

The other contender is It is a much better package than Alibre. It is not a true parametric program and so it has to be approached in a different mind set. So I am looking for an alternative CAD solution. I don't want to rant on the company just say I will not tolerate the management tactics when I pay every year my maintenance and get nothing for my money. They at this point are not following through on even just fixing the bugs in Alibre. That company is 3DSystems and they are in the 3D printer business.

My problem isn't with parametric 3D CAD programs it is with the management of the company that owns Alibre/GeoMagic. Although no expert I get done what I need to. At least it isn't some crap offering from Autodesk, so that's a BIG plus.Was there a point to this post? I have been using Alibre Expert for a few years now. That being said, if I was going to buy a 3D CAD package, I would be looking real hard at SpaceClaim. If I was running a business, that would be a different story (maybe) but for home use, it's just been more economic to learn parametric modeling skills, (not that hard), than throw a bunch of money at a CAD package when I really haven't even come close to needing a commercial offering. I would be hard pressed to buy any of them with a parametric CAD program like FreeCAD being as good as it is these days. Maybe I'm just spoiled and probably biased because I use Linux (sense ~ '98) and none of those packages are available for my OS. Parametric 3D CAD, while hard, isn't $2000 - $4000 hard.

If anyone does get a price it would be interesting to compare quotes here to see if there is variation. Like you I don't know what it costs so I have no interest in a trial version. There are already well-understood reasons for not being rude to customers. I worked in the e-commerce industry for decades prior to retiring and have never agreed that we needed to be rude to people before they were our customers. If I had walked into a retailer's store and was told learning the price of goods was dependent upon my filling in that same form I'd walk out after firing a finely formed imprecation as a Parthian shot. Both had forms to fill in that asked for information they have no need to know.

If I need to know I could make a phone call and have an answer in minutes.I visited the site, tried to check the price and also visited the download page. I don't know what it costs because I didn't ask.
