Deals on Alibre

[Jasonb]

The problem with many posts here is that "Alibre" is being used as a general term when most are actually referring to Alibre's entry product called "Atom3D"

I posted earlier a link to what you get with the various offerings from Alibre and as Atom3D is the entry level you don't get all you do with Pro and expert. if you click the detail tab on this page and then each of the headings it shows what you do and don't get depending on what package you buy.

https://www.alibre.com/alibre-design-feature-comparison/
Detail View - No in Atom yes in pro & expert

Expload yes on screen, don't think it is simple on a printed drawing but image from screen can be saved and added to a printed drawing

Sheet metal is pro only and that has better animation

I find that pro created drawings easily and Atom will be just about the same.

Don't use the BOM but it is parametric and will remove an item if you take it out of the assembly, not available in Atom

 

[Oldiron]

I'm coming from AutoCad LT, a 2d package. I commonly whip out a quick sketch of a maybe a few lines and a circle or two so I can pull off a few dimensions for manual machining instead of doing a bunch of math. Can I do this in Ailbre pro without building a whole 3d model? Bob

 

[Jasonb]

Yes

 

[Vietti]

How new a computer do you need to run Alibre Atom3d? My shop computer is older with Windows 7

 

[Jasonb]

https://www.alibre.com/alibre-design-software-requirements/

 

[L98fiero]

I'm coming from AutoCad LT, a 2d package. I commonly whip out a quick sketch of a maybe a few lines and a circle or two so I can pull off a few dimensions for manual machining instead of doing a bunch of math. Can I do this in Ailbre pro without building a whole 3d model? Bob

You can do it but I have an old TurboCAD V16.2 that I use for that sort of thing, it has way better sketching tools or maybe I'm just more used to the TurboCAD since I've had it for 20 years. One of the nice things about having the TurboCAD is that I found the switch to Alibre very easy as the UI seem to have a lot in common, I never did like AutoCAD, being lousy at typing may have had something to do with it though.

 

[Mike Henry]

I apologize if this has been asked before but...

Does Alibre allow you to create detailed views?.......

Why not download and install the free trial? Maybe peruse the Alibre Help first and/or download the manual first. The answer to most of your Alibre questions is "yes", but either of those options would give you specifics.

https://www.alibre.com/https://help.alibre.com/home/en-us/
The 1st link also gives you feature lists for each version.

 

[johnmcc69]

Thanks very much for all the info & links in response to my question. I know I can visit the website & see the features & how they say "It's GREAT"...I kind of got a chuckle when I was comparing the versions & between the versions, they were listed as "Excellent, Great, & basic". Compared to?

My question was aimed at the actual USERS of the software & their experiences with it. It's like dealing with any salesman, you get more factual information from the end users (No offense salesman..)

Thanks for the links Mike, I will certainly have a look.

Thanks for the info Jason, I know you have made some beautiful designs using "Alibre" & it seems to do what you want it to. (I'm might be hitting you up with some additional questions...)

Richard: I have been using Pro-E for over 20 years & can say that it's AWESOME CAD software. I used it primarily in tool design, everything from machining fixtures, special machines, to mold design. It's a real bear to learn, but when you do, it can do some pretty cool things. I haven't had any experience with SolidWorks in quite awhile, but It seems they're quite comparable. (I used it awhile probably 10 years ago). What I liked about SolidWorks was the user interface & the "Menu" for selecting options. I think Pro-E was originally designed around the Unix platform & you had to be pretty specific about "Working directories" & "search paths". You couldn't always just browse to another directory & load/assemble that part, it had some pretty stringent "rules". I have no experience with "Inventor".
One thing Pro-E was very good about was with complicated rounds & drafting of surfaces/transitions. Pro-E has some other pretty tough demands, but when you follow the rules, you have a pretty "Solid" database. The drawing part of it is solid as well, very good at creating any kind of drawing view you may require & dimensioning is easy-even easier when you use the dimensions you created in your "Sketch", a feature called "Show dimensions" is available at the click of a mouse & will show all or only dimensions you select.

I have downloaded Atom 3D & the tutorial that comes with it. I have not installed it yet but have reviewed the tutorial. I already recognize the "workflow" required to create models & am actually impressed with what I see, what I am used to. Not sure about the assembly end yet, but will work through that. Will have to do some more digging to see how well the drawing interface works.

Thank you all!

John

 

[Iampappabear]

In SolidWorks, I use a parts list table in conjunction with balloons linked to the parts inserted into assembly views to generate BOMs. That way you can look at the item # and see the description in the table. Probably not the most sophisticated method but works well for my purposes and I have designed built some pretty large and complex automated machines using this method.

Colin

 

[mrehmus]

I've only been using it for a short while. *I have the same questions. BTW, how was Pro-E? I've never ussed it but want to know what it is like in comparison to Solidworks and Inventor

I have the top end version and it certainly allows me to create detailed views at any scale. Don't know about their starter kit.

 

[Bentwings]

I’m a long time 3 d cad user. I have solid works 16 plus book. So far I’ve only changed location of computer. 3 full days of frustration trying to get SW back up and running. I’ve had it. I YHINK fusion 360 will be a better deal. I’m long retired and build Rc airplanes and minor hot rod car parts for my own use. I rarely sell anything and don’t intend any business. Is fusion easy to Learn with all my cad experience ? I expect some learning curve but compared to “0” help or success I’ve had it with SW. this is not the first time I’ve had issues with SW. support has not been the best nor easy. Granted it’s a powerful program but it’s hard to love it if it doesn’t work at all . At one point I went from SW to inventor and was making models the first day on the job.

 

[petertha]

Have you considered Solidworks Maker? 99USD/year. It has certain limitations but AFAIK is the full version. They don't allow file export to CNC formats (not sure about 3D printing). That is there way of controlling 'commercial'. The drawings are watermarked (who cares). The files & executables are resident on your PC. I don't think there is any limit to part count or assemblies like other systems I've heard. Some other CAD apps use 'cloud' buzzwords, but it can mean many things so its kind of loaded discussion point. Some are fully online, maybe good if you are on Mac or different OS, but also some limitations. Others have app on local PC but files on cloud. That's where it gets dicey. If it means pay or no play I guess that is their way of controlling licensing. But if it means what I create is in public domain for all to share in the name of collaboration, that is kind of BS IMO. I don't think SW Maker is like that, but I am really wanting someone knowledgeable to be the test pilot & report back.

Not sure what your particular SW issues are. Maybe license vintage or hardware issues or...., but you might be fighting their recent Maker migration. Basically their promo versions like Education, Military, EAA... are all going to be gonzo & migrating to Maker if I understand correctly. But they may be rolling out at different pace or region or country. That I'm less sure of.

 

[Bentwings]

Have you considered Solidworks Maker? 99USD/year. It has certain limitations but AFAIK is the full version. They don't allow file export to CNC formats (not sure about 3D printing). That is there way of controlling 'commercial'. The drawings are watermarked (who cares). The files & executables are resident on your PC. I don't think there is any limit to part count or assemblies like other systems I've heard. Some other CAD apps use 'cloud' buzzwords, but it can mean many things so its kind of loaded discussion point. Some are fully online, maybe good if you are on Mac or different OS, but also some limitations. Others have app on local PC but files on cloud. That's where it gets dicey. If it means pay or no play I guess that is their way of controlling licensing. But if it means what I create is in public domain for all to share in the name of collaboration, that is kind of BS IMO. I don't think SW Maker is like that, but I am really wanting someone knowledgeable to be the test pilot & report back.

Not sure what your particular SW issues are. Maybe license vintage or hardware issues or...., but you might be fighting their recent Maker migration. Basically their promo versions like Education, Military, EAA... are all going to be gonzo & migrating to Maker if I understand correctly. But they may be rolling out at different pace or region or country. That I'm less sure of.

No, I have not tried as suggested. I’m completely fed up with SW . It did irk on the current computer. I do have a good internet connection. I YHINK the fusion single non business user is the way to go. We only build big Rc airplanes and details for them ultimately we would like to resin print them. We don’t sell or mfg things we might trade a plane once a year or so . I don’t even rember eve selling one buying yes occasionally but we would modify it to DI our needs .

 

[Bentwings]

No, I have not tried as suggested. I’m completely fed up with SW . It did irk on the current computer. I do have a good internet connection. I YHINK the fusion single non business user is the way to go. We only build big Rc airplanes and details for them ultimately we would like to resin print them. We don’t sell or mfg things we might trade a plane once a year or so . I don’t even rember eve selling one buying yes occasionally but we would modify it to DI our needs .

I’ve used various ACAD . Versions over the years so I’m not too concerned about learning new solid modeling .

 

[petertha]

No, I have not tried as suggested. I’m completely fed up with SW

Do you mind me asking why? Was it the more recent SW Maker version or a prior regular seat? Was it part of their (prior) military/EAA/student promotions which they are eliminating, or just plain vanilla SW? Was your PC & graphics card & processor & RAM up to snuff? Usually SW is known for being very stable year to year. Brutally expensive, but stable, LOL. I'm still not sure if Maker allows 3D-printing file format or if they turned that file format valve off. That would be a bummer & non-starter for many 3D cad guys.

I've been into RC planes most of my life so I've kind of seen the spectrum. Everything from old school 2D plans / laser cutting to CNC molds for composites. RC models can be just as complex as the big brothers depending on how deep you want to go.

 

[Bentwings]

Do you mind me asking why? Was it the more recent SW Maker version or a prior regular seat? Was it part of their (prior) military/EAA/student promotions which they are eliminating, or just plain vanilla SW? Was your PC & graphics card & processor & RAM up to snuff? Usually SW is known for being very stable year to year. Brutally expensive, but stable, LOL. I'm still not sure if Maker allows 3D-printing file format or if they turned that file format valve off. That would be a bummer & non-starter for many 3D cad guys.

I've been into RC planes most of my life so I've kind of seen the spectrum. Everything from old school 2D plans / laser cutting to CNC molds for composites. RC models can be just as complex as the big brothers depending on how deep you want to go.

The SW version is supposed to be a full seat with analysis. However my late son may have deleted some of it as he did not realy know how to use it. I used at his home briefly and it seemed ok then I just never got to really get into it . I can’t even open some of the files he created. In fact it won’t even allow me to open a new part. After some staggering around I found a few familiar icons but not enough to do anything with . I couldn’t even open a new sketch and draw a line . I was so mad I just slammed the thing closed. There is some game manager on it that boots up eventually then you can open SW but it essentially stops right there. I didn’t get far with fusion either. I’ll ask my son as he is more computer literate than I. May be it is just a connection issue. There is a large Roku thing that is new to me so we will look at it more tonight.