hi bart
first of all i am not a person who has like 5 or 10 yrs experience with cad
coming to the point after reading both of your posts, i agree that inventor is a self-guiding software and also provides an example for every tool or function. moreover it requires less steps/references in executing a function, ok that was good for inventor
and creo/proe lacks in guiding on how to use the tool (i actually laughed for a min over your "create a swept blend" remark).............but if you look closely how things are done in creo/proe, it helps u a lot in creating components afterwards.
for eg in a variable section sweep or blend or free form surface feature it requires well defined trajectories, sections,etc- optional tangencies can be applied, all of which is very time consuming but the final result you get is a ready to machine model with no errors or inaccuracy
i like this software because the way it presents things- the preview, the rerouting interface, the strong parametric ability which are better (we can rely on them) than inventor.
and who says making a pattern is difficult (the way it is done), you have to selected the desired references or input the required values
i agree that there are other softwares which make things happen with less effort
but you can never compare an apple with an orange
as far as ptc is considered,see we live in a world where everyone- company, institution, manufacturer would want maximum profit and business by whatever strategy, so we cannot blame ptc, rather they provide tech support with training and workshops
discussions always happen thats ok, if you want to learn how every operation is carried out in creo/proe buy a book- pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 5.0 for Engineers and designers by prof. sham tickoo
it will let you know about every feature