Software Review - Alibre Design Personal Edition

Alibre Inc. www.alibre.com, the developer of the world’s most affordable professional 3D CAD solutions, today announced Alibre Design Personal Edition (PE).  Alibre Design PE is the first 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 (Booth #183), 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!  Alibre Design PE also includes a broad set of built-in and online tutorials and downloadable video training. Alibre Design PE is the design and engineering platform for entrepreneurs that gets the job done fast, for a fraction of the cost of other products. 

Easy-to-Use, $99 Software is Perfect for DIYers & Newcomers to 3D Design
 

Easy-to-use and priced at only $99, Alibre Design PE brings powerful 3D solid design modeling to everyone, from inventors, DIYers, 3D design newcomers, and design enthusiasts.  The software enables people to turn their dreams into a reality by creating real physical products, inspiring a new generation of start-ups.  

“America is going back to work. Large-scale downsizing has released tremendous talent and ideas from scientists, engineers, and business people, now ready to do whatever it takes to start their own businesses.  With Alibre Design PE, entrepreneurs and inventors will once again ‘change the world’ and create careers for themselves and jobs for their colleagues,” said J. Paul Grayson, Chairman and CEO, Alibre Inc. 

Alibre Design PE’s software tools give entrepreneurs and DIYers all the power they need to bring any project to life.  Alibre Design PE offers:

• 3D design and visualization:  creates precise editable 3D models including unlimited parts and assemblies.
• Automatic 2D drawings:  Creates 2D drawings directly 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, arrays, and more.
• Assemble 3D parts into fully 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 popular 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 Sponsors “Gadget Freak” Contest

In addition to exhibiting at the Maker Faire, Alibre will also be sponsoring the Make Magazine/Design News “Gadget Freak” contest that encourages inventors to create gadgets that incorporate electronic components that involve sensing, motion, timing and/or networking elements. The contest winner gets $1000 and a chance to sell their gadget in kit form in the Makers’ Market.  Info at: http://makezine.com/gadgetfreakcontest. 

“We’ve been testing the waters of entering the personal 3D CAD market with a product designed for casual use, but powerful enough for serious projects. After engaging with Make Magazine and Design News and seeing how quickly their readers were adopting our design technology, it became obvious this was a direction we wanted to include in our product mix,” said Max Freeman, VP Marketing, Alibre Inc.  “Plus, there’s a direct correlation between the availability of design software and the ‘kick-ass’ quotient of the finished project.  People love making cool stuff, and we have an app for that.”

Entrepreneurial Projects Created with Alibre Design PE:

• Reproducing Robot - robot can reproduce itself with an initial source of blocks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LumLzSQE5Vw 
• Desktop Companion - with a cute, devilish attitude:  http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2958 
• Wax Reservoir - doubles as a housing for a heat element that melts and removes wax via a needle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnKD9oIzcnM 
  
  

Pricing & Availability 

Available immediately from www.alibre.com, Alibre Design Personal Edition (PE) is priced at $99.  It supports Windows XP and later operating systems. 

About Alibre, Inc.

Alibre Inc. www.alibre.com is the world’s leading provider of cost effective professional grade mechanical CAD, CAM, and PDM solutions.  Founded in 1997, Richardson, Texas-based Alibre is led by Chairman and CEO J. Paul Grayson (previously CEO of Micrografx) and other graphics visionaries who are changing the landscape of 3D mechanical CAD/CAM software by providing full parametric CAD technology to everyone that needs it, versus only to those in the relatively unique financial position to afford traditionally expensive CAD systems. 

Alibre Design™ and Alibre CAM™ are the fastest growing parametric CAD/CAM solutions on the market. Alibre CAM extends Alibre Design to provide integrated 2 1/2 to 5 axis CNC machining. Used by a diverse user base, Alibre Design and Alibre CAM provide design and manufacturing solutions to Fortune 500 companies, small businesses, consulting firms, machine shops, start-ups, hobbyists, inventors, teachers and students, available in 50 countries and in 15 languages.  For more information on Alibre or for a free trial of Alibre Design and Alibre CAM, please visit www.alibre.com.

My Take on the Software

I was excited to try this software as it sounded like it held so much design power! In getting a copy of the software to try, installation was easy and the interface that I was given at the front of the program was easy to understand. I have only just scratched the surface of what Alibre Design can do. I have tried AutoCAD in the past and found this to be harder to understand and to use and this program seemed to provide similar capabilities and the interface (in my perspective) was easier to use and the overall proce was much less than an AutoCAD (about 1/3 the price).

So far I am very pleased with the program. It was easy to learn and use and for the price, it is definitely one that I would recommend. It was user friendly and the end result was an amazing design!

If you are looking for a great program, go and check out the trial version and make sure that there are no hardware compatibility issues before you buy. I highly recommended this program!

All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by the company.  Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Please refer to this site's Disclaimer  for more information. I have been compensated or given a product free of charge, but that does not impact my views or opinions.
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