Alibre Design V27

[Jarrell Campbell]

AlibreDesign is a 3D parametric computer aided design (3D CAD) software suite developed by Alibre for Microsoft Windows. Available in fifteen languages. Alibre is a brand of Alibre, LLC, a company based in Texas.

Founded in 1997, Alibre began working closely with Microsoft in 1998 to develop the first web-based collaborative 3D design environment.[2] The environment operated on a web-browser and allowed multiple users to work on the same design simultaneously. Following this development, Alibre received a patent for "System and method for solid modeling," protecting their technologies for generating 3D geometries across a high bandwidth, distributed network.[3] Alibre's purported aim in this development was to give businesses a cost-effective way to geographically distribute teams by enabling networked design environments without incurring large capital expenditures.[4]

Alibre Design is based on the ACIS modeling kernel from Spatial, and a 2D and 3D constraint solving system from Siemens PLM, among other technologies.[5] It allows users to create modeled representations of concepts to facilitate design and manufacturing, with 2D and 3D functionality. Parametric solid modeling is driven by intelligent dimensions, meaning that the software automatically recomputes designs to accommodate changes to a single dimension, thereby maintaining the design's dimensional accuracy without necessitating manual adjustment of each dimension.[6]

Alibre's products fall into two categories intended for different users and applications. Alibre Design Professional has a basic set of features intended for users to get started with CAD, whereas Alibre Design Expert is a 3D and 2D modeling application suitable or intended for professional use.

I just accidentially found that Alibre released a hobbyist version of their CAD system, Alibre design. It's called Alibre Atom 3D and costs 350 Fr. if you live in Switzerland.

I have not tried it (I am a long time Alibre user and have the full version with active maintenance), but from the feature side it looks pretty decent and entirely usable, not just a stripped down demo.

Alibre Design is a parametric mechanical design software for general engineering use and roughly in the same area as Creo (former Pro/E), Catia, NX or Solidworks. It was acquired many years ago by 3D systems, who then brought out a DIY version of it (Cubify Invent) as support to their 3D printers. In the meantime Alibre Design is back with its original developers. 3D systems discontinued the entry level version of Alibre a few years ago and after this, there were only the full versions available. So this is again an affordable option for DIYers with pro function like sheet metal or BOM creation disabled (which you would not use anyway). Amazingly they have both STEP/IGES import and export, which was different with Cubify Invent IIRC. Solidworks import is not supported, so unfortunately you can't load Jonathans assemblies natively. However it retains 3D PDF export, which is fantastic!

So if you are still with OpenSCad or FreeCAD, this is your chance to upgrade to a near pro level CAD. In contrast to Fusion 360, it is old-fashioned desktop software, which works offline without subscription. It seems you need to be online for an initial license check (and if you want to move the license from one PC to another), but that's it. Probably they will try to sell you a maintenance subscription, which might make sense depending on how you use it.

Honestly I can't tell you how difficult it is to get started with Alibre. I have been using it since 2008 and have used parametric design software like Pro/E before, so I am not a beginner. Once you get the hang of it, I find it super fun to use. Try it!

I don't know F360. The demos look super slick, but who knowns... these are marketing videos.

One thing that's for sure is that Alibre is not too comfortable with freeform surfaces. So if you intend to design cars or other stuff with many irregularly shaped surfaces, you better look elsewhere. Over the years I did many designs with it, some for classical machining, some plastic injection molding, some fun part for 3D printing (SLS and later Prusa).

Of course anything organic is out of the question, this is the realm of ZBrush.

Maybe one note: The choice if tools might influence what the outcome of your work is. Will you be good at working around bugs? Or will you come up with great creative designs? To me this was not so obvious, but the pair Blender/ZBrush has been a real eye-opener to me. Others are Gimp/Lightroom/Photoshop... and of course our 3D printer.

There are aspects of the way equations are handled which can be confusing. This article repeats information that can be found in the Help, and expands on it. For more complex use of equations (and sometimes to make things easier to follow), spreadsheet driven design may provide a better solution.

As we look at the 4 types of Parameters which are used, we'll mention both Units and Dimensions - these are related, but are not identical. Also note that Dimensions in this mathematical context are not the same thing as in a drawing or sketch.

Alibre Design is pedantic about Dimensionality in equations, if there is a mismatch the equation text will show RED. Note that trying to use an incompatible type for a parameter will also show RED equation text.

Because any Parameter that we create will have dimensions of Length, or be dimensionless, the results of any equations must also match this. So if we wish to set a Distance, the equation used MUST have dimensions of Length.

Units are another complication in equations. Alibre can Display in units chosen by the user, you can even change the display units part way through a design without the size altering. It won't surprise you to know that internally Alibre does not actually change units at all - it uses what we call 'model units'. For all natively generated designs the model units are cm for distance and radians for angle. Equations actually carry out any calculations using these model units - this can lead to some surprising results!

Inside Alibre Design 27.34mm is represented as 2.734cm, the INT(x) function removes the decimal part leaving 2cm. This becomes 20mm in display units. If we try something similar whilst working in inches the results are even more bizarre, but for the same underlying reason.

If you need to force Alibre Design to work correctly with your display units, you have to add some intermediate steps. And because the capabilities are a bit limited, it isn't possible to do everything in a single step (as you could in a spreadsheet).

Here the Parameter ONE has been given a value of 1 display unit (mm in this case). TEMP is a Scale value -- dimensionality is made correct by dividing D1 (Length) by ONE (Length), giving a dimensionless number. This value can then have the INT(x) function applied, with the result multiplied by ONE (Length) to get correct dimensions.

The issue here is that because 45 was typed into the equation editor it was assumed by Alibre Design to be 45 Radians ! If instead an angle parameter had been set (assuming display dimension for angle was set to degrees), or if 'deg' had been typed after 45 (to force degrees) directly into the TAN function. The result would be in line with our expectations.

The Equation Editor is a very useful and powerful tool, but unless care is taken it can give unexpected results. When first setting up equations, it is a good idea to input some values for which the result is already known - that way you can check for any unexpected results. It is essential that dimensionality is maintained correctly, it is also important to understand the difference between display units and model units to avoid problems.

IMPORTANT NOTE - If a design is based upon an imported file, the model units used by Alibre Design will be those defined by the imported file - not necessarily cm. You may therefore see different results to the same equation if applied to an imported file rather than a natively generated file. The earlier advice to test the behaviour of equations applies especially to files based upon imported geometry.

Parameter Naming - Take care not to use names that Alibre might mistake for units of measure. For example if you type m or M it will be assumed to indicate 1m, if you type mm or MM it will be assumed to indicate 1mm. This will lead to unexpected results if you name a parameter as MM (for example) and then use its name in an equation!

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Alibre is a CAD (Computer-Aided Design) software used for creating 3D models and 2D drawings. Developed by Alibre LLC, it is widely used by engineers, designers, and manufacturers worldwide for designing parts, assemblies, and finished products.

Alibre software uses neutral formats such as .SVG, .STEP, .IGES, .SAT, Parasolid (.x_t, .x_b, .xmt_txt), .DWG and .DXF, .OBJ, .STL, .JT, and many others. These file formats are widely used for CAD data interoperability, allowing users to easily transfer models and drawings between different CAD applications.

Alibre also has CAD interoperability capabilities, meaning it can import and export native files from different CAD software. The formats supported by Alibre include common CAD file formats such as CATIA V5, Pro/ENGINEER or Creo, SolidWorks, NX, Inventor, and Rhino. This interoperability enables users to easily collaborate with others using different CAD applications.

In addition to its interoperability capabilities, Alibre also has a wide range of CAD features for 3D design and modeling. It offers basic 3D shape creation tools such as extrusions, revolutions, and sweeps, as well as advanced tools for creating complex shapes such as surfaces, curves, and basic functions. Users can also add custom functions using the function editor.

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