I don't travel in the mechanical CAD circles as much as I used to, but I still use CAD data in my animation workflows on almost a daily basis, so I do like to keep a pinky finger on the pulse of the MCAD industry. So when I heard about Alibre Inc.'s (http://www.alibre.com/) rather unique offer of their full featured Design Standard CAD software for the very sexy price of $99 USD, I took a step back. My first thought was, "Wow, they must be really desperate!". After that, I quickly grabbed my trusty AMEX card and bought a license! Am I crazy?
I haven't even installed it yet, as I don't have a need for it...yet. Knowing this, I have to say that a full featured parametric CAD tool can be really handy, even for a technical animator, and $99 is a no-brainer as far as investments like that are concerned. There is no buyer's remorse here. I will definitely install and use the software, and I know Alibre will be around at least for a few years, as I think this recent move is exactly as their competitors have called it, a "desparate market share grab". Actually, aren't all CAD vendors desparate to be selling more seats? Alibre's "market share grab" is a standout move, netting them lots and lots of software seats, and free cash flow.
I have a feeling that Alibre might have just tapped into the last bastion of 2D CAD users and hit them with an offer that they truly couldn't refuse. I am not Alibre's target market, as I do 3D animation. I will only use Alibre to prep data for animation, adding features to existing models, suppressing details, modifying assemblies, and exporting file formats. I will be basically only using a tiny fraction of the capabilities of any full featured CAD tool. However, now I can have those features, without paying the king's ransom that would be required for other industry standard tools. If a 3D animator is quick to jump on this, what about all of those other design and manufacturing folks still stuck in 2D design tools that haven't had the budget for 3D?
While users of exisiting competing 3D CAD tools won't likely jump ship, I can't help but think that Alibre's site HAS to be popping with orders! It has always been the case that 3D MCAD tools have been steeply priced, and I would expect that there will be some panicky price moves based on Alibre's big throwdown. I think today's pricey, bloated CAD packages are going to be looking in the mirror, trying to figure out where they can trim some fat and get their MSRP down to something a little less stratospheric. In the meantime, I fully expect that all of the media hype and hoopla of $99 CAD is going to translate into big sales for Alibre!
Another benefit for me (and an opportunity for a plug) is that my company, Framework Media, can now advertise that we produce top quality animations and interactive marketing pieces directly from native Alibre parts and assemblies! Welcome Alibre users!
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