All I can say is wow. I've been out of the industry for a few years and had no idea a free version of Solid Edge was available. I can't say thank you enough for bringing this to our attention. I really hope you continue the English tutorials for SE. I look forward to getting back to my design roots.
@@FreeCADAcademy I just finished the video. I am blown away at the progress in model creation by the current SE. My design brain cells are itching to get started.
I use NX almost every day professionally, and really wished there was some way I could get access to it (or something very much like it) for my own personal projects. Then I stumbled on this video, I had absolutely no idea that Siemens made Solid Edge, or that it was available for free, for non-commercial use! Literally about to download it, thanks for bringing this to the surface!
@@headgasket_ So a few days in now, and so far I like it - its definitely a different workflow to NX for sure, much more like Solidworks, but its performance is fantastic, comes bundled with Keyshot 11 for rendering, and aside the minor irritation of only having Orbit rather than Turntable navigation for objects, I can't fault it for anything. Continuing my personal projects with it, and will update if I hit any snags or issues.
So its time for me to update this; I used Solid Edge for a couple of months, but have ended up moving back to FreeCAD and Assembly 3 and 4 workbenches. This was mainly due to stability issues with Solid Edge, I tried it on two machines (Ryzen 9 5900X & 3090 and Ryzen 9 5950X & 3090 Ti) and suffered fairly regular crashes and lock ups on both machines, where FreeCAD runs all day on those two machines, or on my dedicated CAD box (Debian, 2xE5-2699v4 & 6900XT). Solid Edge draw performance yet to be beaten though, the display was lightening fast even with very complex assembles, and I did enjoy it, but the stability killed it for me for now, though I will no doubt return and check it out again once its updated again :)
Thanks for this awesome tutorial! Looking forward for more videos. Solid Edgde is one of the only programs that offers free version with all the powerful tools
Excellent tutorial. I downloaded Solid edge a few months ago and have followed several youtube lessons with varying degrees of success. I have to say that your explanations are brilliant and have filled in may gaps in my knowledge and understanding of some of the basic tools. Thanks.
I thank you for a training style that seems to match my background. My first part design training started with a 4H pencil and a T square. Your methods of teaching do seem easier to follow. I have worked as a toolmaker for fifty years, and do like things that make sense. I will be back for more of your lessons.
Didn't even know that Solid Edge existed until a few months ago. It never appeared in any search I did for 3d modelling software. Why? It certainly has all the features I need, and is a lot easier to use than FreeCAD. With Solid Edge and Blender together all of my 3d design needs are covered. There are lots of tutorials available for both, so I should become an expert in no time.
Well, If you want a REAL free program, I suggest you continue with FreeCad, but if you want to switch to Solid Edge anyway, keep this in mind: Such a good and easy to learn program *CAN NOT BE FREE FOR EVER* and THIS IS A FACT !. Release a free program is a hook many companies use to GET NEW CUSTOMERS, and then after a while (when you have spend time and effort in learning this "fantastic free program") you recieve a notification reading: from now on you will have to pay a rent for using it ! ! !. Solid Edge was created by Siemens Co. which is a well known company that makes excellent and very professional programs, but non of them is for Free. So, why Solid Edge have to be an exception ?. Think about it. Cheers, John from Chile, South America.
I got to know Solid Edge in 1997 when it was introduced at my first job and since then, except for about three years when I used NX, I have been working in it non-stop, including in my third current job. That's why I was very pleased when I came across that it can be used for non-commercial stuff for free. I make all kinds of small models in it, but also one big home project of a very powerful LED flashlight.
Thanks for all the tips. I am glad to see there is a Community option for an old retiree like me to maintain my skills. I was a professional Solidworks user and this program seems easy to learn.
This is great - I used Solid Edge as a student and liked it. It's probably advanced a bit since then. But I want to sell the stuff I design, print, and carve... so I'll stick with FreeCAD if I can.
I've wasted enough time fighting FreeCAD bugs that I could probably design and iterate in a professional software and then recreate the model in FreeCAD if I cared to sell it.
@@ctrlaltdebug FreeCAD is developing very well. Maybe this year (but properly next year) we will see a really good stable FreeCAD version. Same nice features and topology nameing issue will be solved. Be patient and it will be fruitful, I'm sure.
Unless you want to operate commercially, Solid Edge is on another tier compared to FreeCAD, in the same way NX and CATIA are ahead of Solid Edge and SOLIDWORKS. FreeCAD is always promising to hit the big time, I think it's certainly getting better.
Leave a comment if you liked or even disliked the video. Share your opinions and ask questions. The amount of comments compared to views (2000 views, 17 comments) is ridiculously LOW!) 😨😨
Great video. I very much enjoyed your step-by-step presentation. I have use a free academic version of the software for many years. I have a little video I made of the steering geometry of the Greenpower F24 racer here ua-cam.com/video/3BxjPLsywBo/v-deo.html Please continue on with your series. I would like to see videos on surfacing, 3D sketching, and other more advanced features.
I have to say I'm really enjoying Solid Edge. Never heard of it and have been a Fusion 360 user for a while now. I've been using it non-stop over the weekend and I really like synchronous mode. Feels much faster and intuitive vs Fusion. So far besides some of the plug-ins that I like for Fusion I think I may stick with it as my main CAD program.
at first I didn't understand what Synchronous mode but when your summary reviewed it, instantly I understood the power of dynamically changing a part; yet the direct history exists. I will try it because I really think Fusion360 is quite outdated and was about to start OnShape. Thanks UA-cam Algorithm for this suggestion.
This just popped up on "Recommended" by UA-cam, my jaw dropped, something new for me to learn as RC Models Hobbyist, downloaded to follow your tutorial....👍
Synchronous mode is impressive. I'm starting learning CAD on FreeCAD (I don't like the "business model" of Fusion 360 and Onshape) and it's still time for me to switch to other software because I've not yet memory muscle on FreeCAD. I will take a look on Solid Edge but "only on Windows" is a brake for me.
Hi, maybe I can help with some suggestions. Not sure about other than windows support, I think there is on one at least of the following suggestions... Anyway, I'm not new to cad, been making things for a few years, but recently I've been looking for a more modern cad program and have found three so far that might save you a LOT of headache if you're just starting. One thing first though, choosing a cad program should highly depend on what you envision doing with cad in the future. that means such as for fun, your own business, self employed,or working for a company, plus in what sort of industries. . Ok, so I've been looking at three programs...."SelfCad", "Moi" and "Plasticity" which is really new and still in development. At this moment I can't say which is the best deal, but they all have free trials and the licenses are pretty cheap given what you get. Hope this helps and good luck in the future
Excellent tutorial. The workflow is really geared for productivity over other parametric cad programs. One key thing I noticed when messing around as I followed along is that when dimensions are changed on the fly, it skews the other dimensions already set on an extrusion object. I locked the dimension when altering it and them moved on to correcting the other that changed...locking that as well and continuing until they have all been corrected and locked. I will work with it for a while but I see it as possibly supplanting freecad/solidworks/fusion360 as my go to tool for fast modeling.
yes, this can feel a little unfamiliar in the beginning when Solid Edge also changes the other dimensions. To prevent this from happening you already found out how to lock these. Takes a little time to get used to the workflow I guess.
It's important to fully constraint stuff, you can do that with locked dimensions but you can also set relationships. For example, if in Synchronous mode, you can bond several elements together with the face relate "rigid" setting - moving a whole bunch of things together at once with a dimension or simply by dragging. It's really powerful.
I am absolutely blown away. I use Onshape but this Solid edge looks so much easier to navigate. To date I had never heard of this software. I just wonder how long it will be free for hobbyist?
They've had the Community Edition for years. It makes no sense for them to reverse it, Siemens has little foothold in the education or cloud space so this is how they compete... although since few people know about Solid Edge Community Edition their marketing sucks.
Hmm.. did the channel name just change from FreeCAD Academy to Free CAD Academy? Just an observation, nothing wrong with that. Thanks for your tutorials!
Yes I did it because the channel is not focused on FreeCAD alone but will be a home for various CAD software which is free for hobby and DIY use. I did announce it a few months ago in the community tab of my channel. FreeCAD does not support me at all
Thanks for publishing this video. I am still a TinkerCad user, as the cost is right and does 90% of what I need easliy. I have looked at most of the other free programs, and found they are so limited or the license can be withdrawn at any time. I will do a little more research on this, but looks like something that would meet my needs as a hobbyist.
@@tvideo1189 Solid Edge Community Edition has remained free for years and gained features along the way. Siemens main income is from big corporations, they don't chase the little guys like Autodesk or the cloud solutions. Siemens is losing out to the cloud CAD providers and Dassault tied up the education market with SOLIDWORKS years ago... the community edition is a way to compete, but their marketing sucks as few people know about it - to my knowledge they don't engage with youtubers to promote it (OnShape will give you a free professional license if you're a youtuber!).
Great video, have used freecad for a week now and think its good, but this is way more user friendly, hard to edit in freecad for me THANKS for good help.
I used Solidworks, Solid Edge and plant 3D ( purpose of plant 3D is different though ) for past few years. The best tool is Solidworks. The negative for the solid edge is that it is not user friendly. Things are a bit more complicated than Solidworks. For drafting solid edge has an advantage than solidworks.
Thank you very much for this tutorial. I followed along very closely, but at 17:09 when I try to change the fillet radius I get the message: "The requested dimension modification cannot be made. Change the Design Intent settings or the command options and try again." Version I'm using is 2024_2310.
I was tempted to try it out, because the software looks full of features. So the journey begins... First I had some weird issues with display - it's like infinite rirror thing. After searching for a solution online I installed newest video drivers. That helped. But another problem appeared. Now I don't see solid bodies. They are visible when I move or rotate the view, bot when I stop they disappear. Again - online search. Solution: turn off antialiasing... Well ok. I can live with that. So I went to make my fist steps. Created a simple body, then put a chamfer on some edges. Then I hit "undo" and the program crashed. Imagine a long work and a sudden crash. I give up and going back to Fusion 360.
If you go into (settings- options - view) when you have a part model open, you may be able to reduce the GPU mode from advanced to regular. This may solve most of your problems, generally Solid Edge is considered super stable.
Last I looked, no CAM, has that changed? If not, how do I drive my CNC with models made using Solid Edge? I did the tutorials and they were very well thought out, I really progressed quickly.
You’re welcome mate! I’m my opinion, if you only compare the free version of Fusion and Solid edge , you have the better deal with solid Edge. Less limitations and no cloud
@@FreeCADAcademy yup the cloud feature is a downer as i leave on a remote island with not so good internet and sometimes Fusion will crap out. BTW how does it handle imported mesh files ? I've seen Solidworks handling them like "normal" files as with Fusion or FreeCad it's a nightmare to modify anything......
This looks great I hope you will continue with tutorial on solid edge, I like your approach as a total newbie you make it so easy to follow, could've get my head around freecad to be honest, I used autocad auto sketch at college many many years ago and somehow this look similar in ways ☺️ looking at resigning for 3d printer
@@FreeCADAcademy That is fantastic, Flowwie !. In this case I will follow your future tutorials about this program. Greetings from Chile, South America. I´m John.
Just a few questions: - can Solid Edge model objects with curved surfaces such as cars? - can it be navigated via pen tablet? - can its shortcuts for its navigation be customized like Blender with ALT key enabled...wirth ALT key enabled (unfortunately FREECAD is not possible) - can the main commands be customized via shortcuts?
As far as I know it can do all you asking. For car modeling it can do it, but don't expect it will work like alias, icem, catia, or NX. Because Solid Edge doesn't have capabilities to do class A surfacing. And I personally use xp pen tablet. But don't expect it works like shapr3d, because Solid Edge is like others CAD in same league (Solidworks, Fusion360, Inventor). CMIIW
Solid Edge is more for prismatic parts, like to be machined, etc. It can do surfacing but there are better solutions, e.g. Rhino 3d, Alias or Altair Inspire Studio, but these are all paid. Siemens NX has proper surfacing tools, which is also free in Student version (you don't need to be a student) but it only has STL export.
I am using Solidworks from few years for my project and I really like it because of it's simplicity but licensing is a major issue with it. So I found your video of Solid Edge and it looks very much familiar with Solidworks. So how similar is it with Solidworks if you have any idea about it 🤔?
Anybody that has used SOLIDWORKS usually hates Solid Edge with a passion. It's simply a case of familiarity rather than Solid Edge being bad, and this applies to changing between any CAD program. People going from Solid Edge to SOLIDWORKS often don't like SOLIDWORKS either. My advice when moving to a different CAD package is to act like you don't know CAD at all, and learn from scratch. This way you will pickup the workflow. Siemens has an Accelerator training program. It's free and you simply follow their tutorials online.
I am accustomed to Solidworks and I see enough similarities that I think I can learn this quicker than Fusion360, which is currently confusing me. One question though - is CAM built in as it is with Fusion?
@@donepearce Just about to download, so I can't answer for certain, but I see no reason you can't 'slice' an output model and 3D print it. Just doesn't seem to be the equivalent of Solid-Cam with SolidWorks.
@@donepearce Yes, having installed and tried it I found that it even has a slicer of sorts built-in. I'd still export to an STL and slice separately. It does seem to support export to many different model formats. Could an existing CAM solution work?
Well, looks good. First hurdle: When I open it I get a workspace with the axes and as soon as I move the mouse it changes to 4 sets of axes cascaded, and all slightly greyed. Second hurdle is click 2 point rectangle and I get no planes shown. I can hit F3 and draw but I have no set of inersecting planes to choose the one I want. Drawing a rectangle results in 4 cascaded rectangles, one in each of the shaded sets of axes. So from the outset this looks as if it isn't going to work.
Thanks for bringing this to our attention. Didn't realize that solid edge was free. I use NX for my job, so I gave it a shot, a bit disappointed though. It seems like a powerful tool, but the UI and workflow feel much different than NX or any parametric CAD package. I'll keep it downloaded, but for now I'll stick to FreeCAD / OnShape / Fusion360 since I'm just making simple models for 3d printing as a hobby.
how you are making and showing tutorial video of the solid edge community version. because siemens don't allow, no one can make any UA-cam tutorial video or 3d print file for sell.
How do you define commercial use? First thing to do when I want to download this software, is to give company name, but use for companies isn't already a commercial use? Can you please straighten it up?
Hi thanks for the tutorial. I was just wondering why you would use synchronous mode? what is the advantage. I find that not being able to edit the sketch and have the model update quite problematic. I just recently created my first model in synchronous mode, not realising that I wouldn't be able to update it. I had to start from scratch in ordered mode. I think ordered mode is superior as you have more control over your model, I would appreciate your opinion on this.
That was my first impression of Synchronous Mode - it feels like you box yourself into the corner. With more practice, I realise that's not the case at all. Work through the accelerator tutorial videos (free to sign up), and you realise it's incredibly powerful and I do most of my designs in that mode now. You have to think differently. Use relationships to constraint stuff. Learn about the Design Intent modes. And of course, properly constrain stuff with dimensions. This mode is the greatest strength of Siemens Solid Edge and Siemens NX. You can also add ordered features in the same model. Synchronous is so fast... and even fun!
Hello! I was thinking of using this for some small academy projects since they didn't provide us with a software we could potentially use, is there any way to convert a sketch into a 3D object and the other way around or do you have to draw both manually? Anyway, huge thanks for this video.
Excellent tutorial, I watched the whole video and then download the program and restarted the video. Unfortunately, following the same steps, I couldn't repeat your results. This looks so much better than Tinkercad or Freecad, but I just can't get it to work for me.
Maybe I will have to create a complete video on this topic because its way too much to explain for a UA-cam comment. Main difference. This is not open source software. This is professional software, means it will be more stable, more features and overall much more refined. But you have to rely on the manufacturer (Siemens) that they will continue offering this Community Edition for FREE.
@@FreeCADAcademy I don't agree on the part "This is not open source software. This is professional software, means it will be more stable," :) We all know pro software with bugs. And open source doesn't mean bad software. Remember about 90% of Internet works with open source software. Space X use Linux. Nasa also, and many others. I agree with the fact that softwares from compagnies have sometimes more features, because customers pay for this, but the question as an amateur is "Do I need them ?" A video may be interesting.
Enjoying your videos but I have a slight problem when selecting. When I hover over an edge to round it over I seem unable to highlight the individual required edge but only all edges on that face, ( an edge set ). It is driving me crazy as I am unable to round over a single edge. Any help would be much appreciated. Solved it. The chain option has to be selected, then you can select edges.
Thank you very much for the very nice intro tutorial for Solid Edge! 😃👍 I've been tinkering a bit in Fusion 360 and like that you can reference multiple features and actions in its History line/bar to drive new features and actions. Do you know if Solid Edge can reference history items too, to drive new features?
@@FreeCADAcademy Thanks, very interesting! 😃 One last question, can the free version export to other formats (like STEP or IGES etc.) so the models can be worked on further in Moi3D for example, or is it only outputting .stl-files? I tried to find info on their site but I couldn't find anything for the free version other than that the files can't be used in the full version and the drawings are watermarked.
Perhaps you SHOULD talk about the download. What is the "Gimp" software that trys to download itself onto my machine? I want Solid edge because it looks like it will solve some of my problems, but this thing is a mystery, wrapped in a puzzle, hidden in a conundrum!
Great tutorial but I had a problem when it came to the holes. I couldn't see a centre mark, nor a snap was felt when trying to place the holes in the centre. I noticed a '+' indicating the centre on your screen in the video but it does not show on mine. Am I missing something? Love your style of teaching (albeit just a little fast for me 'cos I had to pause the video every few seconds). Have subscribed.
They centres appear when you mouse over a circle, then you can click on it. Same with alignment lines. If you want to align an edge with another line or rectangle (both in 2d and 3d view), mouse over it and then the guidance lines will magically appear. It's very elegant and efficient way to work, only using the snap fits you want.
Siemens also offer free student version Simcenter Femap, which is very powerful (and very complicated). You don't need to be a student. I tried it but I found FEA in Solid Edge to be adequate for my tinkering.
Can't get the download. I get stuck at this message. "Unfortunately, we are unable to approve your license request at this time. If you are still interested in receiving access to our software then please contact an IT administrator at your company or educational institution."
Looks like the community edition is "licensed" for only approximately 3 years (I show 1087 days). What happens then? I would hate to go through the learning curve and get proficient with it and then not be able to use it in 3 years. Thoughts?
I tried to download the community version and got a message saying they were not able to approve my download at this time and to contact an IT professional in my company or school. I am an individual hobbyist. I'm bummed! Suggestions or help welcome.
Not gonna lie, wish I saw this video 6 months ago before I started down the teeth pulling pain of FreeCad. :) Are there hidden downsides besides this being closed source such as cloud only where they own your work?
License has to renewed periodically , I think currently it’s always valid for a period of 3 years, then you have to revew. Next downside: Solid Edge community and pro version files are not compatible. So I highly recommend Export in an open format like step.
Hello everybody.
I am currently working on a NEW Solid Edge video for this channel.
I hope you will like it!
All I can say is wow. I've been out of the industry for a few years and had no idea a free version of Solid Edge was available. I can't say thank you enough for bringing this to our attention. I really hope you continue the English tutorials for SE. I look forward to getting back to my design roots.
Thanks for your kind message, I'm glad you like the video and you'll have a lot of fun with SE.
@@FreeCADAcademy I just finished the video. I am blown away at the progress in model creation by the current SE. My design brain cells are itching to get started.
Can't wait to hear from you, what models you create!
I use NX almost every day professionally, and really wished there was some way I could get access to it (or something very much like it) for my own personal projects. Then I stumbled on this video, I had absolutely no idea that Siemens made Solid Edge, or that it was available for free, for non-commercial use! Literally about to download it, thanks for bringing this to the surface!
Glad I could help!
While it’s not exactly the same workflow as NX you will be able to use it productively in no time - I’m sure. 🥳
Share your views after using it. Thanks!
@@headgasket_ So a few days in now, and so far I like it - its definitely a different workflow to NX for sure, much more like Solidworks, but its performance is fantastic, comes bundled with Keyshot 11 for rendering, and aside the minor irritation of only having Orbit rather than Turntable navigation for objects, I can't fault it for anything. Continuing my personal projects with it, and will update if I hit any snags or issues.
So its time for me to update this; I used Solid Edge for a couple of months, but have ended up moving back to FreeCAD and Assembly 3 and 4 workbenches. This was mainly due to stability issues with Solid Edge, I tried it on two machines (Ryzen 9 5900X & 3090 and Ryzen 9 5950X & 3090 Ti) and suffered fairly regular crashes and lock ups on both machines, where FreeCAD runs all day on those two machines, or on my dedicated CAD box (Debian, 2xE5-2699v4 & 6900XT). Solid Edge draw performance yet to be beaten though, the display was lightening fast even with very complex assembles, and I did enjoy it, but the stability killed it for me for now, though I will no doubt return and check it out again once its updated again :)
@@TheOriginalGeekyNoob Thanks for the update!
Awww yeah - Love seeing other FREE solutions for the world of 3D CAD!
Thanks 🙏 it’s always cool to see how many options the users have these days
Thanks for this awesome tutorial! Looking forward for more videos. Solid Edgde is one of the only programs that offers free version with all the powerful tools
Yes, Solid Edge gives you almost the complete toolset and does not bother you with tons of limitations like others do..
Excellent tutorial. I downloaded Solid edge a few months ago and have followed several youtube lessons with varying degrees of success. I have to say that your explanations are brilliant and have filled in may gaps in my knowledge and understanding of some of the basic tools. Thanks.
I thank you for a training style that seems to match my background. My first part design training started with a 4H pencil and a T square. Your methods of teaching do seem easier to follow. I have worked as a toolmaker for fifty years, and do like things that make sense. I will be back for more of your lessons.
Didn't even know that Solid Edge existed until a few months ago. It never appeared in any search I did for 3d modelling software. Why? It certainly has all the features I need, and is a lot easier to use than FreeCAD. With Solid Edge and Blender together all of my 3d design needs are covered. There are lots of tutorials available for both, so I should become an expert in no time.
Well, If you want a REAL free program, I suggest you continue with FreeCad, but if you want to switch to Solid Edge anyway, keep this in mind:
Such a good and easy to learn program *CAN NOT BE FREE FOR EVER* and THIS IS A FACT !.
Release a free program is a hook many companies use to GET NEW CUSTOMERS, and then after a while (when you have spend time and effort in learning this "fantastic free program") you recieve a notification reading: from now on you will have to pay a rent for using it ! ! !.
Solid Edge was created by Siemens Co. which is a well known company that makes excellent and very professional programs, but non of them is for Free. So, why Solid Edge have to be an exception ?. Think about it.
Cheers, John from Chile, South America.
I got to know Solid Edge in 1997 when it was introduced at my first job and since then, except for about three years when I used NX, I have been working in it non-stop, including in my third current job. That's why I was very pleased when I came across that it can be used for non-commercial stuff for free. I make all kinds of small models in it, but also one big home project of a very powerful LED flashlight.
Thanks for all the tips. I am glad to see there is a Community option for an old retiree like me to maintain my skills. I was a professional Solidworks user and this program seems easy to learn.
This is great - I used Solid Edge as a student and liked it. It's probably advanced a bit since then. But I want to sell the stuff I design, print, and carve... so I'll stick with FreeCAD if I can.
I've wasted enough time fighting FreeCAD bugs that I could probably design and iterate in a professional software and then recreate the model in FreeCAD if I cared to sell it.
@@ctrlaltdebug FreeCAD is developing very well. Maybe this year (but properly next year) we will see a really good stable FreeCAD version. Same nice features and topology nameing issue will be solved. Be patient and it will be fruitful, I'm sure.
Unless you want to operate commercially, Solid Edge is on another tier compared to FreeCAD, in the same way NX and CATIA are ahead of Solid Edge and SOLIDWORKS. FreeCAD is always promising to hit the big time, I think it's certainly getting better.
PLEASE, continue with this series 🙏
Leave a comment if you liked or even disliked the video. Share your opinions and ask questions.
The amount of comments compared to views (2000 views, 17 comments) is ridiculously LOW!) 😨😨
Great video. I very much enjoyed your step-by-step presentation. I have use a free academic version of the software for many years. I have a little video I made of the steering geometry of the Greenpower F24 racer here ua-cam.com/video/3BxjPLsywBo/v-deo.html
Please continue on with your series. I would like to see videos on surfacing, 3D sketching, and other more advanced features.
Waiting for the next episode of this series , thank you
just filecr autodesk inventor pro for me
Thanks for the heads up - this looks great.
Sure you’re welcome.
I’ll try to introduce a few more great softwares here which are worth a try ! 🙏
@@FreeCADAcademy that would be great.
I have to say I'm really enjoying Solid Edge. Never heard of it and have been a Fusion 360 user for a while now. I've been using it non-stop over the weekend and I really like synchronous mode. Feels much faster and intuitive vs Fusion. So far besides some of the plug-ins that I like for Fusion I think I may stick with it as my main CAD program.
EXCELLENT presentation - SHORT focused and TO the point 👍. Well DONE !
at first I didn't understand what Synchronous mode but when your summary reviewed it, instantly I understood the power of dynamically changing a part; yet the direct history exists. I will try it because I really think Fusion360 is quite outdated and was about to start OnShape. Thanks UA-cam Algorithm for this suggestion.
This was excellent. Please can you do more solid edge tutorials as there are not that many on You tube who actually speak.
This just popped up on "Recommended" by UA-cam, my jaw dropped, something new for me to learn as RC Models Hobbyist, downloaded to follow your tutorial....👍
Great thanks for your comment I hope you like the video and find it useful.
There will be more solid Edge tutorials in the upcoming weeks!
Great intro to Solid Edge. Thanks for preparing this.
Ive been using solid edge for a long time and can definitely recommend it!
Synchronous mode is impressive. I'm starting learning CAD on FreeCAD (I don't like the "business model" of Fusion 360 and Onshape) and it's still time for me to switch to other software because I've not yet memory muscle on FreeCAD.
I will take a look on Solid Edge but "only on Windows" is a brake for me.
Hi, maybe I can help with some suggestions. Not sure about other than windows support, I think there is on one at least of the following suggestions... Anyway, I'm not new to cad, been making things for a few years, but recently I've been looking for a more modern cad program and have found three so far that might save you a LOT of headache if you're just starting. One thing first though, choosing a cad program should highly depend on what you envision doing with cad in the future. that means such as for fun, your own business, self employed,or working for a company, plus in what sort of industries. . Ok, so I've been looking at three programs...."SelfCad", "Moi" and "Plasticity" which is really new and still in development. At this moment I can't say which is the best deal, but they all have free trials and the licenses are pretty cheap given what you get. Hope this helps and good luck in the future
Have you checked my Plasticity introduction on the German channel?
I started learning Freecad, but then i tryed this Solid edge, and i find that Solid edge is better for me. Thanks for the video.
Very well explained. Usefull. Thank you very much.
Thanks so much
Thank you. You are a great asset to the maker community.
Excellent tutorial. The workflow is really geared for productivity over other parametric cad programs. One key thing I noticed when messing around as I followed along is that when dimensions are changed on the fly, it skews the other dimensions already set on an extrusion object. I locked the dimension when altering it and them moved on to correcting the other that changed...locking that as well and continuing until they have all been corrected and locked. I will work with it for a while but I see it as possibly supplanting freecad/solidworks/fusion360 as my go to tool for fast modeling.
yes, this can feel a little unfamiliar in the beginning when Solid Edge also changes the other dimensions. To prevent this from happening you already found out how to lock these. Takes a little time to get used to the workflow I guess.
It's important to fully constraint stuff, you can do that with locked dimensions but you can also set relationships. For example, if in Synchronous mode, you can bond several elements together with the face relate "rigid" setting - moving a whole bunch of things together at once with a dimension or simply by dragging. It's really powerful.
I am absolutely blown away. I use Onshape but this Solid edge looks so much easier to navigate. To date I had never heard of this software. I just wonder how long it will be free for hobbyist?
In the about box it looks like a running 3 years from the release date.
They've had the Community Edition for years. It makes no sense for them to reverse it, Siemens has little foothold in the education or cloud space so this is how they compete... although since few people know about Solid Edge Community Edition their marketing sucks.
Hmm.. did the channel name just change from FreeCAD Academy to Free CAD Academy?
Just an observation, nothing wrong with that. Thanks for your tutorials!
Yes I did it because the channel is not focused on FreeCAD alone but will be a home for various CAD software which is free for hobby and DIY use. I did announce it a few months ago in the community tab of my channel.
FreeCAD does not support me at all
Thanks for publishing this video. I am still a TinkerCad user, as the cost is right and does 90% of what I need easliy. I have looked at most of the other free programs, and found they are so limited or the license can be withdrawn at any time. I will do a little more research on this, but looks like something that would meet my needs as a hobbyist.
Yep. The catch is that this "free" version can go away in the blink of an eye.
@@tvideo1189 Solid Edge Community Edition has remained free for years and gained features along the way. Siemens main income is from big corporations, they don't chase the little guys like Autodesk or the cloud solutions. Siemens is losing out to the cloud CAD providers and Dassault tied up the education market with SOLIDWORKS years ago... the community edition is a way to compete, but their marketing sucks as few people know about it - to my knowledge they don't engage with youtubers to promote it (OnShape will give you a free professional license if you're a youtuber!).
Great video, have used freecad for a week now and think its good, but this is way more user friendly, hard to edit in freecad for me THANKS for good help.
thanks for the feedback.
Best video to get started with solid edge. Thank you
Excellent idea! The more people that learn it, the greater the need for it! Free advertising! ❤❤❤
I used Solidworks, Solid Edge and plant 3D ( purpose of plant 3D is different though ) for past few years. The best tool is Solidworks. The negative for the solid edge is that it is not user friendly. Things are a bit more complicated than Solidworks. For drafting solid edge has an advantage than solidworks.
Thank you very much for this tutorial. I followed along very closely, but at 17:09 when I try to change the fillet radius I get the message: "The requested dimension modification cannot be made. Change the Design Intent settings or the command options and try again." Version I'm using is 2024_2310.
Thanks for the notification, I will have to look into that detail.
Very Cool.....keep'em coming
I really enjoyed you free cad videos and I hope you do more on Solid Edge as you have a very good teaching style.
Please more videos for solid edge, looks impresive, wondering if it has a robust frame generator ..?
It has a frame generator. :)
So nice this tuto
Its really nice. good Job. I just started using FreeCAD, your video is definetely a very good use.
A fantastic introduction. Thank you.
I'll use use my train journey tomorrow to try it out.
Thank you , ideal software for my 3D printing needs
Usefull information, well done, thanks :)
I downloaded, used it, and I loved it..
Maybe I forgot FREE CAD. Thank you very much for the video. I will wait for another video. For the Solid Edge program
Yes thats next on my task list!
Super.. Just what I wished for. Thanks 👍🍀
Impressive!
Thanks
Looks interesting, dedinitely I will try this out. Thanks for your time 😊
I was tempted to try it out, because the software looks full of features. So the journey begins...
First I had some weird issues with display - it's like infinite rirror thing. After searching for a solution online I installed newest video drivers. That helped.
But another problem appeared. Now I don't see solid bodies. They are visible when I move or rotate the view, bot when I stop they disappear. Again - online search. Solution: turn off antialiasing...
Well ok. I can live with that.
So I went to make my fist steps. Created a simple body, then put a chamfer on some edges. Then I hit "undo" and the program crashed.
Imagine a long work and a sudden crash. I give up and going back to Fusion 360.
If you go into (settings- options - view) when you have a part model open, you may be able to reduce the GPU mode from advanced to regular. This may solve most of your problems, generally Solid Edge is considered super stable.
SolidCAM cad SolidWorks is the true power!
Ill have to check this out. Im a professional solidworks user and have used NX in the past along with some messing around with fusion360.
Last I looked, no CAM, has that changed? If not, how do I drive my CNC with models made using Solid Edge? I did the tutorials and they were very well thought out, I really progressed quickly.
Unfortunately in the FREE version, there is NO cam.
Great tutorial, great Software, please keep more such tutorials for SE comming ;-)
This is awsome !!!!!!
Seems to have more features than the free F360, tnx a lot mate !!!!
You’re welcome mate!
I’m my opinion, if you only compare the free version of Fusion and Solid edge , you have the better deal with solid Edge. Less limitations and no cloud
@@FreeCADAcademy yup the cloud feature is a downer as i leave on a remote island with not so good internet and sometimes Fusion will crap out.
BTW how does it handle imported mesh files ? I've seen Solidworks handling them like "normal" files as with Fusion or FreeCad it's a nightmare to modify anything......
This was awesome
This looks great I hope you will continue with tutorial on solid edge, I like your approach as a total newbie you make it so easy to follow, could've get my head around freecad to be honest, I used autocad auto sketch at college many many years ago and somehow this look similar in ways ☺️ looking at resigning for 3d printer
Yes Siemens paid me to make a whole series 😬
@@FreeCADAcademy 👍
@@FreeCADAcademy That is fantastic, Flowwie !. In this case I will follow your future tutorials about this program.
Greetings from Chile, South America. I´m John.
thanks and nice to meet you John!
@@FreeCADAcademy Really?
Just a few questions:
- can Solid Edge model objects with curved surfaces such as cars?
- can it be navigated via pen tablet?
- can its shortcuts for its navigation be customized like Blender with ALT key enabled...wirth ALT key enabled (unfortunately FREECAD is not possible)
- can the main commands be customized via shortcuts?
As far as I know it can do all you asking. For car modeling it can do it, but don't expect it will work like alias, icem, catia, or NX. Because Solid Edge doesn't have capabilities to do class A surfacing.
And I personally use xp pen tablet. But don't expect it works like shapr3d, because Solid Edge is like others CAD in same league (Solidworks, Fusion360, Inventor).
CMIIW
Rhino 3d is also a surface modeller par excellence
Solid Edge is more for prismatic parts, like to be machined, etc. It can do surfacing but there are better solutions, e.g. Rhino 3d, Alias or Altair Inspire Studio, but these are all paid. Siemens NX has proper surfacing tools, which is also free in Student version (you don't need to be a student) but it only has STL export.
Amazing this videos sir
Thx sir
When you save something is it private on your own device or is it in the cloud and open to others viewing it
No cloud involved !
I am using Solidworks from few years for my project and I really like it because of it's simplicity but licensing is a major issue with it. So I found your video of Solid Edge and it looks very much familiar with Solidworks.
So how similar is it with Solidworks if you have any idea about it 🤔?
Don’t know solid works very well. There are some similarities of course but the details are different as always
Anybody that has used SOLIDWORKS usually hates Solid Edge with a passion. It's simply a case of familiarity rather than Solid Edge being bad, and this applies to changing between any CAD program. People going from Solid Edge to SOLIDWORKS often don't like SOLIDWORKS either. My advice when moving to a different CAD package is to act like you don't know CAD at all, and learn from scratch. This way you will pickup the workflow. Siemens has an Accelerator training program. It's free and you simply follow their tutorials online.
I am accustomed to Solidworks and I see enough similarities that I think I can learn this quicker than Fusion360, which is currently confusing me. One question though - is CAM built in as it is with Fusion?
Unfortunately NO CAM in the free version
@@FreeCADAcademy So we can design and admire, but not build. That's a shame. Back to Fusion360
@@donepearce Just about to download, so I can't answer for certain, but I see no reason you can't 'slice' an output model and 3D print it. Just doesn't seem to be the equivalent of Solid-Cam with SolidWorks.
@@ColinDyckes 3d printing from an stl is no problem. It is CNC machining that requires a CAM solution.
@@donepearce Yes, having installed and tried it I found that it even has a slicer of sorts built-in. I'd still export to an STL and slice separately. It does seem to support export to many different model formats. Could an existing CAM solution work?
impressive, very nice
Hello Florian, great video! Do you have other tutorial videos planned regarding this software?
any more videos coming?
Thank you
Impressive! Thanks for video! It also work on Linux?
With this maker version do you can export dxf of the side views???
Well, looks good. First hurdle: When I open it I get a workspace with the axes and as soon as I move the mouse it changes to 4 sets of axes cascaded, and all slightly greyed.
Second hurdle is click 2 point rectangle and I get no planes shown. I can hit F3 and draw but I have no set of inersecting planes to choose the one I want. Drawing a rectangle results in 4 cascaded rectangles, one in each of the shaded sets of axes.
So from the outset this looks as if it isn't going to work.
Already available for Mac too?
Thanks for bringing this to our attention. Didn't realize that solid edge was free.
I use NX for my job, so I gave it a shot, a bit disappointed though. It seems like a powerful tool, but the UI and workflow feel much different than NX or any parametric CAD package.
I'll keep it downloaded, but for now I'll stick to FreeCAD / OnShape / Fusion360 since I'm just making simple models for 3d printing as a hobby.
For makers is it a one year free subscription then you have to pay or you can renew for the maker edition ?
You can renew the Community edition every year for free. Usually in autumn we get a new version with new updates and features
@@FreeCADAcademy thank you
how you are making and showing tutorial video of the solid edge community version. because siemens don't allow, no one can make any UA-cam tutorial video or 3d print file for sell.
If you're making videos as a content creator, it's fair use as journalism.
How do you define commercial use? First thing to do when I want to download this software, is to give company name, but use for companies isn't already a commercial use? Can you please straighten it up?
For company name just enter your personal name. Standard practice.
Super
Thanks
Hi thanks for the tutorial. I was just wondering why you would use synchronous mode? what is the advantage. I find that not being able to edit the sketch and have the model update quite problematic. I just recently created my first model in synchronous mode, not realising that I wouldn't be able to update it. I had to start from scratch in ordered mode. I think ordered mode is superior as you have more control over your model, I would appreciate your opinion on this.
That was my first impression of Synchronous Mode - it feels like you box yourself into the corner. With more practice, I realise that's not the case at all. Work through the accelerator tutorial videos (free to sign up), and you realise it's incredibly powerful and I do most of my designs in that mode now. You have to think differently. Use relationships to constraint stuff. Learn about the Design Intent modes. And of course, properly constrain stuff with dimensions. This mode is the greatest strength of Siemens Solid Edge and Siemens NX. You can also add ordered features in the same model. Synchronous is so fast... and even fun!
Hi, can one print out a drawing from the free version? Thanks
You can print out a 2D drawing but it will have a watermark n
@@FreeCADAcademy Thank You
Hello! I was thinking of using this for some small academy projects since they didn't provide us with a software we could potentially use, is there any way to convert a sketch into a 3D object and the other way around or do you have to draw both manually? Anyway, huge thanks for this video.
#Florian wie erstellt man im Solid edge 2023 ein kreismuster im sequenziell Modus, beim Befehl Muster kann ich von Rechteck nicht auf Kreis umstellen
Beim Download von SE Community Edition ist ein Pflichtfeld: “Unternehmen” jedoch möchte ich es ausschließlich privat nutzen? Was gibt man da denn an ?
Weldon sir
Thanks sir !
Excellent tutorial, I watched the whole video and then download the program and restarted the video. Unfortunately, following the same steps, I couldn't repeat your results. This looks so much better than Tinkercad or Freecad, but I just can't get it to work for me.
What are the advantages, or not, of this software compared to Freecad ?
It seems an important detail to me.
Maybe I will have to create a complete video on this topic because its way too much to explain for a UA-cam comment.
Main difference. This is not open source software. This is professional software, means it will be more stable, more features and overall much more refined. But you have to rely on the manufacturer (Siemens) that they will continue offering this Community Edition for FREE.
@@FreeCADAcademy is there a CAM/path option like freecad has?
Not in the community edition, unfortunately!
@@FreeCADAcademy I don't agree on the part "This is not open source software. This is professional software, means it will be more stable," :)
We all know pro software with bugs. And open source doesn't mean bad software.
Remember about 90% of Internet works with open source software.
Space X use Linux. Nasa also, and many others.
I agree with the fact that softwares from compagnies have sometimes more features, because customers pay for this, but the question as an amateur is "Do I need them ?"
A video may be interesting.
@@wantafastz28 You can export to STEP which may offer a solution?
I'm stuck in imperial units 😭
I try to change the settings to mm and it won't stay.
It is M$ Win only SW :(
Yes unfortunately at the moment it’s limited to Microsoft which I dislike too 😔
Thanks for commenting and saving us the time on this video.
No MSFT Windows in our org.
It's not like you would use it on a phone 😊
Jk
@@dwylhq874 - use in in a VM if you don’t want MS Windows always in use. Of course, that assumes you aren’t needing to use that software continuously.
Enjoying your videos but I have a slight problem when selecting. When I hover over an edge to round it over I seem unable to highlight the individual required edge but only all edges on that face, ( an edge set ). It is driving me crazy as I am unable to round over a single edge. Any help would be much appreciated. Solved it. The chain option has to be selected, then you can select edges.
Thank you very much for the very nice intro tutorial for Solid Edge! 😃👍
I've been tinkering a bit in Fusion 360 and like that you can reference multiple features and actions in its History line/bar to drive new features and actions. Do you know if Solid Edge can reference history items too, to drive new features?
yes of course you can do that too!
@@FreeCADAcademy Thanks, very interesting! 😃 One last question, can the free version export to other formats (like STEP or IGES etc.) so the models can be worked on further in Moi3D for example, or is it only outputting .stl-files? I tried to find info on their site but I couldn't find anything for the free version other than that the files can't be used in the full version and the drawings are watermarked.
you are not limited with your export formats, so you can easily export step and iges.
@@FreeCADAcademy Wow, that's incredibly handy! Thank you so much for your kind help. 🤩👍👍
Can Intel celeron N5100 able to run free cad
After FreeCad , it s looks just amazing 😍😍😍
Perhaps you SHOULD talk about the download. What is the "Gimp" software that trys to download itself onto my machine? I want Solid edge because it looks like it will solve some of my problems, but this thing is a mystery, wrapped in a puzzle, hidden in a conundrum!
Great tutorial but I had a problem when it came to the holes. I couldn't see a centre mark, nor a snap was felt when trying to place the holes in the centre. I noticed a '+' indicating the centre on your screen in the video but it does not show on mine. Am I missing something? Love your style of teaching (albeit just a little fast for me 'cos I had to pause the video every few seconds). Have subscribed.
They centres appear when you mouse over a circle, then you can click on it. Same with alignment lines. If you want to align an edge with another line or rectangle (both in 2d and 3d view), mouse over it and then the guidance lines will magically appear. It's very elegant and efficient way to work, only using the snap fits you want.
what can i use for free for commercial use as i will only be designing and selling my 3d prints?
Looks like it has inhouse FEA, definitely downloading.
Siemens also offer free student version Simcenter Femap, which is very powerful (and very complicated). You don't need to be a student. I tried it but I found FEA in Solid Edge to be adequate for my tinkering.
Can't get the download. I get stuck at this message. "Unfortunately, we are unable to approve your license request at this time. If you are still interested in receiving access to our software then please contact an IT administrator at your company or educational institution."
Looks like the community edition is "licensed" for only approximately 3 years (I show 1087 days). What happens then? I would hate to go through the learning curve and get proficient with it and then not be able to use it in 3 years. Thoughts?
They issue a new version each year and then you get a new license. 2025 keynote is next week...
I went to the Solid Edge Community link as provided and it is in German. Nowhere did I find an English version, HELP
Let me have a look…
www.plm.automation.siemens.com/plmapp/education/solid-edge/en_us/free-software/community
I tried to download the community version and got a message saying they were not able to approve my download at this time and to contact an IT professional in my company or school. I am an individual hobbyist. I'm bummed! Suggestions or help welcome.
Not gonna lie, wish I saw this video 6 months ago before I started down the teeth pulling pain of FreeCad. :)
Are there hidden downsides besides this being closed source such as cloud only where they own your work?
License has to renewed periodically , I think currently it’s always valid for a period of 3 years, then you have to revew.
Next downside: Solid Edge community and pro version files are not compatible. So I highly recommend Export in an open format like step.
@@FreeCADAcademy Thx :)
SE23 shows only "Ausgewogen - Solid Edge Standard" (or "Balanced - Solid Edge Standard") so I cannot change the theme.
I am trying to use Free CAD 0.21.2 and it’s completely different interface as to what you are showing.
Is this better than FreeCAD? I just finished your tutorials on FreeCAD, and now I see this. Should I just switch over to this?
Last time i used Solid Edge (2008 isch) its was prone to crashing and corrupting the working file, many hours lost like tears in the rain 🙂
Oh that sounds awful, I am sorry to hear!