There was some good discussion here:
That sounds like a massive oversight!
Surely someone at Solidworks could click the magic button so that the files become compatible with the commercial version. I bet they have a file conversion tool, but you’d probs have to send them the files.
If you are planning on selling frames (not that frame building has to be a business), F360 is more attainable (you can get a 2 year startup license for free, or ~$500/year after)
F360 has the added advantage of community support (like this thread),
Both software will have annoying bugs and are functionally identical.
I did a bit of poking and Solidworks has a " 3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS for Makers "
$99/year
does not appear to have any limitations
You can’t make over $2000 w/ the product (I think this amount prohibits small “startups”)
The price is not too bad, considering I find most engineering students in the US learn Solidworks.
For comparison, Fusion360 has a few options:
Free for hobby use w/ really annoying limitations
You can apply for a startup license (1 year free, <$100k revenue)
Full version is $545/year
I use SolidWorks at my normal job. The Body/Part/Assembly structure and also the positioning of things relative to one another makes a lot more sense to me than in fusion.
I thought about this maker’s license as well, but there is one very annoying limitation: There is no possibility to upgrade it to a proper license later, as it “watermarks” all the files created with it so they cannot be opened with a commercial license. So if you want to grow from hobbyist to semi professional (with solid works) at some point, you’ll have to redo all the cad in the commercial version.
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