No Scrimping on Bargain CAD

With regard to the original post:

I have used Alibre' and find it to be a very capable CAD package. Our company uses Pro/Engineer (Pro/E) and for the cost of a yearly single user Pro/E license renewal we could have purchased two unencumbered licensed releases of Alibre'. We are now looking into possibly transitioning to Alibre' in the near future.

With regard to the second post. I have checked the 'off topic' box since what I am subsequently posting doesn't directly discuss the Alibre' package:

I too am a hardcore Linux advocate. However, unfortunately I have to say, I cannot seem to find any Free and Open Source (FOSS) Mechanical CAD packages that have the capabilities AutoCad and Alibre'.

There are a few FOSS 2-D Cad applications such as QCad that are acceptable for simple drawings but I am unable to find any in the category of AutoCad, Alibre' and most certainly not Pro/E.

If anyone knows of any FOSS, or reasonably priced proprietary Linux CAD applications comparable to AutoCad, Alibre', Pro/E , etc. , please post them.

Unfortunately, transitioning to Linux and "ditching" Windows is not a simple task. Even if there were comparable applications in Linux, most companies already have a considerable investment in Windows and Windows based applications.

Additionally, to scrap Windows and Win based applications in favor of Linux and Linux based apps would require a major retraining effort. Most businesses can't afford the downtime it would require to re-train their employees to become comfortable with a new OS and its associated software. This includes a major restructuring of a companies IT department and migrating a companies servers to a 'nix based environment.

Then there is the issue of interoperability. This has been, and continues to be a serious problem. While developers on both sides of the Linux (Unix)/Windows interoperability debate are making some progress in resolving the tangled web of issues, they still have a long way to go. Many disputes are still on the horizon and it will be a while before a resolution can be reached.

One other inescapable fact is that some folks are just downright afraid of Linux, or for that matter, any OS that doesn't have the Redmond "look and feel"!

As I stated early in my post, I am a hardcore Linux advocate. I am also a realist. An overnight transition to Linux would be opening a Pandora's Box full of frustration and grief for most companies. The problems created by such a transition would most likely outweigh the benefits.

I see a bright future for Linux in start-up companies where employees will step into the Linux environment when the walk in the door.

Slow transition to Linux is also another way to go. As more and more interoperability issues are resolved and hardware/software vendors increase support for the Linux kernel we should see an increasing number of established companies migrating to it. It isn't going to happen overnight, but it will happen.

With all that said...GO PENGY!!!

FYI - you got a good answer mark from me.

Thanks for the good answer mark. It appears no one else is interested in responding to the blog. LOL

I have brought this to the attention of some of the folks on the IRC Network Freenode on which there are a number of open source and Linux gurus sitting around with not much to do. Perhaps you can work your way into some of the chat channels there and convince a few to get busy and work on it.

As for migrating to Linux for engineering corporations, the new desktops are as easy to use as is Windows, it is the cross platforming ability of the engineering applications that is the hangup and Microsoft is working very hard behind the scenes to keep it that way. After all, it is to their pocketbook benefit to keep all their clients locked in, they are a monopoly based on unfair practices, or at least the courts have said so.

you might look at Blender for 3D uses and I think GIMP is working on adding vector drawing capabilities. Since I am retired I am no longer looking for any engineering graphics other than to illustrate my science faction and science fiction. Otherwise, I am out of the engineering field as a serious profession. I do like to dabble in some chemistry and physics though, they have been my first love from the time I was knee high to a grass hopper.

science faction..

I thought that I was the only one who used that term!

I currently use over 25 cross-platform GPL'd applications including Blender, Inkscape, KiCAD, The GIMP, QT3/QT4, Code::Blocks, the Open Office suite, etc. on my Windows XP 64 bit system.

I will be looking forward to seeing vector graphics capabilities added to The GIMP.

I also use Portable Apps. This self-contained program allows you to run apps like Open Office, The GIMP, Firefox, Thunderbird and several other well known GPL applications from a pen drive. It is plug-and-play on any Windows based computer and comes complete with its own menu and folders. All of your info is stored on the pen drive. The host computers hard drive is not compromised.

If you haven't checked it out, you can look it over at http://portableapps.com .

I have been looking at the cross platform difficulties since I first had occasion to work with or check drawing from way back in 1983 when I worked for an Enron subliterary called NEICO. I was the lead designer for the Co-Gen One project in Texas City. The steam Turbine was designed and built in Japan, and when they sent us the drawings, they were not Autocad compatible. We had to return them to Japan to have them totally redrawn in AUtocad so we could use them. It cost us valuable time and the Japanese valuable money. It was a mess and a headache for all engineering. I know that there was a great deal of pressure back then to make all engineering documentation completely cross platform. I have been retired now for 10 years, so I am not aware of what problems exist today, other than I know that AUtodesk's Autocad is far too expensive and a major cost problem for smaller Engineering companies looking to compete with minimal profit margins. It will take all of us, together, putting pressure on Microsoft, the cad developers and the open source developers. It might help, too, if we can get some government support for this as well. I know that government agencies like the Department of Energy would like to see more cross platform cad available, perhaps NASA, too.