Shapr3D is a fantastic tools for makers that is unfortunately not available for typical Makers due to its steep pricing. Makers need an alternative to the powerful but also often too complicated (and somewhat slow) Fusion and its confusing license model.
Please reach out to Shapr3D and work together towards a Maker License of Shapr3D. A Maker License does not need any fancy AI, cloud saving, collaboration or versioning control. But it needs high quality saving of all relevant file formats suitable for 3D-printing.
Then bundle a Shapr3D Maker License for 1 year with suitable products and then charge some âŹ80-100 per year for Makers. Maybe make it possible to use âpointsâ for this license.
Over the last few years, their boss has been contacted often enough by customers like us asking if he would consider offering a more interesting licensing option for makers who only need it every few weeks. The company has made it clear that they are not interested in doing so.
Since Fusion takes about a minute to start up on my 3500,- PC (which is really a dinosaur from the old days), I switched to OnShape a year ago. Since then, Iâve been doing most of my work during my daily train commute to work on my iPad. Or on my work laptop during boring meetings
Being able to work in a browser/on a mobile device when it comes to CAD is really cool. Even on an iPhone if you need a quick export or something. And if youâre not doing it for money â like me â then OnShape is free. It doesnât matter to me if my files are publicly accessible if someone finds them.
(The boss of OnShape has also made it clear why there will be no âsmallâ licence. Either expensive and all-inclusive â or free and therefore public.
His reasoning: people would take advantage of it. There would be no good way to curb this. And I believe that.)
Yes, Shapr3D is a cool tool. But theyâve had the same attitude towards makers like us for years. Iâve long since given up on that company.
The Fusion 360 free license isnât really hard to figure outâŚitâs free for personal use. Although it is missing some features from the paid version, none of them are very important for designing your own models for printing. The only really important feature that isnât free is the newer method of converting a mesh (like an STL file) into objects. You only need this feature if you wish to edit a design you did not create and donât have access to the original CAD file. And, if the design is simple enough, the free tools are fine to convert from mesh to object.
As @Dextera pointed out, the free version of OnShape is quite good as well.
Last, Solidworks Connected (their âmakersâ version) is only $48/year, and seems to have no limitations for hobby/personal use compared to the full commercial version. Itâs not free, but itâs less than a lunch every month.
