Comment by UltraSane

I find it so ironic that a surprisingly large fraction of computer programmers are such curmudgeonly Luddites spurning the most basic tools that make their job easier. Meanwhile engineers are using Solidworks to model mechanism that would be nearly or actually impossible to create without it and then running a finite element analysis to verify it is strong enough and using selective laser sintering to create prototypes for testing and then using MasterCAM to optimize the machining process and then sending it to a $300,000 5 axis milling machine with automated tool changer. Then the part's dimensional tolerances are verified using a $200,000 Coordinate Measuring Machine that is calibrated using gauge blocks made using laser interferometry and accurate to plus or minus a few hundred atoms.