only need to sent them a copy
of your student ID or class schedule to get the discounted prices.
Scott Yanke
P.S. They also have AutoCAD 2002 for $378 and Pro E for $299.

>Unfortunately too, the instructor isn't very well versed in MasterCAM
>either and the dealer is generally pretty hard to get hold of for answers.

>Unfortunately, I don't have the funds to buy MasterCAM (over $4000 I
>understand) and Solidworks (also ove $4000). Plus I'd have to upgrade my
>computer (cheap at $80 for the necessary memory) just to let Solidworks
>operate.

>About the only reason I could justify Solidworks would be ease of

generating

>assemblies which can be animated. From there I could generate 2D drawings
>which could possibly be plugged into a simple (and cheaper) program for
>generating the required code. I could even generate the code by hand if
>necessary.