solidworks purchasing

[stepperhead]

hello there,

I have been using solidworks for a couple of years now and have learned how to make is spin pretty good. the copy I was using was not exactly legal..... I thought to myself that it was time to purchase the program because it had lived up to all my expectations and actually can do alot more that I thought possible. Well you can imagine my surprise when I learned what this program costs!!!!! It costs 4000 for basic, 6000 for pro and 8000 whopping dollars for premium, with an additional 2000$ if you want any tech support and updates for a year. Now I understand that this program could be worth it for a company that is making money and I am not complaining about the price. but I am not a company and am not making any money with my new found skill. I want to know could it be worth it??? could I purchase this program and somehow freelance some design work in order to pay for the program if nothing else? It seems that it could take a long time to earn that much cake. Maybe I am wrong....

what is your experience? Is anyone here a freelance designer? could I earn this much in a timely manner(like within a year). where would I even find work like this? The reseller told me that 5-15% of his customers are private joe blows like me, and that it seems to work for them. This sounds like a sales pitch to me.

I want to be all legal with this program but I am not sure if I can. I would have to finance a purchase like this and would hate to lose my money.

maybe I should be thinking of alternatives?

what do you think??

thanks for your reply in advance.

mac

[helocat]

hello there,

I have been using solidworks for a couple of years now and have learned how to make is spin pretty good. the copy I was using was not exactly legal..... I thought to myself that it was time to purchase the program because it had lived up to all my expectations and actually can do alot more that I thought possible. Well you can imagine my surprise when I learned what this program costs!!!!! It costs 4000 for basic, 6000 for pro and 8000 whopping dollars for premium, with an additional 2000$ if you want any tech support and updates for a year. Now I understand that this program could be worth it for a company that is making money and I am not complaining about the price. but I am not a company and am not making any money with my new found skill. I want to know could it be worth it??? could I purchase this program and somehow freelance some design work in order to pay for the program if nothing else? It seems that it could take a long time to earn that much cake. Maybe I am wrong....

what is your experience? Is anyone here a freelance designer? could I earn this much in a timely manner(like within a year). where would I even find work like this? The reseller told me that 5-15% of his customers are private joe blows like me, and that it seems to work for them. This sounds like a sales pitch to me.

I want to be all legal with this program but I am not sure if I can. I would have to finance a purchase like this and would hate to lose my money.

maybe I should be thinking of alternatives?

what do you think??

thanks for your reply in advance.

mac

SW is a nice program but yes spendy. Alternatives would be Alibre. Full support and updates for a fraction of the cost over all.

[BurrMan]

You lost me at "I steal Solidworks!"

[stepperhead]

Excuse me 'burrman' but I don't think you understand my diction. I re-read my post and could not find the words "I steal solidworks" anywhere! Are you calling me a thief??? that's just flaming rudeness. Last I checked it is entirely legal to share in Canada. thank goodness because in the land of ice and snow we are a little kinder than others. There is a big debate right now in this country about this very topic and as it turns out we are allowed to share with each other. hurray for friendship and kindness.

This is a topic that is not what this post is about.

This topic is about the fact that I am about to put down more money on software than I have ever payed for a vehicle, food for my children, or my mortgage for a year!!! I may have to resign myself to the 'havenots' of the world unless I can figure this out.

please help me with constructive criticism only,

thanks,
mac

[BurrMan]

I guess the debate in Canada is: "Should we be allowed to STEAL someone elses property without paying for it because we are typical arrogant socialists that believe we are entitled?"

Dont lecture me on being poor dirtbag.

[Chrliev]

Please resist being a victim (Havenot?)

The price of SolidWorks is relatively inexpensive compared to the value that I get from it. It costs hundreds of millions to develop software like this. It also costs millions of dollars to develop a new car and someone has to pay for it, in this case its the people who buy and drive the cars. Would you get into someone elses car and "borrow" it for a while...? Will nice Canadians allow you to share their cars in the land of ice and snow, or is it just when its someone else's property that's being shared and then its ok...? In most countries maybe not in Canada, I don't know your laws, borrowing without permission is also known as stealing, but I digress...

As for "constructive" criticism, yes the software is worth far more than $4,000. I make a lot of money as a consultant/designer/CNC programmer and SolidWorks is not even close to the most expensive piece of software that I own, all of mine are legally licensed and paid for. In case you are wondering I started out far from rich, though I make a good living now, it was tough getting there and some months are still challenging but I paid up...

[CNC Lurker]

Please resist being a victim (Havenot?)

The price of SolidWorks is relatively inexpensive compared to the value that I get from it. It costs hundreds of millions to develop software like this. It also costs millions of dollars to develop a new car and someone has to pay for it, in this case its the people who buy and drive the cars. Would you get into someone elses car and "borrow" it for a while...? Will nice Canadians allow you to share their cars in the land of ice and snow, or is it just when its someone else's property that's being shared and then its ok...? In most countries maybe not in Canada, I don't know your laws, borrowing without permission is also known as stealing, but I digress...

Comparing Solidworks to a car is not a valid comparison. If I buy a car, I can sell it to whomever I want, but that is not the case with SW. Basically you are leasing the license not buying it, so it is not a vary easy thing for one company to sell it to another, and even harder for an individual to sell it to another.

Luckily I can legally use SW at home:

The SolidWorks license agreement states that if the license is permanently installed on the hard disk or other storage device of a computer (other than a network server) and one person uses that computer more than 80% of the time it is in use, then that person may also use the Software on a portable or home computer.

As for the OP question, you may not be able to find enough freelance work to pay for SW if you have only tinkered with it at home. Some companies require ANSI or other standard, as well as having knowledge in there field, whether mechanical, structural, or a niche field such as sheet metal.

I'm not saying it's impossible to freelance and be profitable, but it does help having friends in the right places to keep you busy.

If you want to buy a legal copy of an affordable CAD program, look into one of the lower-end programs such as TurboCAD or Alibre:
Alibre LINK
TurboCAD LINK

[KevinWilkins]

So the OP has been learning and using the program for a COUPLE OF YEARS and just suddenly realized that actually BUYING IT costs a LOT OF MONEY! Gimme a break.

At least he just publicly confessed to software piracy. "Book him Danno!"

[Chrliev]

Although all of my software is legal, I believe that people like this guy, who use pirated software do a lot to increase market penetration for software and ultimately increase the legitimate user base. Software protection schemes have always ruined sales, it has something to do with the human condition of getting something free...

During the 90's the most pirated CNC programming software in the US was MasterCam, now its installed user base makes it the leading software in CNC Programming. It's no coincidence people will eventually buy or otherwise obtain the software that they know best.

Anyone want to guess as to how all that bootlegged software got released in the first place...?

[KevinWilkins]

Ah OK. Does that mean then that if I go out and steal Porsches that will increase their "market share" and Porsche should -thank me?- Duh.

Ever see that remake of "Starsky and Hutch" where Snoop Dog's character already has a car from the next model year and when asked where he got it, he says "I know some people who know some people who robbed some people."

That's where cracked software comes from... And a lot of it now comes out of eastern Europe and installs some nice little extras with crack.

[BurrMan]

Although all of my software is legal, I believe that people like this guy, who use pirated software do a lot to increase market penetration for software and ultimately increase the legitimate user base. Software protection schemes have always ruined sales, it has something to do with the human condition of getting something free...

During the 90's the most pirated CNC programming software in the US was MasterCam, now its installed user base makes it the leading software in CNC Programming. It's no coincidence people will eventually buy or otherwise obtain the software that they know best.

Anyone want to guess as to how all that bootlegged software got released in the first place...?

Thats a misnomer and a very irritating statement. Mastercam had to dump HUGE bucks into saving their software.. Actually, the REASON it is the most used CAM system is because it has put a HUGE effort into marketing, especially at the "Student/education" level, which has the workforce exiting as proficient and ready. The companies doing the work purchase it as it is a competent CAM system and the workforce is there and trained...From the COLLEGE arena...not your description of the crack community... That is the montra on the crackers...It's not a contribution... Just a misguided justification.

The only thing you have JACKWAD to thank for is the security, licensing/locking schemes that are placed on the rest of US.. Nothing more.

[joeybagadonuts]

BurrMan,

Who is "JACKWAD", is he a member here on the CNC Zone?

JoeyB