Alibre = Solidworks & Inventor???

[leeave96]

Alibre = Solidworks & Inventor???

I received an e-mail promotion from Alibre today to upgrade to Alibre Professional. The e-mail included this statement:

"Alibre Design 9 now has Design Configurations..... This fills the last major gap in features versus the competition. So, you can get all the power of SolidWorks or Inventor with a simple upgrade."

I love Alibre, but I'm still sore about the lack of V9 implementing the mass of suggested enhancements - enhancements that SW & Inventor already have.

I use Alibre because it is the most bang for the buck this user can afford. If my business were 40+ hours a week, the work arounds to get some of the standard "power" included with SW or Inventor might be worth a switch.

The lack of these enhancements, no configurations for standard users, the loss of layers bugs me, but please don't tell me that in light of the above that Alibre Professional V9 has "all the power of SolidWorks or Inventor..."

Bill

 

[indesign]

I guess I missed that in my emails.....Of course I don't usually read them very closely but I would not say the gap is closed yet but it is getting much closer when using the pro version. (I too lost the layers :cry: )

 

[cdub]

gap

I agree that the gap is indeed still far from closed, although it really depends on what you are trying to design.

The configurations are a big help, but there are still gaps here too. Also, Alibre is still dependant on MSExcel for spreadsheet driven design. As I run OpenOffice (anything but MS), this limits my ability to use configurations. SW and others have integrated table programs these days so this stuff isn't an issue.

Alibre's filleting, sweeps, lofts, and sheetmetal are all way behind SW and Inventor. Alibre's ease of use and really large assembly capability don't really compare either.

That said, for basic machine design (slabs with holes, welded structural steel, really basic sheetmetal, basic shafts, and if you are patient some more asthetic shapes), and as a design aid, BOM generator, and method of popping out 2D drawings of moderate sized assemblies, Alibre gets around pretty good.

 

[jwknecht]

Re: gap

I agree that the gap is indeed still far from closed, although it really depends on what you are trying to design.

The configurations are a big help, but there are still gaps here too. Also, Alibre is still dependant on MSExcel for spreadsheet driven design. As I run OpenOffice (anything but MS), this limits my ability to use configurations. SW and others have integrated table programs these days so this stuff isn't an issue.

Alibre's filleting, sweeps, lofts, and sheetmetal are all way behind SW and Inventor. Alibre's ease of use and really large assembly capability don't really compare either.

That said, for basic machine design (slabs with holes, welded structural steel, really basic sheetmetal, basic shafts, and if you are patient some more asthetic shapes), and as a design aid, BOM generator, and method of popping out 2D drawings of moderate sized assemblies, Alibre gets around pretty good.

I think you have understated Alibre's capabilities. I have not found any design that Alibre cannot do. With Alibre complex molded shapes are not only possible, they are made with comparible ease of the more expensive packages. In fact, I prefer using Alibre because the interface is simple. Now, I have my complaints about the sheet metal package but I don't use the sheet metal package for the majority of my work. As for Inventor, it has some good features but I believe that it is much buggier than Alibre and I would challenge anyone to create a design on Inventor that cannot be made in Alibre. Inventor does not even rate with the big boys.

 

[cdub]

vs. SW and Inventor

I agree Inventor is not in the same league as the big boys, and agree with the buggier statement, although I haven't had nearly the seat time with it as I have had w/ SW, Pro/E, or Alibre.

I wasn't trying to understate Alibre, as I'm a big fan of the tool, and agree to a point that most geometry can be created in Alibre. My point in the machine design statement was that Alibre can do most things you are trying to do.

 

[scarr]

You can accomplish everything with Alibre that you can with the higher end 'solid modeling' programs, emphasis being on 'solid modeling'. A lot of the other vendors also supply 'free form surfacing' capabilities in their packages, especially if they're going after the consumer product design market. You can still do a lot of this with Alibre, but Alibre's strength and value isn't in being all things to all people. It's about being the best parametric, solid modeling program for the price on the market, and it has accomplished that. If you need both a surfacing and solid modeling application then get out your wallet and get ready to bleed money, both up front and in maintenance fees. I just returned from a conference in Atlanta, hosted by a very high end CAD/PLM supplier and was happily surprised (and a little stunned) when one of the speakers presented several screen captures, and referenced Alibre Design, and the Open Prothetics Project(http://www.openprosthetics.org/) that Alibre sponsors. Alibre was touted as a program that was opening the world of 3D CAD to everyone. And isn't that what all this is really about? Innovation, creativity, putting the tools (affordable ones) in the hands of the masses. Alibre isn't just a product, it's a revolution. Viva Alibre.

 

[Gaspar]

Very high end CAD supplier? Not many can names can fill in that blank :wink:

Thanks for sharing this Steve. I'm really happy to have made the right decision 3 years ago. If these guys are Alibre-aware it only means we are on the right path here.

 

[gregmilliken]

Steve,

Cool! Now that is what we are talking about!

I take it this was the COE (CATIA Operators Exchange).

Interestingly, Dassault has a strategy called "3D For All," for which they were recently given an award by the research firm AMR, calling it a "visionary" strategy.

Maybe some people at the event got a glimpse of what 3D for all is really all about!

Maybe AMR should take note! Of course we don't pay them tens of thousands of dollars for consulting services so we probably don't rank very high on their "visionary" award list. :wink:

-Greg

 

[scarr]

Hi Greg,
Yes it was at COE. There are a lot of things I'd like to say in regards to Dassaults efforts in regards to CAD/PLM but a sense of prudence says to do this offline in a private e-mail. What was shown in the presentation I attended had to give the people in that room some pause to consider exactly what these tools are really all about. A lot of smart people attend COE, and I"m sure this wasn't lost on them.
'3D for All' must mean 3D for all those people who have bottomless pockets, because most of Dassaults customers are very large companies with huge budgets, and an army of IT personnel for support. I'm not saying their products aren't top notch, a Lamborgini is top notch too, but if all you want to do is go to the grocery store two blocks away, an Accord will do very nicely, and you don't have nearly the maintenance cost you do with the Italian job. And I don't see Dassault giving away fully functional copies of their software for people to use.
Another interesting point I need to bring up is a one made in an article I read some time ago concerning innovation. It stated that most of the innovative thinking connected with new products and processes is not coming from large corporations, it is instead, coming from small companies, with creative employees, trying to survive in a world run by large corporations. Kind of reminds me of our ancestors trying to survive in the age of the dinosaurs. People equipped with the right tools can change the world, and the way I see it, Alibre is one of the right tools.

 

[indesign]

More of the stuff I like to hear.

I just can't figure why some companies I am doing quotes for are using expensive software. These are 1-2 people companies who are looking to get parts done cheap. My biggest problem is not being able to use the native files they like to send. All I can think of is they get the program either by a hacked copy or given to them in a manner so they don't pay out the ear.

This is one reason I like Alibre. I can tell people who stay within the law that they can model the parts for free and I can then use the file to manufacture from. I hope Alibre keeps pluging holes in the rehtoric being spued out by the giants.

 

[jwknecht]

Re:

All I can think of is they get the program either by a hacked copy or given to them in a manner so they don't pay out the ear.

I have to think that there is more of that than you or I want to believe. Honest people in the world today? We are rare.

Alibre makes it easy to be honest.

 

[scarr]

I know a few folks who are running hacked copies of Catia V5, Pro-E, Autocad, Windows, Office, etc. The reason they give for this is that these are big companies, they make millions of dollars, what does it matter if I don't pay for their software. That's all true at one level, but take something off their desk or out of their office, or home without their permission and see how they react - even if it's a stolen copy of a program, song, or movie they downloaded from the net. You're right, honesty is a rare commodity, and the effect of being dishonest isn't just about monetary loss. It diminishes the spirit of the person who does it.

 

[alexfranke]

As a software engineer, I can’t help but chime in here. Part of the reason software is so darn expensive is because of all the people that steal it. Even in my own applications, which have an uncommonly low registration bar, I’ve spent hours making them “easier to buy than to steal”. Those are all hours that could have just as easily gone into new features. The expense of protecting software is passed right along to the legal users. At the same time, software companies often mistakenly consider stolen product to be lost revenue – something like “I know there’re a thousand pirated copies of my $1,000 product, so I need to raise my prices to get that million dollars back.”

Alibre fortunately doesn’t have this disease, and it’s really a blessing. Free versions of software are perfect for people like me who are essentially hobbyists, students, or who do it for the love of the game – the money I make by using this software would barely support a family in Sudan, so I couldn’t even begin to justify the expense of a more costly license. And if there’s a free version, nobody needs to steal it – plus free versions can be a shoe-in for future sales – I can work my way up to the full version if need be.

I think this is fantastic – while I’m sure Alibre has some pretty solid licensing and copy protection code (making the products harder to steal), they haven’t forgotten about the other side of the equation (making it easier to buy). And because Alibre clearly has not forgotten about “us little guys,” I’m not likely to forget about them should I ever become one of the “big guys”. It’s a win-win as far as I’m concerned. I just hope they don’t give it up like PTC did.

As far as the “honest people” comment goes, we are rare indeed. Take traditional shareware (set fee after trial period) for example: I think it’s a fantastic idea because it allows people to try before they buy, but fact is that hardly anyone ever buys. I had someone tell me about a very useful “free tool” once. He didn’t realize that I had actually written it several years before. It’s probably been downloaded 10,000 times, and it only has about a half-dozen registered users. He told me that the set fee was too high when he was a “starving student,” and I guess he had just forgotten to register when he started using the tool professionally. Hmm….

So lately I’ve been saying something like “pay an amount you feel is fair and within your means.” This way the registration fee is never too high and it seems to work a lot better. Although Alibre doesn’t do this (for obvious reasons – including that it’s too darn easy to get taken advantage of), they do offer discounts to students and they have an education use program for classrooms – another example that they want 3D CAD accessible to all. It's also great strategy.

Last comment: I’d also bet that an Accord has much more space for groceries than a Lamborgini – of course I’ll probably never know for sure =)

Pardon the lengthy message.

Cheers,
Alex