[jayd85]

Autodesk is moving to a Subscription License only (Rental) this month instead of Perpetual ,


is this good? or bad? for you

[ger21]

It'll keep you up to date, but it'll cost you more, especially if you didn't always stay up to date.

I was planning on buying a seat of AutoCAD. when it was $4000. Now I'm switching to Fusion 360 for $300/year.

[jayd85]

It'll keep you up to date, but it'll cost you more, especially if you didn't always stay up to date.

I was planning on buying a seat of AutoCAD. when it was $4000. Now I'm switching to Fusion 360 for $300/year.

We don't like to upgrade to the latest software every year, so we tend to stay with older versions for longer, for us this subscription model is not very good, the worst part is all our drawings done with AutoCAD subscription would be really held hostage, if we ever stopped paying a monthly / yearly subscription, we would never be able to ever open a drawing,

I was looking at fusion 360 but I cannot come to terms with this subscription based license it scares me to think all my drawings would be locked up , if we ever stopped paying the subscription fees, plus we are worried autodesk will hugely increase the subscription fee, once they can hook enough customers,

I have no choice but to look at other CAD software, that I can simply purchase install, and use as long as I want, I cannot continue with Autodesk any longer with a subscription rental type license,

[RoketRdr]

You can actually get Fusion 360 for free. As in...don't pay for it. And you don't have to store your work on the cloud. You can save it locally and access it with whatever CAD software you like.

[warrenb]

I am phasing my entire machine shop to Fusion 360. The others simply can't compete. The math also doesn't add up. Even when I first got it it was $1000 per year. That is LESS than my SW sub of $1500 per year. Now it's $300 bucks a year. AND it includes a fairly powerful CNC package AND FEA (I don't use) but it's there. I use to also get Tsplines for Rhino and that is included.

I keep my SW, ZW3d, and Rhino for legacy data and a few CNC programs I can't do with Fusion.

That being said ZW3D is my go to design package for complicated stuff and very powerful tool paths.

But the future for my shop is Fusion. with ZW to back it up.

[ger21]

I was looking at fusion 360 but I cannot come to terms with this subscription based license it scares me to think all my drawings would be locked up

You can export models and drawings any time you want, so you can always have local backups.

[jayd85]

checked out fusion 3d, and was not impressed, no offence, but I wouldn't pay 3 cents for that, won't even save to dxf or stl, will be definitely staying with Solid Works for some time

[ger21]

Actually, you can do both.
But if your happy paying more for SW maintenance than Fusion 360 costs, then stick with it.

[jayd85]

As mentioned we don't upgrade every year, so I actually will save a lot using Solidworks as they have a perpetual license, instead of the Autodesk Software Rental program,

Another issue I have found is Fusion 360 Will not work without an internet connection, and we have limited bandwidth here, which is very costly for us,

[ger21]

As mentioned we don't upgrade every year, so I actually will save a lot using Solidworks as they have a perpetual license,

With SW, if you don't upgrade every year, when you do upgrade, they now charge you for the upgrades that you skipped in order to get current. They are basically forcing you to upgrade every year, or at least pay for the upgrade.

[devo9er]

When it comes to CAD / CAM users out there, it's a huge pie. There are more and more small guys, DIY,hobby,router, 3D print and design that this is really going to appeal to. Tons of smaller places simply can't afford or justify some of these $3k + programs and either end up finding and using old licenses or pirating copies. Same thing has happened with all the Adobe products. It's all cloud based which prevents pirating and makes their software a little more accessible by breaking down the cost into 'easy monthly payments'. Just like car leases/loans. Not many people have that kind of money sitting around but can easily manage $30/month etc...I think its great and they will be hugely successful with it.

[jayd85]

just an illusion of cheaper, in fact you will pay dearly for it,

we don't rent a car, or house because it simply costs more, in the end

adobe has reasonable rental rates, autodesk does not

have used the same autocad ver. for many years, and it works fine, we won't be renting software anytime soon, won't happen

[devo9er]

just an illusion of cheaper, in fact you will pay dearly for it,

we don't rent a car, or house because it simply costs more, in the end

adobe has reasonable rental rates, autodesk does not

have used the same autocad ver. for many years, and it works fine, we won't be renting software anytime soon, won't happen

Where do you live? In a van? You dont rent maybe, but do you have a mortgage? Maybe you buy used cars and thats fine and responsible...Just trying to make a point, most cant afford big cash out of pocket so paying a little at a time is more attainable. We can have a financial discussion in a another thread perhaps.

Fusion is $300/yr which is $25/month. It would take over 13yrs of paying into that before you get one seat of Solidworks at todays prices.

Heres something to think about too. You might be content with your older Cad/cam and i get that. I have other programs several versions out of date that i dont intend on updating because they are bought and paid for and do what i need. End of story. Then there are programs like the adobe products where i need to stay up to date simply to work with my customers effectively. If i dont have the latest version of illustrator, indesign, or photoshop, i cant open some customer files without problems. Its a professional necessity in my field and kind of sucks but it is what it is. It too is cheaper than having to buy seats like we used to and we stay up to date with the rest of the firms we work and collaborate with. No more calls or emails asking to save things back to old versions etc...

What software are you using now? How much did it cost and when did you buy it? If you split it up into $25/mo installments, have you paid it back yet?

The other thing that is good is that the software will take better advantage of newer faster computers as things progress. If your PC takes a dump and you want to go get a new box, will your software even run on a current OS? Or are you stuck having to find a 32bit windows vista machine to load it all back onto?

[jayd85]

Your funny,,

I would consider you stop drinking the machine coolant, ,,,

Fusion 360 is a joke, it's NOT a direct comparison to Solidworks ,

You should be comparing Solidworks to Inventor,

Your delusional if you think it's going to cost less, rental will cost on average 40% MORE

It certainly is what it is, here are the FACTS, of how much MORE your going to pay
This is how much more you'll pay for Autodesk software - WorldCAD Access

[devo9er]

What are you using now thats so awesome. You mentioned its old but gets the job done. How old? How much?

Fusion might not be the best but for the money its a compromise most would happily make. It does more than i need it to and probably most others as well. I dont like the idea of spending $5k on something when i can get all i need for a fraction of it. What specifically wont fusion allow you to do that your old, bought and paid for software will? Im curious honestly. And you still didnt answer my question about your housing situation

[jayd85]

For most of our 2D DXF work we use AutoCAD 2010 which works fine and we are getting good value for what we paid 6 years ago

For 3D we are using Solidworks 2014

Our CAD files do not leave the property, we will never use cloud based CAD software, and will find alternatives, , we could never imagine ever having to explain to a customer their product drawings were hacked into on the cloud

I personally own a home, that was paid off long ago, after the mortgage we now own it, unlike an Autodesk Rental where you will own Nothing at the end.

Go ahead Subscribe away, Autodesk will rake in a fortune and be laughing at all the suckers that buy into this

[cygnus x-1]

For most of our 2D DXF work we use AutoCAD 2010 which works fine and we are getting good value for what we paid 6 years ago

For 3D we are using Solidworks 2014

Our CAD files do not leave the property, we will never use cloud based CAD software, and will find alternatives, , we could never imagine ever having to explain to a customer their product drawings were hacked into on the cloud

I personally own a home, that was paid off long ago, after the mortgage we now own it, unlike an Autodesk Rental where you will own Nothing at the end.

Go ahead Subscribe away, Autodesk will rake in a fortune and be laughing at all the suckers that buy into this

So... why did you start this thread in first place? Are you genuinely interested in what others have to say or are you just going to triumphantly proclaim your point of view and then insult others who have a different opinion?


C|

[devo9er]

So you bought your home but paid a mortgage for probably 15-30 yrs. During which time you probably paid nearly twice your homes value with interest. Why didnt you just pay cash for your home and SAVE money instead of letting the bank laugh at you while they rake you over the coals. Yes, its pretty much the same concept.

I cant justify the out of pocket expense to buy some of these programs outright. I suppliment my career using cad/cam but it isnt the center of what i do. I feel there is a overwhelming number of others like me and the software companies have done their research. They know they will get more people to buy if the commitment isnt so harsh.

[warrenb]

If you are refering to Autodesk Fusion 360 I have pretty much phased out Solidworks (after 20 years) and my CNC plugin for Fusion.

Fusion is $300 a year right now. The math doesn't add up to continue a subscription for SW and my CNC package. I have two new guys helping out in the shop and to get them set up with SW is another $15000 expense. $600 for Fusion.

There are some issues when you are thinking SW. I am a job shop that usually only does one project at a time so I've never worried about legacy data. I have never once saved an STL file. I've never tried to export a DXF but I imagine there are plugin apps available or you can write your own.

I am very impressed with Fusion 360. I think Autodesk will bury SW if SW doesn't adapt soon.

No, I don't work for Autodesk.

[warrenb]

DON'T FORGET Y'ALL

Unless you keep your old hardware safe from WIN10 you WILL be upgrading your SW. Prior to SW2015 SP4 you will not be able to use Win10. My version worked for a little while then it fritzed out on new WIN10 machines. You won't get support. So again, in my case. $300 a year or another $1500 (Now that dassault changed their upgrade fees likely more) to use new hard ware.