"Next" release for GMD
- Thread starter HaroldL
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HaroldL
Alibre Super User
I had to dig into Facebook to find that quote. I was surprised to find out that there was actually a new video "promoting" GMD, it was so well publicized. I couldn't find it on the YouTube Geomagic channel or on the homepages mentioned in the FB comments.JL82 said:
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simonb65
Alibre Super User
As you can see by my response on FB Harold, its very brief and in the grand scheme of ALL the Geomagic marketing that has occurred in the last 18 months ... that 10 seconds is not much air time! ... and it only shows a single boolean subtract feature, nothing else!HaroldL said:
I've see so much publicity and mail shots on 3DSystems printers, Capture (for Solidworks!), Freeform, Design X ... that I really wonder about GD future.
3DSystems do seem to promote the Scan -> Modify -> Print workflow, which is ok if you taking something and replicating or improving. Sadly, the reality is that you need to design the part in the first place ... which is where GD fits into the equation. Not sure if the boys and girls as 3DSystems appreciate that as much as us engineers! unless they are going to make Design X parametric !!!!???
simonb65 said:
this is a bit scary since, we have yet to see any patches or major update and its almost half way through 2016! Design X Parametric would be good? I haven't looked at Design X at all, but either way I would think that they would grandfather the GM Design users! esp those who stuck from alibre days!
But if maintenance costs go close to Solidworks then, I think its a no brainer were to move to, because the whole thing about GMD was the few features and ease of working along with the price!
JST
Alibre Super User
Devil's advocate..... How are sheet metal or assemblies relevant to 3D printing? Why would 3DS care about those things?
Obvious answer is that they are needed if a package is to be credible as a general 3D package. Why buy a 3D package with normal things deleted when you can get one that has them?
Obvious answer to that might be that the price is a lot lower and 3D printing folks don't care anyway. I am not sure about the second part of that, since 3D printing may make parts that are assembled. It makes sense to have assemblies included in the package. As for 2D drawing..... well, THAT is more of a companion to the phone booth, and the cassette player, at least theoretically.
There is a rule about the behavior of corporations, which I rarely see fail. If you want to know what choice a corporation is going to pick among several, look among those things it may do which are less advantageous, or even damaging to the corporation. The best choice is rarely the one selected, usually it is one with less potential gain. Committees choose the average, on average.
Obvious answer is that they are needed if a package is to be credible as a general 3D package. Why buy a 3D package with normal things deleted when you can get one that has them?
Obvious answer to that might be that the price is a lot lower and 3D printing folks don't care anyway. I am not sure about the second part of that, since 3D printing may make parts that are assembled. It makes sense to have assemblies included in the package. As for 2D drawing..... well, THAT is more of a companion to the phone booth, and the cassette player, at least theoretically.
There is a rule about the behavior of corporations, which I rarely see fail. If you want to know what choice a corporation is going to pick among several, look among those things it may do which are less advantageous, or even damaging to the corporation. The best choice is rarely the one selected, usually it is one with less potential gain. Committees choose the average, on average.
JST said:
First of all I agree with most of this. I did not renew maintenance last December because I only use Geomagic 1-2 hours a week and I'm very unsure if it's in their plans to keep supporting it. I find myself using Fusion 360 more and more except when I need good drawings. However in the shop we use Gibbscam. Gibbscam is a CAM software product for programming "subtractive" machining. It cannot be used for 3D printing. 3D Systems purchased Gibbscam 2 years ago. So far they have been putting a lot of development into it. There really has been no downside from my standpoint. Maintenance is expensive, but we keep paying it because the product is being improved.
JST
Alibre Super User
Given support for a non-3D print program like GibbsCam (which I didn't know 3DS owned, and barely knew existed), for which there is sufficient competition, one would suppose GMD would be getting similar attention. Gibbscam is an outlier, and to some degree GMD is also, although GMD does actually have direct applicability to 3D printing, where the CAM program does not.
If there was an intent to drop all "non-core" products, the CAM program would seem to be the first to go. VERY MUCH non-core, has active and successful competition.... it would seem to be a no-brainer to declare it to be of limited payback potential and spin it or drop it. If, as it seems has been asserted, the CAM program has active support, then that would seem to be a positive indicator.
Similarly, dropping the various sub-variants of GMD would seem to have been a positive. They basically were threatening to bleed GMD's own core development of resources. Picking a low end (Cubify) and a main (GMD) version, where one is a defined subset of the other, can allow more directed development at lower cost, with fewer compatibility issues.
As for lack of info, it is definitely not customary to release info about a new or enhanced/updated product until the release date is near. If you give out info, especially info about what you intend to do, however nice your users may feel about that, you also alert the competition to what you are doing. That is, in general, not a winning strategy for a company which does not have a virtual stranglehold on the market. Microsoft can get away with it to some extent, but lesser players in the OS or the office software areas cannot.
I doubt that even Solidworks would lay out their plan for all to see. Some of it, maybe, definitely not details. And even then, not until fairly close to release.
So, there really is not a reason for so many to be so negative about GMD. It's better to wait before dismissing it.
The claim by 3DS that they are indeed working on it suggests to me that they may be integrating an updated engine, or doing other similarly basic changes. If so, that may be very good news, since there seem to be some deficiencies in the program now. We have all pointed them out, and been irritated severely by them.
In any case, no matter what you think about timely and frequent updates, the last few updates have been largely incremental. A feature here, a compatibility there, nothing to address things that have been known for several iterations. Even the Keyshot integration is essentially an upgrade, since there was a .Bip file export to begin with. A period of apparently lesser activity often tends to precede a major revision (or, of course, cancellation, for those who insist on "taking the low road").
If there was an intent to drop all "non-core" products, the CAM program would seem to be the first to go. VERY MUCH non-core, has active and successful competition.... it would seem to be a no-brainer to declare it to be of limited payback potential and spin it or drop it. If, as it seems has been asserted, the CAM program has active support, then that would seem to be a positive indicator.
Similarly, dropping the various sub-variants of GMD would seem to have been a positive. They basically were threatening to bleed GMD's own core development of resources. Picking a low end (Cubify) and a main (GMD) version, where one is a defined subset of the other, can allow more directed development at lower cost, with fewer compatibility issues.
As for lack of info, it is definitely not customary to release info about a new or enhanced/updated product until the release date is near. If you give out info, especially info about what you intend to do, however nice your users may feel about that, you also alert the competition to what you are doing. That is, in general, not a winning strategy for a company which does not have a virtual stranglehold on the market. Microsoft can get away with it to some extent, but lesser players in the OS or the office software areas cannot.
I doubt that even Solidworks would lay out their plan for all to see. Some of it, maybe, definitely not details. And even then, not until fairly close to release.
So, there really is not a reason for so many to be so negative about GMD. It's better to wait before dismissing it.
The claim by 3DS that they are indeed working on it suggests to me that they may be integrating an updated engine, or doing other similarly basic changes. If so, that may be very good news, since there seem to be some deficiencies in the program now. We have all pointed them out, and been irritated severely by them.
In any case, no matter what you think about timely and frequent updates, the last few updates have been largely incremental. A feature here, a compatibility there, nothing to address things that have been known for several iterations. Even the Keyshot integration is essentially an upgrade, since there was a .Bip file export to begin with. A period of apparently lesser activity often tends to precede a major revision (or, of course, cancellation, for those who insist on "taking the low road").
And what do you think about ZW3D ? Same price and same or more functions
http://www.zwsoft.com/zw3d/
http://www.zwsoft.com/zw3d/
Sales told me that recently "the product is definitely still being developed" but declined to give me a hint on when the next update would be out, which is no surprise but still disappointing. My maintenance expires in about 6 weeks and I'll wait until then to see if there is any upgrade news. If not I'll be letting maintenance lapse.
Most of those who have let maintenance expire might no longer have a reason to visit here so any negativity that they might feel would almost certainly be deafening. I've been using a different CAD program lately and the interactivity with their developers and support staff has been refreshing after my experience with GMD. It's a bit like it was in the Alibre days on that score.
NateLiquidGravity
Alibre Super User
As many know I let my maintenance lapse a while back. I won't get into why again here, but I will say this; I can't remember getting any communications since doing so to try to "win" me back over. I did get a bunch of emails about 3d printing and new 3d printers though. I imagine I can't be alone. What a lost opportunity.
Contrast this to Onshape which emailed me numerous times to come back and try their new features after I simply tried the "software" once. Full disclosure; even with really cool features - Onshape will probably never meet my CAD needs simply because it is cloud based.
Edit: I double checked now that I'm back at my pc and I did receive a few emails at the end of 2015 for renewing maintenance. So my apologies for not remembering nearly 6 months ago. Still far less than the emails about 3d printers.
Contrast this to Onshape which emailed me numerous times to come back and try their new features after I simply tried the "software" once. Full disclosure; even with really cool features - Onshape will probably never meet my CAD needs simply because it is cloud based.
Edit: I double checked now that I'm back at my pc and I did receive a few emails at the end of 2015 for renewing maintenance. So my apologies for not remembering nearly 6 months ago. Still far less than the emails about 3d printers.
JST
Alibre Super User
Sometimes I feel like I am the only one with anything positive to say about GMD. The deafening negativity is from folks right here.
Pretty much everyone else seems to be grumping, p***ing and moaning, dropping maintenance for whatever reason. For me, it's not about being begged to come back etc, it's that I already was GIVEN by 3DS more upgrades than I have paid for even now, several years into maintenance, AND the program pays me back for it's maintenance with one decent sized completed project.
And, for all the irritations I find with it, and some are REALLY IRRITATING, it's still a great product. Don't get the idea that Solidworks, or one of the others is perfect... Solidworks has, as far as I can tell from having used it, just as many oddities as GMD, and some have been on-going just as long.
Pretty much everyone else seems to be grumping, p***ing and moaning, dropping maintenance for whatever reason. For me, it's not about being begged to come back etc, it's that I already was GIVEN by 3DS more upgrades than I have paid for even now, several years into maintenance, AND the program pays me back for it's maintenance with one decent sized completed project.
And, for all the irritations I find with it, and some are REALLY IRRITATING, it's still a great product. Don't get the idea that Solidworks, or one of the others is perfect... Solidworks has, as far as I can tell from having used it, just as many oddities as GMD, and some have been on-going just as long.
I remember the days when Max or someone else would post a screenshot of what they were working on for the next version. I use to install new version of Alibre blindly for over 6 years because I knew it was tested thoroughly. Those days are gone to. The last version I was entitled for I didn't even install, yes maintenance is dropped.
Just one message from one of one of the guys would be nice, doesn't have to be specific just that they are working hard on it would be nice....
Just one message from one of one of the guys would be nice, doesn't have to be specific just that they are working hard on it would be nice....
NateLiquidGravity
Alibre Super User
I double checked now that I'm back at my pc and I did receive a few emails at the end of 2015 for renewing maintenance. So my apologies for not remembering nearly 6 months ago. Still far less than the emails about 3d printers. I'm not trying to be negative. I'm trying to get the company to understand its failures so it can correct them. I would love nothing more than to have the new version come out and be worth renewal.
Did 3D systems drop support of Alibre users after 30 April 2016?
http://reviews.caddit.com.au/2016/01/la ... y.html?m=1
http://reviews.caddit.com.au/2016/01/la ... y.html?m=1
Lew_Merrick
Guest
If you read the article, you should notice that support will no longer be available for Alibre products. If you have not updated since 2013, why should 3D Systems train their support staff on what they (reasonably) see as obsolete versions?JL82 said:
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