So that's the big advantage. And there are a lot of discrete manufacturers out there. The conclusion to be drawn here is that we need a solid modeler, sold by Autodesk, interfaced to AutoCAD, within a year. Besides, solids is still frequently thought of as an application, and therefore the concept of a solids package outside of AutoCAD is fairly easy to sell. First, consider that solids is a design application.
Designers are interested in how objects behave.
So beyond the ability to create an accurate geometric model using CSG or B-REP techniques, the thing is useless without being able to derive mass property information from the model. And since a large portion of engineering is spent determining the effects of loads, strains, and temperature variations on parts, the model should be efficiently interfaced to a FEM package and mesh generator. Ideally, this detailing step should be augmented with numerically controlled machine tool program simulation and verification for automatic manufacturing. And, of course, the user should be able to visualize the model in a realistic form. So that's what a solids package should do.