[Bertho]

I am using Solid Edge but have not paid maintenance for a couple of years and it is too expensive so I am looking at switching to Geomagic Design. It will be lower cost than paying for the years of back maintenance. What a ripoff: why should I pay for maintenance when I have not used it?
Anyhow, any suggested discounts or lower cost than the $2400 on the website?
TIA,
Bertho

[awerby]

I can do a little better than that. I'm just getting started as a Geomagic Design reseller, so the products aren't on my site yet, but I believe in giving people discounts.

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com

[RobbieKnobbie]

If you are thinking of going from a full featured program like SolidEdge down to Geomagic, I think you'll be in for a bumpy ride. I made that move about a year ago and at first everything seemed peachy. But then the more I got into the functionality of the program, and had to go back and edit my earlier designs for newer projects, I began hitting brick walls of dysfunctionality. Small edits that would take a few minutes in SolidWorks or SolidEdge would wind up taking me hours in Alibre. After long discussions with the guys in tech support, they came to the conclusion that I would generally be better off just re-designing my parts rather than trying to edit them to make small geometry changes. "Alibre simply isn't capable of doing that" they said.

If you really want to pursue Alibre / Geomagic, then I would URGE you to take their 30 or 45 day trial, and seriously put the program through your normal work flow. Don't just go through a few tutorials! Make parts, make assemblies, go back and edit parts and see how associated geometry does or does not update to the changes. This is where things started to fall apart for me. The smaller feature set and numerous work-arounds you get used to, but I found my designs were starting to be dictated by the limitations of the program rather than the limitations of my machinery.

If you're looking for something to play around with for a hobby, then Alibre/Geomagic is a really great program. But If you're considering using it professionally, I'm afraid you would be better off biting the bullet and going with SW/SE/Inventor. A lot more money, but if my experience is any guide, stepping down market to Alibre will leave you frustrated. If money is your limitation, I believe Seimens is offering a couple 'lower' level packages of SE that get substantially cheaper than the three professional versions. They are also offering all levels of SE on monthly subscriptions and the prices look pretty fair.

Disclosure: I am currently evaluating both SE and SW, having finally given up on Alibre after my last session with Alibre Tech Support. The support guys were great, but the program just isn't up to professional level needs.

[paulctan]

Can you give me some examples of where SW/SE has an edge over Alibre/Geomagic? I have been using Alibre for the past 3+ years now, and found it can do most everything I need it to do. I tried working on SW a couple of times, and I found it much faster to do the work in Alibre (probably because I already know it). So, I interested in finding out what were the limitations (that I obviously have not yet seen) in Alibre that SW/SE is better at doing. You mentioned "small edits" - can you give me an example of something that took you hours in Alibre that was only a few minutes in SW/SE ?

I'm basically trying to figure out what I'm missing...

[KMoffett]

I received an email with some reduced pricing through the end of December:

Special Pricing until 12/31/2013

Geomagic Design w/ First Year Maintenance: $1799
Geomagic Design Elements w/ First Year Maintenance: $1099
Geomagic Design Elements to Geomagic Design Upgrade: $829
Simulate™ for Geomagic Design Upgrade: $1499

request a quote
Or call 1.877.525.4273

Ken

[awerby]

I can do a little better than that on the Geomagic Design packages. But only for about another week - this offer ends with the year.

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com