Alibre and Geomagic Combined. 3D Systems Releases Geomagic Design.

Remember Alibre? That’s what people will be saying after today (or may have already been saying.) Alibre is the company and makers of Alibre Design 3D modeling software that was acquired by 3D Systems in July of 2011. As of today, Alibre is combined with Geomagic, the makers of Geomagic Studio 3D scanning software (and other design, inspection and haptic products) that was acquired by 3D Systems this past January. Now 3D systems has merged Alibre with Geomagic–the two become one; a big, happy geometry-shaping family. 3D modeling bliss and water-tight mesh babies soon after?

Geomagic Design

At the moment, I’m not sure which website to direct you to. There’s the Geomagic Design page and then there’s the Alibre homepage that says, “Alibre is now Geomagic!” Here’s what it says further in on the Alibre site…

At 3D Systems we are committed to improving and democratizing access to powerful and affordable 3D software solutions for the benefit of professionals and beginners alike. A key part of that commitment is to combine the Alibre products and team into the 3D Systems Geomagic group and an initial step is that we have rebranded Alibre Design products as Geomagic Design.

This means that the software will now be a core part of a much larger, yet highly experienced, software operation, making available additional support, development and training resources. It also means that the Geomagic Design products will ultimately be able to benefit from the other interesting and game-changing technologies in the Geomagic group that deliver 3D haptic modeling, reverse engineering, scanning, and inspection software.

We are all excited about this transition and foresee great possibilities in the future of the Geomagic Design software.

So, most likely, you’ll see the Alibre site eventually phased out or rather, redirected to the Geomagic Design page. Neither here nor there. Alibre is now Geomagic. What does this entail? Two things: New names, versions and updates for the Geomagic Design product line and a bundle of Geomagic software.

The Alibre Design products will now be called, Geomagic Design Personal, Geomagic Design Professional and Geomagic Design Expert. The prices remain the unchaged with Expert ringing in at $1,999 USD and Personal for $199 USD. Expert and Personal are the only versions listed on the Geomagic website, so I assume the Professional version pricing sits somewhere between those two prices ($999??). There is a free trial available via the Alibre website.

Geomagic Design + Geomagic freeform is also an offer on the table that combines “organic, touch-based 3D sculpting into a workflow with robust B-Rep CAD and detail design tools from Geomagic Design.” Base price on these are $20,500.

This answers the questions about what 3D Systems was going to do with Alibre after Geomagic Spark was announced, software that combines SpaceClaim and Geomagic tech together. Now it stands to ask what the plans for Geomagic Spark are going to be now that Geomagic Design is available.

Geomagic Press Release / Click to expand

3D Systems Releases Geomagic Design

Release Date:
Wednesday, April 17, 2013 – 09:00

ROCK HILL, South Carolina, April 17, 2013 – 3D Systems (NYSE:DDD) today announced the immediate availability of Geomagic® Design, a new suite of affordable CAD design solutions. Geomagic Design delivers comprehensive and robust mechanical CAD design tools, allowing ideas to go from concept to manufacturing and production for professional engineers, makers, students, consumers and hobbyists.
Leveraging 3D Systems’ combined Alibre® and Geomagic platform, Geomagic Design is now also available as part of a series of software packages that include Geomagic Freeform® products. These powerful packages combine organic, touch-based 3D sculpting with robust B-Rep CAD and detail design tools from Geomagic Design.
Geomagic Design is available in three versions: Personal, Professional and Expert, each tailored to the needs and budgets of our growing user base. Geomagic Design comes with over 35 new tools and more than 100 enhancements, built on a robust platform that is sure to deliver a rock-solid design-to-manufacture experience.
Top features of Geomagic Design include:

2D Documentation module – New tools and workflow enhancements allow engineers to immediately and accurately create 2D detail drawings from the 3D data for use in manufacturing and production planning.
Sheet metal design module – Integrated sheet metal design capabilities plus new sketch bend commands tackle complex design tasks.
New platform – featuring a highly productive engineering design environment for an exceptional user experience.

Geomagic Design solutions also include comprehensive rendering tools, built-in motion simulation tools and a wide range of 3D CAD and neutral 3D format support to enable interoperability of design data.

These products deliver on 3D Systems’ commitment to democratize access to intuitive yet advanced solutions that excel both as a standalone CAD design suite and as a seamless addition to any multi-CAD environment. Geomagic Design Expert provides 3D design, advanced sheet metal design, 2D documentation, rendering, data and process management and simulation tools for $1,999 and Geomagic Design Personal, for students, hobbyists and makers, is available for only $199.

“I just want to compliment the Geomagic team on an outstanding release,” commented David McMahon, a beta tester for the latest version. “The renewed toolsets for the 2D drawing mode and their full integration into the workflow are what I most appreciate.”

Advanced Design Tools Made Better with Software Packages from Geomagic
The Geomagic Freeform + Geomagic Design Expert software packages allow customers to benefit from a powerful and unprecedented design workflow. Users can now create intricate, organic designs, such as toys and jewelry, using combinations of voxel, NURBs, polygon and SubD modeling, into a downstream CAD platform for fast, accurate detail design, 2D drawing creation and sheet metal design ready for production. These packages start at $20,500.

“We are committed to democratizing access to powerful and affordable 3D design software for the benefit of professionals and beginners alike,” said Calvin Hur, Vice President and General Manager, 3D Systems Authoring Tools. “This release builds on that commitment by delivering powerful and capable design tools that are easy to pick up and hard to put down.”

Get a Free Trial of Geomagic Design
An online tour and Free Trial of Geomagic Design is available at:
http://www.geomagic.com/en/products-landing-pages/geomagicdesign

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About 3D Systems
3D Systems is a leading global provider of 3D content-to-print solutions including 3D printers, print materials and on-demand custom parts services for professionals and consumers alike. The company also provides CAD modeling, reverse engineering and inspection software tools and consumer 3D printers, apps and services. Its expertly integrated solutions replace and complement traditional methods and reduce the time and cost of designing and manufacturing new products. 3D Systems products and services are used to rapidly design, communicate, prototype or produce real functional parts, empowering customers to create and make with confidence.

More information on the company is available at www.3DSystems.com.