When did you start using the best cad system in the world?

[Mibe]

I have noticed that a lot of newer users have entered this forum latetly and that made me a bit curious.

Is that visible in a poll? Will the graph grow chronologically?

 

[HaroldL]

I picked 2002-2003. I still have the original v5.0 CD that has a 2002 copyright date. I'm not too sure if I started in 2002 or 2003???? That's a lifetime ago.

 

[dwc]

When was V10 released ?
That's the version I started out with.

 

[albie0803]

I also started with V10, a few months before V11 came out.

 

[multicaduser]

I had a version of Geomagic I think around 2009 but didn't have time to use it, then in 2022 obtained AD Expert and love it.

 

[NateLiquidGravity]

Can you add the major version numbers with the years? I think I started with V10 as well. Around 2007ish. My boss had gotten a trial CD and I found it worked great.

 

[MilesH]

I started in 2004 with V8 Pro:
"Planned for release this summer, version 8.0 has some extremely powerful new features including support for 3D sketches, surfaces and freeform solid features, associative Booleans for mold design, an API for customization and numerous user interface enhancements."

 

[gld]

I beleive I started in late 2021 with V24

 

[Ex Machina]

March of '21 with V24

 

[durand]

I don't remember the year but Alibre was only Alibre. They came out with the expert or professional version so I preordered it and I think it was only around $800.00. That included Algor FEA, machining, motion, sheet metal and rendering if I remember correctly. That is when some other user could ask you a question while your working, you could accept and take the time to help them or did not accept the request through the software. That was before forums.

 

[flacustom]

Found Alibre late 2007 while looking for CAD type programs for cabinetry but all seemed to be specific to kitchen/bath cabinetry. I was primarily building custom retail displays and retail store buildouts that didn't fit into the typical cabinetry programs. I downloaded a trial version and saw the potential for what I needed. Also, a forum member at the time, Kelsey Woodworks, was well versed in applying the program to cabientry and furniture building and helped immensely with advice, templates and knowledge. During the trial Alibre ran a huge sale and I think I purhchased it for almost half off the $800 price. It has been perfect for everything I've built since and I am still learning more of it's capabilities.

 

[OTE_TheMissile]

Discovered Alibre when I started my new job working at RIVCO Products in January of 2008, they'd only just purchased the package and I was the guy they got to figure it out & redraw all of their product designs to it. Spent about 2 weeks randomly punching the keyboard before I got completely stuck on something and came to these forums for help.

Coincidentally, as I'm typing this right now, today is my last day at RIVCO. New job I'm starting on Monday does mostly 2D work, but if I see a need for a 3D package, I'll highly recommend they take a look at Alibre. My career focus has been shifting more towards the manufacturing side of things lately, but it's still nice to sit down for a while and do some drawing

 

[HaroldL]

Congrats on your new job.

What an opportunity to introduce the new job to the 3D world. Some 3D models and KeyShot renderings, Hmm.

 

[VoltsAndBolts]

I don't really remember when I actually started using it but I think 2007 or 2008 I know I joined the forum 2009. Somewhere I have my original CD. I was actually using SolidWorks at the time. Later Pro engineer then Creo. And eventually back to SolidWorks. I always like the way Alibre was similar to SolidWorks so I've always used it for my personal projects / business