Usability

Study

Computer Aided Design Programs

SolidWorks and AutoCAD

Adam Sedgwick
17 April 2016

Introduction
This white paper evaluates the usability of two Computer Aided Design (CAD) programs:
AutoCAD and SolidWorks. These programs are used by engineers, architects, and students
in similar fields to create virtual 3D and 2D designs. Some uses may include machine design,
architectural building layout, dimension analysis, or other real-world product and prototype
design. For engineers, 3D design is especially useful, so I will be comparing AutoCADs 3D design
capabilities to SolidWorks capabilities. The usability test was designed with tasks that first time
users of each program would be required to perform to start learning the software package.

I chose to test the usability of these programs because both are commonly used in industry by
professional engineers, and both programs were easily accessible to me. As an engineer, it is
inevitable that a CAD program will be used in his or her career as well as likely that he or she
will be required to learn additional CAD programs at some point. I designed and performed the
usability test acting as if I was a first time user to these programs as I once was.

This usability test was specifically designed for the engineering student. As a mechanical
engineering student myself, I was required to learn SolidWorks. Not all programs are created
equal, so it is important that they be designed as user friendly as possible. The more experience
one has at learning new CAD packages the easier time that person will have in learning
additional programs. I expect that the engineering student learning these programs would have
had no prior experience using these programs, but has some existing experience on similar
programs.

Methods

Tasks:
1. Locate the Help menu and Tutorial Menu, and view available resources.
2. Go through important set-up procedures. Change units from inches to millimeters and
bring up 3D tabs.
3. Creating a 2D image
4. From the 2D image, create a 3D image that is 10mm tall
5. Add additional segments onto the 3D part
6. Edit the 3D part by adding fillets, a chamfered section, and using the circular pattern
feature.
7. Add material properties to part

These tasks are all individual tasks needed to create a single 3D part. Both programs have many
additional capabilities beyond what I was able to test in these eight tasks. These tasks do
however represent a very good starting point for each program.

Test Environment:

I selected an environment where typical Engineering student here at the University of Idaho
would have access to both SolidWorks and AutoCAD programs. The test was performed in a
relatively quiet computer lab in one of the engineering buildings. The testing was conducted
in the morning and then continued in the afternoon during the same day.
The computer used had SolidWorks already installed and through the Universitys
vlad.uidaho.edu website I was able to gain access to AutoCAD using the same computer.
The computer had similar capabilities to most other computers used by engineers.

Evaluation Criteria:

Each task was assessed using the criteria laid out below relating to ease of completion,
timeliness of completion, easy to learn for future use, and satisfactory style and appearance
in end result. The likers scale was set up on a 1-point to 5-point scale.
A 5 meant that it exceeded my expectations; a 4 meant that it met my expectations; a 3
meant it didnt meet my expectation; a 2 meant that it was only partially able to be
completed; and a 1 meant that the task was not able to be completed based on the criteria
given.

Question 1
The task was easy to complete.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Question 2
The task required a reasonable amount of time to complete.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Question 3
The required task was easy to learn and functions were easy to locate.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Question 4
The products style and appearance enhanced the users experience.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

As shown in Question 1 in the Likert Scale above, the chosen number is highlighted in
black.

Results

Task 1: Locate the Help menu and Tutorial Menu

Begin getting accustomed by viewing resources available. Since CAD programs have hundreds
of functions it is necessary for the engineer to first become accustomed to the online help
menus, videos, and tutorials to make the learning process easier and quicker.

SolidWorks:
Question 1
The task was easy to complete.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Question 2
The task required a reasonable amount of time to complete.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Question 3
The required task was easy to learn and functions were easy to locate.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Question 4
The products style and appearance enhanced the users experience.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

I was very impressed with SolidWorks help
capabilities. Located in the main menu at the top of
the program as shown in Figure 1, it was easily
accessible and required little to no time to
complete. In fact, this was the first place I looked for
the help menu. I then looked through the different
resources and started one the the tutorials.

I was impressed with the number of different
resources available. I concluded that the learnability
of the help features and tutorials both enhanced my
experience with the program and exceeded my
expectations ease of learning and location.








Figure 1: View of SolidWorks help Resources

AutoCAD:
Question 1
The task was easy to complete.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Question 2
The task required a reasonable amount of time to complete.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Question 3
The required task was easy to learn and functions were easy to locate.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Question 4
The products style and appearance enhanced the users experience.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

After just a few moments of looking for the help resources I was able to locate them in two
locations. When AutoCAD first opens there are two options at the bottom of the screen
learning and creating. Simply by clicking on learning and it brings the user to the page
shown in (Figure 2). There were a series of getting started videos and a section on online help.
Clicking on the button on the top of the screen I was also able to locate the help menu. This
task was easy to complete, it exceeded my expectations on learnability based on it accessibility,
and it enhanced my experience with the available resources. I was unable to locate any real
tutorials. I gave the time it took to complete the task a 2 because when trying to use the
videos and access the online help, the program froze multiple times and drastically increased
the time it took to view the resources; almost making it impossible to complete.

Figure 2: AutoCAD Help resources.

Task 2: Go through important set-up procedures

Change units from inches to millimeters and bring up the necessary 3D tabs.

Solidworks:
Question 1
The task was easy to complete.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Question 2
The task required a reasonable amount of time to complete.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Question 3
The required task was easy to learn and functions were easy to locate.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Question 4
The products style and appearance enhanced the users experience.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

After opening up a new part, I was able to change units
by looking at the bottom tab of the SolidWorks and
clicking on IPS and selecting MMGS. The entire
process was very straightforward and I was able to
locate without any help from the help menu.

SolidWorks is already set-up with all the needed 3D
tabs and components so it was unnecessary to add or
change anything.

Figure 3: SolidWorks Changing Units.

AutoCAD:
Question 1
The task was easy to complete.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Question 2
The task required a reasonable amount of time to complete.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Question 3
The required task was easy to learn and functions were easy to locate.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Question 4
The products style and appearance enhanced the users experience.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Changing the units was as simple as going to the main
menu, clicking on drawing and utilities, and then
selecting the Units tool (Figure 4). The task was easy, setup well, easy to learn and difficult to forget. It met my
expectation all around and even exceeded them; within the
units menu included not only the ability to change units but
also to change the precision of those units.

AutoCAD is typically used to create 2D images before 3D
images, so the 3D menu bar needed to be located and
accessed. This was found in the bottom tab under the
settings tab (Figure 5).









Figure 3: AutoCAD Units tool











Figure 5: AutoCAD 3D Modeling Menu.

Task 3: Creating a 2D image

Start by drawing a circle at a radius of 60mm. Edit dimensions to a radius of 64mm. Add a
centerline as well as a 20 mm by 20mm square in the center.

SolidWork:
Question 1
The task was easy to complete.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Question 2
The task required a reasonable amount of time to complete.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Question 3
The required task was easy to learn and functions were easy to locate.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Question 4
The products style and appearance enhanced the users experience.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Figure 6: Locating Sketch and Dimension Tools

Figure 7: Completed 2D sketch.

To create a 2D object in SolidWorks select which plane to work on from either the top, bottom,
or front planes as shown in the sketch window. After selecting the top plane click the sketch
button in the sketch tab as shown in Figure 6. Use the circular and then line tools to create the
desired image. To change Dimensions, use the Smart Dimension tool (Figure 6). Either the
rectangle tool or line tool could be used to create the square. The centerline is found under the
dropdown section of the line tool. Figure 7 shows the completed sketch.

SolidWorks proved to be very useful in these tasks. The sketch tool is easy to use and there is
little difficulty in changing dimensions. Having a very user friendly interface, the task was able
to be completed without much help from the help menu and in a short amount of time.

AutoCAD:
Question 1
The task was easy to complete.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Question 2
The task required a reasonable amount of time to complete.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Question 3
The required task was easy to learn and functions were easy to locate.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Question 4
The products style and appearance enhanced the users experience.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Figure 7: AutoCAD 2D sketch

Figure 8: Changing Dimensions

AutoCAD is automatically set-up and ready to create 2D images. After selecting the top plane
I was able to use the circular tool and then the rectangle tool to create the 2D image shown in
Figure 7. AutoCAD unlike SolidWorks does not have the same hidden lines. Instead,
construction lines as shown in yellow in Figure 7 are able to be used. The color is able to be
changed as desired.
To change the dimensions double click the circle and then a bock will appear where dimensions
and the Center of the object are able to be adjusted. The task met my expectation in ease of

completion, took a reasonable amount of time to learn and then complete; within the
dimension tool I found helpful that the Area and Circumference of the circle were also
specified.
I wasnt very impressed with the dimensioning tool and found it difficult to view dimensions at
first without some adjustment; I also found in difficult to center and properly dimension the
square.

Task 4: From the 2D image, create a 3D image that is 10mm tall

SolidWorks:

Question 1
The task was easy to complete.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Question 2
The task required a reasonable amount of time to complete.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Question 3
The required task was easy to learn and functions were easy to locate.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Question 4
The products style and appearance enhanced the users experience.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Figure 9: Extrude 2D image SW

Figure 10: SW final Extrude.

When it comes to creating a 3D image from a sketch, SolidWorks is very advanced. After
creating the 2D image, as shown in Figure 9, simply click on the the Extruded Boss/Base tool
in the Features tab. SolidWorks brings up an extrude menu where the direction and depth and
the extrude are able to be selected. The extrude is shown in Figure 10. It is also extremely easy
and fast to update the extrude after its been created by going to the feature manager on the
left side of the screen, selecting the extrude, and clicking edit. I found that my expectations
were exceeded so I gave a 5 rating in each category.

10

AutoCAD:
Question 1
The task was easy to complete.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Question 2
The task required a reasonable amount of time to complete.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Question 3
The required task was easy to learn and functions were easy to locate.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Question 4
The products style and appearance enhanced the users experience.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Similar to SolidWorks an extrude tool was used to

create the 3D image shown in Figure 11. It was easy
to extrude the circle, but for some reason the
square section didnt extrude with it. After looking
through the help menu and the online resources I
discovered that I would need to cut out the square
section in a rather complicated procedure of using
the Subtract tool.

Based on the complicated nature of what I thought
was supposed to be an easy task I rated each
section with a 3 with the exception of Question 3
because after learning how to perform the task
properly it wasnt too complicated.

Figure 11: Final 3D part in AuotCAD

11

Task 5: Add additional segments onto the 3D part

It is often required to add additional extruded segments on existing 3D segments.

Add a circular segment that has a 75mm diameter and that is 5 mm thick and 12mm tall on top
of the existing 3D component. Next, add a smaller circle 35mm from the center that has a
27mm diameter and is 6mm thick; extrude up 30 mm.

SolidWorks:
Question 1
The task was easy to complete.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Question 2
The task required a reasonable amount of time to complete.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Question 3
The required task was easy to learn and functions were easy to locate.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Question 4
The products style and appearance enhanced the users experience.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

This task required a combination of using the 2D and

3D tools discussed in the previous sections. By clicking
on the extruded surface and selecting sketch a 2D
sketch on the desired surface was created; within the
sketch toolbar, I used the offset entities tool as
shown in Figure 12 to easily create the wall thickness.
Similar to task 4, the parts were extruded without any
difficulty. I was able to use the extrude cut tool in
the Features tab to cut
out the desired section
from each circle. It is used
in the same was as the
extrude tool. Figure 13
shows the task completed.

Figure 13: Completed Task 5

Figure 12: Offset Entities Tool

12

AutoCAD:
Question 1
The task was easy to complete.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Question 2
The task required a reasonable amount of time to complete.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Question 3
The required task was easy to learn and functions were easy to locate.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Question 4
The products style and appearance enhanced the users experience.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Similar to SolidWorks I was able to click on the 3D surface and create a 2D sketch. I used the
extrude tool to extrude the circle similar to task 4. It was important that the Wire-Frame View
was selected when using the extrude and subtract tool (Figure 13). To cut out the circular
section I needed to use the Subtract tool by created an additional extruded segment for the
smaller hole to use in the subtract feature, not difficult but time consuming. The task was as
easy as expected as well as easy to learn, but it wasnt very user friendly; it was made a little
overly complicated. I found the resulting image (Figure 14) to be adequate but not as nice as
SolidWorks image.












Figure 13: Wire-Frame View AutoCAD


Figure 14: AutoCAD Task 5

13

Task 6: Edit the 3D part by adding fillets, a chamfered section, and using the
circular pattern feature.

SolidWorks:
Question 1
The task was easy to complete.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Question 2
The task required a reasonable amount of time to complete.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Question 3
The required task was easy to learn and functions were easy to locate.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Question 4
The products style and appearance enhanced the users experience.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

It was every easy to edit the 3D part using fillets and chamfers. Figure 15 shows the fillet and
chamfer tools to be selected in the features toolbar. By simply clicking the desired tool and
then clicking the desired section, fillets of the desired size were able to be added to the part.
Fillets at 2mm were added to the circular sections and a 2mm chamfer was added to the cutout
square section.

Using the circular pattern feature, I was able to
generate 5 additional segments of the 27mm
diameter circle. Found under the Linear
Pattern tools dropdown menu in the features
toolbar, it is a very useful tool and relatively
easy to learn. The final product of Task 6 is
shown in figure 16.







Figure 15: Different Feature tools SolidWorks Figure 16: SolidWorks Task 6 Part

14

AutoCAD:
Question 1
The task was easy to complete.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Question 2
The task required a reasonable amount of time to complete.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Question 3
The required task was easy to learn and functions were easy to locate.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Question 4
The products style and appearance enhanced the users experience.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

One of the neat features on AutoCAD is the command

window located at the bottom of the screen. Within the
command window you have access to any tool AutoCAD
posses as well as the ability to call out or change
dimensions (Figure 17). Using the command window I
was easily able to locate the fillet, chamfer, and arraypolar
tools as shown in Figure 17. Figure 18 shows the process
of adding chamfers which is similar to that of adding
fillets; simply click on the desired section, type in the
desired distance, and press enter. Before pressing enter, a
preview is shown to give the user an idea on what will be generated.
17: AutoCAD Command Window

Figure

Figure 19 shows the final product.

Everything went very smooth with the exception of the ArrayPolar command. The subtracted
features from the 27mm diameter holes did not carry over making It
a much longer
process to finish
the task since
each hole had to
be cut out or
subtracted
manually.





Figure 18: AutoCAD Chamfer tool

Figure 19: AutoCAD Task 6

15

Task 7: Add material properties to part

SolidWorks:
Question 1
The task was easy to complete.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Question 2
The task required a reasonable amount of time to complete.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Question 3
The required task was easy to learn and functions were easy to locate.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Question 4
The products style and appearance enhanced the users experience.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

It was very easy to update and change the material to the SolidWorks part. Under the Feature
Manager tree simply right click on the Material Section as show in figure 20, select Edit
Material and change the material as desired. The properties will be added to the part and the
color will update as shown in Figure 21.
Overall a very easy process with optimal results.














Figure 20: Material Selection SolidWorks

Figure 21: Task 7 final Part

16

AutoCAD:
Question 1
The task was easy to complete.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Question 2
The task required a reasonable amount of time to complete.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Question 3
The required task was easy to learn and functions were easy to locate.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Question 4
The products style and appearance enhanced the users experience.
5
4
3
2
1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Or N/A
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Figure 22: Selecting a material and attaching it to part by layer in AutoCAD.

AutoCADs material properties features were used as expected. It was relatively easy to
complete with limited help required from the online help resources. The time it took to
complete the task was reasonable, easy to learn, and useful. The final product as shown in
Figure 25 enhanced my experience. It did however create lag within the program.

To complete this task, simply locate the materials browser as seen as the first option in Figure
22. Figure 23 shows the materials page. Select the desired materials. Next go to the Attach By
Layer tool shown in Figure 22 and select the desired material to add to the part layer as seen
in Figure 24. The process was easy to learn and implement.

17

Figure 23: Materials Browser Menu AutoCAD

Figure 24: Material Attachment AutoCAD

Figure 25: Final Product AutoCAD

18

Summary of Results:

Based on the scoring given for each program, here is the total average score. This is assuming
that each criteria point holds the same weight.

SolidWorks: 4.67
AutoCAD: 3.75

Recommendations

Based on the scoring, SolidWorks is the better program to use when creating 3D images.
Beyond just what the scoring from my Likert Scales though, I would recommend SolidWorks to
be used 100 % of the time over AutoCAD.

AutoCAD has a very complex and innovative 2D design package. When used by Architects to
build floor plans for houses, I would lean towards AutoCAD being the more robust program, but
for engineers desiring to use a program specifically for 3D prototyping and drawing, AutoCAD
doesnt even come close to SolidWorks capabilities. Beyond the capabilities of the software,
SolidWorks has a more extensive help network that is laid out very simply for most any user. It
is meant to help the beginner, the intermediate user, and in many cases the advanced user.
The tutorials are exceptional and help the user become very comfortable with the software.

On the other hand, AutoCAD has limited resources and capabilities in comparison. On top of
that, I was using AutoCAD through the University of Idahos vlab.uidaho.edu program. Though I
was able to use AutoCAD at times it became so slow I could barely finish the required tasks.
Unsure if this was an error caused by vlab or AutoCAD itself, I ignored the time wasted on
rebooting the program in my analysis.

In cases where SolidWorks would not be available, AutoCAD would be sufficient, but given the
choice, SolidWorks is the better program for engineers to use for 3D design.

19