Another year, another free CAD package. I can't say anything about it until later, but a well-known name in the CAD industry will spring a free CAD program on the market. Free, except for commercial use.
Alibre did a great job of getting exposure for their free Xpress, so it'll be interesting to see what stunts this company, older than Alibre, will pull off. [Gosh, this blog entry just might be one of the first of a string of stunts. Contain your excitement, Grabowski!]
30-day Free Demos? Bah!
Should competitors quiver in their boots? Probably not, considering the niche this company is targeting. (Well, perhaps a couple of them should.) I suspect that the threat is not of some free CAD software, but that the amount is growing. We're not talking about home-grown code with quirky user interfaces, but robust packages that get the job done -- within their size limitations.
With all these established and brand-new software companies launching free and not-free CAD packages, you gotta wonder what's keeping Microsoft from doing the same. It's just a matter of bundling a bunch of third-party modules together under a UI -- and don't forget to throw in the unique-sounding marketing spin.
Alibre (free and not free) still doesn't make use of many of the tools Alibre gets with the ACIS kernel. This despite a promise made to me several years ago by Albire’s CEO that remains unfulfilled. What good is free (of not free) when most users need a well rounded product?
Instead of the massive amount of time discussing less then stellar products because they are free perhaps time could better to spent on discussing real breakthroughs. In my opinion one real breakthrough is in software training for high-end surfacing at an affordable price.
While it’s not the upFronteZine beloved free, less than $100 is a huge bargain for this piece of work done by James Carruthers.
http://www.hydraulicdesign.net/fvs3-sample/concept-a-sample.htm
Jon Banquer
Phoenix, Arizona
Posted by: Jon Banquer | May 24, 2006 at 02:07 PM
If I am correct, progeSOFT was the first to start this "Free Software" phase with their progeCAD LT Software.
Not exactly "Free" (at least for those with a sense of civic duty), progeCAD asks that you donate to a charity of their choice, easily located on their website, www.progeCAD.com.
This software is for non commercial use, and is somewhat limited from their progeCAD 2006 Professional product, which includes AutoLISP, C++ Programming (SDS), VBA programming, 3D ACIS Solid Modeling, Advanced Rendering with materials, etc.
A stunt worthly of mention!
Posted by: Scott Hucke | May 24, 2006 at 06:07 PM