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Alibre

Maybe you don’t need to spend an arm and a leg on CAD/CAM tools

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stand_multipleMy friend Rachael Dalton-Taggart, Director of Marketing Communications at Geomagic Solutions (which is now part of 3D Systems), often has interesting perspectives on the engineering software market. Every once in a while, she’ll start an email thread on some intriguing or irritating issue, and include a bunch of industry editors/anaysts/consultants in the distribution list (we all know each other, from attending shows and conferences over the years.) These email threads end up being rather like a “sitting by the pool at COFES” conversation, where we get to rant a bit, knowing that the people who are listening actually have the background to get what we’re saying.

Yesterday, Rachael dropped me an email, about an application story she’d gotten from Mecsoft. Here’s what she said (with my short comments interspersed in [square brackets]):

“I’m not sure if you would even be interested in this customer case study but I got this from MecSoft, about use of Geomagic Design [formerly Alibre Design] with ‘Alibre CAM.’ It’s a nice story. What intrigues me is that after the last ten years of people like you, me, Martyn [mutual friend of Rachael and myself, industry gadfly, and founder of Develop3D] etc discussing how ‘everyone’ already has cad, there are times when that is obviously not the case and this is one.

The more I dig into manufacturing operations, the more I see some realities that are seldom talked about: People coming here [to Geomagic] for training in inspection software who can barely turn on a computer. (Yes, they use a ruler and calipers to inspect their products.)  Companies still on 2D CAD – exclusively. We have been spoiled with the ‘top end’ stories such as Boeing, Ford and the like who spend millions on interop and enterprise-wide CAD.

Is she ever right. I spend a lot of my time looking at top-end applications, often working my tail off to understand the nuances of their technology. Yet, innumerable companies (much less, individual engineers and designers) are nowhere near being able to afford these tools. For them, moving from using a 2D CAD program such as AutoCAD LT to a relatively inexpensive 3D MCAD program such as Alibre (which was not-too-long-ago acquired by 3D Systems, and rechristened “Geomagic Design”) can be a really big deal.

Though I try to cover a broad spectrum of engineering software tools, I get more personal satisfaction out of talking about tools that empower individual engineers and designers than I do talking about tools that empower enterprises.

So, thank you, Rachael. You’re right—this is a nice story. And thank you, Mecsoft, for recognizing that simple CAD/CAM tools that don’t cost an arm and a leg can make a big difference for small businesses.

Here is the case study, written by Tim Strifler of Mecsoft, telling how one of their customers used Geomagic Design and Alibre CAM to transform his business. Again, I’ve interspersed my comments in [square brackets]:

Alibre CAM: Changing Businesses, One Shop at a Time

By Tim Strifler, Marketing Coordinator, Mecsoft

Not to toot our own horn, but we hear success stories all the time about how our customers have utilized our software in effective ways and how it’s helped their businesses. But our benchmark for a truly satisfied customer changed after speaking to Chris Milligan of CRM Fabrication & Repair. Chris began to tell us how our software has “literally changed his business” and that Alibre CAM has “brought his manufacturing capacity into the 21st century.” Let’s back up and see what lead to Chris’ success with MecSoft CAM software.

CRM Fabrication & Repair is a small family-owned fabrication and machine shop located in the hills of Northeast Georgia. Chris told us their story is one of humble beginnings and hard work. He started the company in Longview, Texas, with only a stick welder and a 1978 Ford truck. Their drawings were constructed on graph paper or on the floor with soapstone. Eventually they were able to get their hands on a student copy of AutoCAD 2D. At that time, their services were limited to what could be welded with a DC stick or TIG welding machine, or items that could be brazed with an acetylene torch rig. Fast-forward through 15 years and a relocation to Georgia, CRM Fabrication & Repair now has four full time employees, upgraded equipment and machinery, and a full machine shop. This includes a recently purchased CNC machining center and a vertical machining center.

[I think we all know people like this, who start with basic tools and raw talent, and build it into a solid business, with rabidly loyal customers. One of my favorite examples is Industrial Chassis, in Phoenix. They’re fabricators at heart, and use Alibre to design everything from fixtures, to stamping dies, to metal forming machinery.]

CRM Fabrication & Repair, of course, has also purchased a seat of both Geomagic Design (formerly Alibre Design) and Alibre CAM 3, which, in the words of Chris, has “transformed their business.”

Wheel Finishing Stand

stand_inuse4mOver 10 years ago a company approached CRM Fabrication & Repair with a unique product request. The company specialized in refinishing car wheels, and they wanted a stand that would assist in this process. Of course this was before CRM Fabrication had embraced CNC and CAD/CAM software, so creating a unique product was a little more difficult. They were able to complete the product and ship the order, but it wasn’t pretty, and it wasn’t done efficiently. It was bittersweet when the customer would come back year after year and order more.

Chris was happy to have satisfied the customer’s needs, but hated producing them. “I never had the software to build them right or build them profitably.” Still, word got around to other auto shops about these handy wheel stands, and Chris received more and more orders.

He eventually had the right software (Geomagic Design + Alibre CAM), and it was time for a redesign! The drawing went from a lunch break napkin to a full CAD model in four or five hours. Thanks to Geomagic Design and Alibre CAM, the product has a more refined design, which allows it to be adjustable, and makes it less expensive to ship. According to Chris, the retail cost for the completed modular units (fully powder coated) is 15% cheaper than the “crudely built units that originally spawned the idea 10 years ago.” This, of course, results in higher profit margins for CRM, too.

[My guess is that improved profits from this redesigned wheel finishing stand will ultimately more than offset the cost of Geomagic Design and Alibre CAM.  So, a half-day’s use of the software justified the investment.]

CRM Fabrication & Repair: www.crmfabrication.com.

MecSoft Alibre CAM: www.mecsoft.com/alibre-cam or call 949.654.8163.

3D Systems Geomagic Design: www.alibre.com

Another perspective

I believe that relatively low-cost workman-like CAD and CAM tools are an important segment of the engineering software industry. CRM gets tremendous benefit from using Geomagic Design and Alibre CAM, without even coming close to pushing the capabilities of the products.  But its owner, Chris, never would have known what was possible had he been put-off by the initial price of the software (whether or not he could technically afford it.)

Yet, it’s important to keep things in perspective: cost is not everything.

There may come a day when Chris adds a few new machines to his shop. Maybe a 5-axis machining center, a Mill-Turn, or a waterjet? When you have a couple of hundred thousand dollars or more wrapped up in machines, the economics of CAD/CAM software change. Improved capabilities and productivity outweigh initial cost considerations.

I am pretty confident that 3D Systems is investing in substantially improving Geomagic Design. While, under Alibre’s ownership, it languished for lack of financial resources, that’s not the case now. 3D Systems has the money, technology, and vision to take Geomagic Design to the next level. I don’t know what that level might be, but consider that Geomagic has deep expertise in point clouds, voxels, and NURBS. Might that provide a hint?

MechSoft already provides an upward migration path from Alibre CAM, to its flagship VisualMill product family. The top of the line Premier version includes high-end capabilities, such as 5-axis swarf machining. (This is a method where you use the side profile of the cutter for contouring. Incidentally, my friend Patrick Hanratty invented 5-axis swarf machining. It was quite a feat of mathematics–which probably explains why it’s still considered a high-end capability even today. The article Gentleman Genius tells a bit of his story. It was written, coincidentally, by the same Rachael Dalton-Taggart I mentioned at the top of this article.)

 

Alibre Software becomes Geomagic Design

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Almost 2 years ago—in July, 2011—3D Systems acquired Alibre, a developer of budget 3D parametric MCAD software. It was just one of a large number of acquisitions that 3D Systems made over the last several years, and, for awhile, it appeared that Alibre was getting lost in the shuffle.

Alibre has now found a new home, and a new name. It has been folded into the 3D Systems Geomagic group, and its suite of products, formerly known as Alibre Design, is now known as Geomagic Design. Will this make a difference to the product? I think the answer is yes.

ALIBRE004m

If you look back at Alibre Design before it was acquired by 3D Systems, it was a bit of a mess. The software was functional, but suffered from inadequate investment in development. A lot of the work on the software seemed to be targeted at filling checkboxes on comparison charts. The software didn’t feel like a quality product. It may be that 3D Systems knew this before they bought Alibre, or they may have figured it out after the fact. But, no matter: with the financial stability of a new corporate parent, Alibre’s developers were able to focus on doing what needed to be done. They went back, and fixed many of the mistakes from the past, making the software much cleaner and more consistent.

The 2013 version of the software formerly known as Alibre Design, and now known as Geomagic Design, just shipped on April 17. While the list of changes in the software is 60 pages long, there are two areas of improvement that are quite significant. The first is in consistency of operation. The software feels much better thought-out in the details of operation. Menus, dialogs, and pop-ups have a consistency to them that makes using the software a lot more pleasant than it used to be. The second area is 2D drawing. It’s been cleaned-up and filled-out, so that now it’s possible to produce really high-quality drawings without undue pain.

ALIBRE002m

Let me put all this in context: It used to be that the main reason why many people would buy Alibre Design was because it was what they could afford. And, though it would get the job done, it was more irritating to use than it should have been. With this new version of Geomagic Design, you’ll get your work done easier, with more stability and less irritation, for the same bargain price—starting at $199, up to $1,999. (To be fair, even the most popular CAD systems are more irritating to use than they ought to be. But that’s another article, isn’t it?)

The development work for this release was largely completed before 3D Systems acquired Geomagic. So, to be fair, the Alibre development team should get the credit for this version. Starting now (or, actually, a month or two ago), the Alibre team will be working under John Alpine, the VP of Engineering of the new integrated software division at 3D Systems (Geomagic, Rapidform, Alibre and probably more.) Alpine is a CAD industry veteran, with serious technical and management chops. This bodes well for the future of the software.

3D Systems Geomagic www.alibre.com

Note: Yes, the images still say “Alibre,” and so does the website. The rebranding to Geomagic Studio just happened very recently, and some things aren’t done yet.

Yar Golf has a hit with its Alibre-based putter

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According to Gerri Jordan, Yar Golf’s president, “The GW1 putter is also tied for the number one spot in the categories for accuracy, alignment, and sound compared to putters that cost thousands of dollars more.”

The Yar Golf engineering team started using Alibre Design 3D CAD software to design the GW1. Jordan added, “We were able to acclimate the Alibre Design Expert and go from written theory to full testing prototype production in less than 90 days. Alibre’s product support is superior and always had the solution when we encountered an issue.”

The Alibre models were translated into CNC code for machining prototypes and eventually for production of a precision mold. An ISO-certified aerospace facility cast the putter heads in stainless steel. After rounds of testing, Yar Golf put the design into full commercial production.

The putter is also important apparatus in what is called by the USGA as Adaptive Golf for players with disabilities. The putter’s improved balance offers greater control for golfers with prosthetics. Even for players who have trouble bending over, the GX1’s wide footprint and circular openings can be used to pick up or place balls, markers, hole flags, and other clubs.

Alibre
www.alibre.com

Yar Golf
www.yargolf.com

Alibre announces Alibre Design Personal Edition for entrepreneurs and inventors

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Alibre announced Alibre Design Personal Edition (PE).  The product is a low-cost, easy-to-use 3D design tool that inspires people to become entrepreneurs and set-up their own businesses by creating gadgets, products, and inventions in their homes and garages.  Alibre Design PE will be demoed for the first time at the Maker Faire, the world’s largest conglomeration of do-it-yourself (DIY) exhibits with an expected draw of nearly 90,000 people, held May 22-23, 2010 in the San Mateo County Event Center, San Mateo, CA. 

Alibre Design PE delivers the entrepreneur and hobbyist an industrial-strength, parametric solid modeling system with integrated 3D solid modeling, part and assembly design, associative 2D drafting, and STL export all at a hobby-friendly price.  Design it, document it, change it around, perfect it, and then make it.  The software also includes a set of built-in and online tutorials and downloadable video training.  

Easy-to-use and priced at $99, Alibre Design PE brings 3D solid design modeling to everyone, from inventors, DIYers, 3D design newcomers, and design enthusiasts. 

 Alibre Design PE offers:

  • 3D design and visualization:  creates editable 3D models including parts and assemblies.
  • Automatic 2D drawings:  Creates 2D drawings from the 3D model and automatically updates them when the model changes.
  • Complete set of parametric 3D modeling tools: extrude, revolve, loft, sweep, shell, patterns, and arrays.
  • Assemble 3D parts into constrained assemblies to test fit, clearance, and motion.
  • Assign materials to 3D parts and calculate weight, center of gravity, and other mass properties.
  • Import and export DWG / DXF drawings.
  • Output STL for CNC or rapid prototyping machines, such as the MakerBot.
  • Faster project completion time.
  • Easy, streamlined user interface.
  • Integrated and online tutorials.
  • Large selection of online video training.

Alibre, Inc.

www.alibre.com

Alibre Announces Permanent Price Cuts

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Richardson, TX – Alibre, Inc. announced price cuts to its line of 3D CAD software. Alibre develops and markets Alibre Design™, a powerful parametric 3D/2D design application. The entry level package, Alibre Design Standard, is now $97 (down from $1000) and includes full 3D design and associative 2D drawings, along with Alibre Translate (formerly $499), an import/export suite that supports Solidworks®, Pro/Engineer™, Autodesk® Inventor™, SolidEdge™, Catia®, and Parasolid formats in addition to all neutral CAD formats.

All levels of Alibre Design software and software maintenance have been reduced in price, positioning Alibre products as the extreme value leader in the design and manufacturing industries. The product levels, pricing, and optional software maintenance prices are:

Alibre Design Standard – $97 (software), $97 (1 year support and updates) Includes parametric 3D design (parts and assemblies), 2D drafting, import/export options for native CAD formats and neutral formats, and 3D PDF creation.

Alibre Design Professional – $497 (software), $147 (1 year support and updates)Adds sheet metal design module, push/pull editing, standard part libraries, design configurations, photorealistic rendering, and single part FEA analysis.

Alibre Design Expert – $997 (software), $197 (1 year support and updates) Adds Windows-integrated data/product management solution, integrated physics-based motion analysis, an integrated CAM solution, and Machinist Toolbox, a shop utility offering features such as unit conversion, speeds and feeds, trig calculations, and reference materials.

The new price points position Alibre products to enter new markets – primarily the individual and home user – while still providing the professional grade tools higher end users expect. The DIY phenomenon, as covered by many publications such as Wired, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal, presents a huge opportunity for vendors willing to cater to lower price points. People are designing things for themselves, either as products or as side projects, and benefit from professional design tools. It’s been the case in the past that they simply could not afford them.

Alibre, Inc.
www.alibre.com