Comments on: The SolidWorks World Effect? Alibre’s Lower Prices, VX 50% Sale

By: Tony

Tony — Thu, 20 May 2010 00:36:07 +0000

Ouch! Alibre is changing things again! Looks like they've dropped Alibre Design Standard and substituted the Personal Edition (which is closer to VX Innovator Light in capabilities). OTOH, I just got an e-mail promoting the maintenance plan for Alibre Design Standard -- and Novedge is still listing Standard. Alibre Design PE doesn't look like a good option for my uses. I just checked on my PC, and Alibre 11.2 Standard lists STEP AP203 and AP214 as export options. The product comparision at Novedge also lists STEP import and export for Standard. Figure out what you want (STEP, IGES import/export, part creation, assemblies, etc); here are some options to consider: 1. Try buying Alibre Design Standard V12 with 1 year maintenance for $185 at Novedge while it's still available. 2. If you can live with IGES files and 10 parts per assembly, consider VX Innovator Light for $95; I recommend trying the trial version first to verify (and you have to anyway if you want the $95 price). 3. Look at PunchCAD's ViaCAD 2D/3D ($99) and ViaCAD Pro ($249); both claim to import and export STEP files. I'm not sure they're the best choices for typical MCAD-style design (e.g. there's no mention of doing assemblies).

By: Tony

Tony — Tue, 18 May 2010 06:31:11 +0000

I’ll believe that — last time I checked, the Personal Edition didn’t import or export to much (often true of free versions, e.g. CoCreate imports STEP files, but won’t export them).

I’ll check on Alibre Standard soon — IIRC, it’s supposed to export STEP, but it’s best to verify.

By: Daniel

Daniel — Mon, 17 May 2010 20:26:46 +0000

I just spoke to Alibre and was told by tech support Alibre Design Personal Edition will only export to .STL (.STP or .IGES). Can you confirm your version does in fact export to .STP?

By: Tony

Tony — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 20:37:59 +0000

You’re welcome. I expect to write more about Alibre Design in the future (but probably not for a few months).

By: Dave M.

Dave M. — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 07:32:40 +0000

I’ve been very happy with Alibre Design for the simple stuff I have to model. I purchased it when I saw your blog months back referring to the promotional price. Thanks, Tony!

By: Tony

Tony — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 20:01:04 +0000

Thanks.

I thought Ralph’s post said maintenance was required. I’ll update this post shortly.

By: Max Freeman

Max Freeman — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:30:50 +0000

Just a correction – we have never made people purchase maintenance, and we do not currently make people purchase maintenance. So, the out the door cost, if people do not want the year of updates and support, would be $97 for Standard, $497 for Pro, or $997 for Expert.

Thanks!
Max Freeman
Alibre, Inc.