Alibre V29 Beta Release Live Stream

[CI]

They are getting ready to have an Alibre Beta live stream.

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IvxuDKt4JE" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IvxuDKt4JE</a>

[Jasonb]

Yes  going to be quite a change to the look i was shown the likely changes a while ago by one of the staff members.

As I said previously it is partly driven by whatever they were using to generate the dialogue boxes becoming dated and unsupported so they felt it best to change and keep the sofware upto date and compatible with future versions of Windows that may come out in the future. Should also speed up use of some of the dialogue boxes by having less show until the program sees you are going to need it.

Summary of the changes here. I'm told there won't be a legacy option for those that like it the way it is.

https://www.alibre.com/version29/

[CI]

I have heard from longtime SW users that Dassault tends to make refinements to existing elements within the program to improve productivity, instead of revamping the entire program and/or interface.

I would much prefer Dessault's refinement method instead of changing programs so that the company can move everything around, and then sell you training services to learn new but not better methods to do the same thing you were already efficiently doing before.

Different is not necessarily better.
Change should not be made for the sake of change.

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[CI]

SW has some pop-up menus that are designed to keep focus on the model, without have to look over at a sidebar, or go to a pulldown menu.
These pop-up menus do speed up the work flow a bit.

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[CI]

Most 3D programs seem to operate in a similar fashion, and so sometimes it seems to boil down to stability, visual interface appearance and clarity, and commands that are intuitive, and commands that can be used with as few steps/clicks as possible.

Cost of course is the major consideration for hobby work.

If you are doing to do any sort of production work, chances are a more expensive program may work out to be cheaper in the long run, due to an enhanced interface or features.  First initial cost is not necessarily the overriding thing if you dabble in production and hobby work.

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[Jasonb]

I have the yearly maintenance with my Alibre they make updates, repair bugs & make fixes and add extra features with every new version, sounds like what Dassault do.  But you obviously don't get that with your one off non updated version.

It is more a visulal change that the user will notice rather than a fundamental change in teh way the program works.

If you read my post above I gave one of teh main reasons that is driving the need to change old and insecure software, so not doing it because they just want to.

[CI]

Windows changing from an icon-based toolbar to the ribbon is a good example of changing something for the sake of change.
I can easily use the old icon-toobars.
I can use a ribbon-style toolbar because all the commands are there, but they have been shuffled like a deck of cards, for no real gain in my opinion.
Different but not better.

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[CI]

Importing an STL file into a solid is the million dollar question.
The guy sort of talks in circles around the topic without a clear answer.

This woud be a stellar improvement in any 3D program in my opinion.

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[CI]

One thing I have tried to do is explore every option in every diaglog box.
There are many options for every command/feature, and sometimes I discover a much better way to do things just by trying every option in the dialog box, and observing how that affects the 3D shape.

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[Jasonb]

Just been having a go with the Beta version and it is really not that much difference to use, I had no problem creating a few parts, just the layout of the dialogue boxes is a bit different. With Dark Mode off you would be hard pushed to see anything different on first opening up a part.

[Dave Otto]

I'm all paid up on maintenance for the next two years, looking forward to the updates.
I usually don't to the beta stuff, I would just rather let all the others find the bugs and let them get it sorted out first. I think this may have been the first time that they let you keep the older version beside the beta version, but not completely sure about that.

There was some hinting today about supporting multi body parts in a future version. I used to use that feature in SW a lot when I was working. It is quite handy, especially when cutting apart and repairing a corrupt models transferred in from a different program.
Some of the engineers used Creo Design Elements which is an ok program, they had used it for years and were really good with it. But, it will happily create non manifold parts, and that doesn't play well with creating good quality STL files for 3D printing.

They also hinted at some better surfacing tools in the future, which I miss having.

Dave

[CI]

I am not sure if "multi-bodied part" is the option in SW to merge a new extrusion into an existing solid or not, but there is an option in SW where you can either merge each new extrusion/cut into an existing body, or keep them as separate objects.

I generally merge everything together, but sometimes it is more convenient to have it not merged, perhaps with times like adding machining allowance, etc.
If you don't merge the machining allowances, they can be changed to a different color to make them stand out.

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[Dave Otto]

If you don't merge your extrusion you have created a multi body part by default. Besides that there are many more uses for it.
For creating small assemblies you can build one part right on the other/s, and not have to deal with any inter-design relations which can get messy. Also you don't have to deal with any assembly mates. I wouldn't use it for large complex assemblies like an engine, but it does have its place. You can't open the multi body parts individually, but you can turn the bodies on and off as needed and delete them if no longer needed. You can also combine and or subtract them which makes it really handy for creating dies, fixtures and patterns. Alibre can do the combine and or subtract of bodies but it is a little more cumbersome.

Dave