Codeware COMPRESS vs. DraftSight

Codeware Compress is a very powerful ASME design tool. It is very intuitive and easy to learn. Anyone engaged in ASME related design projects will greatly benefit from investing in this software. It has tools for all types of ASME code products (pressure vessels, heat exchangers & boilers). Codeware is always improving the software. New features are included in almost all new releases. Their customer support is also great. They are quick to respond to questions. The web portal has great support tools. The ability to export the ASME design into 3D CAD formats is a huge time saver. The software can also be very handy for other types of non-ASME tank design work as well. For instance, you can use it to explore leg support structures for elevated tank designs.

Incentivized

We put it through its paces with our drawings and it works fine. We do a lot of wiring diagrams and industrial control panel layout drawings, so we use a lot of its 2D capabilities. I would not use it in a multi-user environment where you have multiple designers working on one project at a time. This software makes no provisions for allowing multiple users to work at the same time on the same drawing and has no native version control. And because of their poor software control, DraftSight many times put out versions that are "crashy", which would make a lot of people very unproductive very quickly. I would look at other products for larger projects like that.

Incentivized

• Codeware Compress has a great user interface and is a very robust ASME design tool.
• Compress has a very well built 3D CAD export interface module that works well with SolidWorks and Autodesk Inventor.
• Codeware has a great user support network.

Incentivized

• You can easily bring in a dwg format drawing into the programme and it will display the information just as well as AutoCAD.
• The programme supports shortcut features or one-click buttons for the most commonly used operations.
• Script files can be used which is a bonus.

Incentivized

• Add more CAD functionality to create custom support structures and support brackets (clips, ect..)
• Partner with a major CAD platform (such as Autodesk, SolidWorks) for an "In CAD" solution. Which would allow quick customization of the ASME design model without leaving the native CAD environment.

Incentivized

• The layers palette icons are confusing and it requires too many steps to create a new layer. I shouldn't have to open the layer manager to create a layer.
• Converting splines to polylines and arcs (quickly and easily) that can be cut on CNC equipment. This is a nut no CAD package I've come across has been able to crack to my expectations. I need less "workarounds" and a more straightforward workflow with tunable options for this very frequent process.

Incentivized

It has given us, a small startup, the ability to compete effectively with far larger competitors by evening the playing field at a low cost.

Incentivized

Easy if you know how to use CAD software. But is not very difficult to learn using DraftSight if this is your first CAD software. As soon as you get in to it the work flow will save you a lot of time and its simple interface is very nice.

Incentivized

Other than a bug created by a VAR tech support that didn't get resolved until I installed the next version, DraftSight has worked fine.

In general it's very quick to load drawings...now it depends a lot on the file we're opening or working on.

Incentivized

Technical support seems to be overseas with broken English and difficulty to read English. I asked for a trial license to try the fix but it was declined. Ask pratiksha.dahotre and gayatri.keskar for details. In summary, they released a broken version, I helped to fix by providing feedback and error logs. They claimed it is fixed but I can't test it.

Based on some knowledge of AutoCad, using Draftsight took a short time before I felt comfortable using it.

Incentivized

Take time to get used to where commands are and how the interface can be customized to suit your needs and work style. The keyboard commands are very helpful and can make work more efficient if time is taken to learn them.

Incentivized

I have only tried a brief tutorial on PV Elite so I can't provide a worthwhile comparison on features.

Incentivized

While SketchUp is free, DraftSights cost is minimal and its abilities are much greater. It is so much easier to layout and modifies a system design. Since DraftSight is compatible with all versions of CAD, it makes it easy to collaborate with customers on their specific system design. We spend less time and see greater sales on our projects.

As a startup, we really appreciate scalable software or tools, and because we use it for diverse types of projects, flexibility is key.

Incentivized

• Codeware Compress is a huge part of our ability to design and release pressure vessels quickly. It has greatly reduced our engineering design cycle. We have built standards that allow us to release designs to fabrication in hours instead of days.
• The ability to export the 3D CAD files makes quick work of developing quotes and proposals.
• Codeware Compress greatly reduces the chances of errors related to meeting ASME code compliance. The software developers keep the software in sync with the current editions of the ASME code. That allows users to focus more time on the design aspects of the project and less time worrying about the actual nuts and bolts of the extensive ASME code rules.

Incentivized

• Draftsight has been very cost effective, it was free a few years ago then £79 a year, which it still is if you have the standard version. Now the minium level is Profession edition at £159+ VAT per year. Which is still very good value for money, just more that what we currently pay with the standard licences we have.

Incentivized