Hello,

Answering to this question should not just be summarized to tools and software solutions which you mentioned. CAD solutions and other similar tools are used for product design and product development is not just about designing a new product.

Product development is a process which starts with an idea and finishes with bringing the products to the market and since then products should be managed over their life-cycles. It includes design, engineering, production, logistics, marketing and other related actions.

There are some solutions which help companies better track this long process. A good example can be Simens PLM software which also offers solutions, needed for digitalized era. The following link provides more information:

http://www.plm.automation.siemens.com/no_no/about_us/index.shtml

Hi

this is not only a matter of what is the best but also of what program let me feel comfortable with - in addition to good results. As long as you are not forces by any company rules towards any specific program - try some out and select the one you are comfortable with.

For my part I'm using Autodesk porducts - Inventor for a start is a nice and more or less easy to use tool - which has of course its weaknesses... but they all have them ;)

by the way... sometimes its also a matter of money.....

Hello,

In my opinion the best Software new product development is SOLIDWORKS because many codes' Simulation include, For instance: SOLIDWORKS/Simulation, Flow Simulation...etc and easy for beginning Engineers (In particulaire Mechanical Engineering).

One way to look at it is the learning curve for the software. Various studies have been published that could provide useful data. In my 26 years using all kinds of software both as a user and administrator, SolidWorks has it down. Every time I use something else this is reinforced. Integration for various add in software is seamless in everything I've used. EPDM is also very flexible to manage just about every data source. There is also a very large community of users to offer help and tip. 

I think for common and day to day needs of new product development,  most turn key PLM tools suffice. It all depends upon the criteria or a set of criteria against which you are evaluating or measuring a PLM tool. Some PLM tools are better in user-friendliness, some are better in capabilities (such as parametric, knowledge capture and reuse, KBE, etc.), some are tightly integrated than others. As such, selection of a PLM tool depends upon your needs, industries, problem types, and their complexity.

For example, at one time, I was interested in creating a product configuration (a PLM application) -- in that i was looking for a PLM tool, which could provide a greater flexibility for parametric programming & knowledge capture and reuse needs. I parametrically designed and created a custom application (aka configurator) and implemented it using CATIA. I did it, because (a) CATIA was our enterprise system, which was easily  available in my company and (b) me and my co-worker were very familiar (and trained) with it. 

The process, which I followed, is explained in the following paper. Take  a look.

Conference Paper When & Where to Use Knowledgeware, Generative Scripts & VB Tools

TRIZ Methodology to more creative and innovative solutions

TRIZ is interesting. Is there data to show this develops disruptive innovation? It does not look like it is a design (CAD type) tool.

There is no such thing as "the best" software package.

Every package has its strong points as well as its weak points.It all depends on what you want to achieve.

You have to ask yourself the following questions :

Depending on what the main goal will be, a standalone or an integrated solution will fit the bill.

Good integrated solutions are PTC Creo, Siemens NX, CATIA, SolidWorks.

I personally use PTC Creo most of the time. Not because it is the best in all areas, but because it is a good all-round performer.

As John stated : there is no single best tool for the job. Because there is no single defined product development. If you get software vendors in the house they all will state they have the best tools.

In my life I started with Autocad and next were to follow : Intergraph-EMS, Microstation, Solid Edge, Pro-Engineer, Catia, Wildfire, Inventor.

For freeform Catia was a dreamtool to work with, for sheetmetal I will swear by Solid Edge, advanced mathematical steering of models is done with Pro-E.

Pro-E will have the smallest footprint for large assemblies where Inventor feeds on memory.

Solid Edge is most stable when extensively modifying design, Pro-E will give you a headache figuring out why the model does not rebuild.

I could go on. But finally I managed to do my job with any of the above mentioned tools.