Changes to Autodesk ArtCAM

[dillon.moulder]

We regret to inform you that on July 7, 2018, ArtCAM will be discontinued with no planned future releases or updates. This change will have the following implications for subscribers and customers with active maintenance plans:

• As of February 7, 2018, customers will no longer be able to purchase a new ArtCAM subscription.
• Maintenance Plan and Subscription renewals for ArtCAM will continue to be available until July 7, 2018.
• Customers who have purchased a perpetual license of ArtCAM will continue to own and have full usage rights for that license.
• You can continue to get ArtCAM support from Autodesk until November 1, 2018, by logging in to your Autodesk Account, selecting ArtCAM from the Support section, and submitting a ticket via email.  Please note this support is only available in English.
• Although support from Autodesk will expire on November 1, 2018, you can continue to access self-service support via the Autodesk Knowledge Network (AKN) and peer-to-peer support via the Autodesk Community’s ArtCAM Forum.

For more information, please read the FAQ.

[scottmoyse]

Dillon that promo is also available in Australia and New Zealand. I understood it to be a Global promo. In any case that's not my point. Autodesk could have done the right thing here and reverted all maintenance to subscription customers back to perpetual.

[danb8s]

my subscription is listed as "auto renew nov 8th 2018".... does that mean I don't have to do anything or I have to initiate another renewal process before july?

  Is ArtCam currently for sale....not just the program but the entire branch? any chance another company will pick it up?

[dillon.moulder]

Hi @scottmoyse,

---

@scottmoyse wrote:
that promo is also available in Australia and New Zealand. I understood it to be a Global promo. In any case that's not my point. Autodesk could have done the right thing here and reverted all maintenance to subscription customers back to perpetual.

---

I could only find mention of the USA, Canada and Latin America in the Terms and Conditions given here. However, it is entirely plausible that the same promotion is running in other territories too.

I understand the point you were trying to make in your post, but I thought it might help others if they had full details of the promotional offer to which you were referring. 

I’m not personally involved in deciding what licensing options are made available to Autodesk customers, so I do not know whether any alternative offerings to those in the FAQ would have been feasible for customers with an active subscription to an Autodesk ArtCAM product.

Not all customers with an active subscription to an Autodesk ArtCAM product started out with a perpetual license and maintenance plan. I’m not aware of how many, if any, of the ex-Delcam customers who were migrated to Autodesk and provided with a perpetual license and maintenance plan on 1st August 2016 have subsequently moved to subscription.

Kind regards,

[dillon.moulder]

Hi @danb8s,

---

@danb8s wrote:

my subscription is listed as "auto renew Nov 8th 2018".... does that mean I don't have to do anything or I have to initiate another renewal process before July?

  Is Artcam currently for sale....not just the program but the entire branch? any chance another company will pick it up?

---

Automatic renewal is explained in this article from the Autodesk Knowledge Network. If your automatic renewal date is specified as 8th November 2018, I do not expect you’ll need to repeat or amend the renewal process before 7th July 2018.

I’m not aware of any plans for Autodesk to sell ArtCAM to a third-party business.

Kind regards,

[dillon.moulder]

Hi @Anonymous,

Welcome to the Autodesk Community and the ArtCAM Forum.

---

@Anonymous wrote:

I'm not sure about what happens with maintenance & perpetual licenses. I am running Artcam 2018 with a perpetual license. My renewal is in March. If I choose NOT to renew my maintenance in March do I still have use of 2018 as it is now or do I revert back to 2015r? 

If I revert back to 2015 that means in order to keep using Artcam 2018 beyond my March renewal date I must-

1- renew my maintenance plan next month for March 2018 to Nov.1 2018

2- I will have use of Artcam 2018 in perpetuity after that or is that at Autodesks discretion? 

---

You have a stand-alone perpetual license, so you can continue to use your Autodesk ArtCAM 2018 product in perpetuity; your license does not expire. If you choose not to renew your maintenance plan in March 2018, you would forfeit your support entitlements from Autodesk and lose access to any future software updates for the Autodesk ArtCAM 2018 product range released beyond that date; since the end-of-development was announced on 7th February 2018, no further software updates are expected.

You can find Autodesk’s maintenance plan terms and conditions here.

You can continue using your ArtCAM 2015 R2 product in perpetuity alongside your Autodesk ArtCAM 2018 product.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

Kind regards,

[pakpck]

Dillon doesn't the PAF file expire?

[Anonymous]

No, the paf file does not expire. Just make sure you back it up so that if something happens to your PC you have a copy readily available.

[dillon.moulder]

Hi @pakpck,

---

@Anonymous wrote:
doesn't the PAF file expire?

---

Looking at the mod file (*.mod) that accompanies a PAF Licence file (*.paf) it seems as though there is a hard-coded expiry date of 31st December 2055. While not the exact dictionary definition of perpetual, this extended term (affording another 37 years, 10 months and 11 days of use from today by my calculations) should be sufficient for licensees.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

Kind regards,

[Anonymous]

Hi

A question about support entitlements. After the February date, I see from a post from Jennifer that you are the only one left haven't heard from Johnathan

the two that helped me with support tickets. How will support work will there be employees with this software experience. seems there will be no one left there, I understand the forum will and any active members.

Bill

Jennifer wrote

"I would like to put out a BIG THANK YOU to Dillon. He is the only person manning the ship now and he is doing a great job with what he has been given. He is working with a very difficult task, and I am thankful he is there to help everyone with anything he can."

[Anonymous]

@scottmoyse I know you are an Autodesk defender but isn't the hand writing on the wall clear by now? Read the sixth comment in on this thread and what does the guy say? He says perhaps you should check out Fusion360 and you and I and he all know this is preposterous. But it is revealing and it is where more and more I see customers referred to. Autodesk is going to kill Inventor and HSM and I bet Crispin Shoemaker and DentCam and gobs of other things. You know Lynn Allen left Autodesk don't you? Along with R&D staff fired and budgets cut and how many thousand employees this past half year? Read Steve Johnsons Blog Nauseam for the Autodesk graveyard of killed programs.

  Time to look for the exit just as I did and these people will never get another dime from me. Fortunately I did not drink the subscription kool-aide so I can keep working for years and not give Autodesk another dime. After 11 down quarters in a row for Autodesk income do you honestly think there is any hope? Anagnost has Autodesk in a death spiral as he hacks and whacks on the very things that make software desirable then raises the prices on whats left and this is a viable business model? Time to go.

[pakpck]

@Anonymous,

Sorry to hear of your leaving. You trained me a couple years ago online in sessions set up by Scott Ingram. The training and insight I received opened new doors for me with ArtCAM. What seemed too sophisticated for my little mind all made sense and possible after your training. Best money I ever spent.

Blessings,

[dillon.moulder]

Hi @Anonymous,

---

wgrix wrote:

A question about support entitlements. After the February date, I see from a post from Jennifer that you are the only one left haven't heard from Johnathan

the two that helped me with support tickets. How will support work will there be employees with this software experience. seems there will be no one left there, I understand the forum will and any active members.

---

I’m definitely not the last Autodesk employee standing! 

@jonathan.artiss is still busy contributing to the Autodesk Community, and working as part of Autodesk Support. There are plenty of other people working alongside him too in supporting Autodesk customers.

With an active subscription or maintenance plan to an Autodesk ArtCAM product, you can access all of the usual Autodesk Support offerings until 1st November 2018. Beyond that date, peer-to-peer support will be available through the Autodesk Community forums and through self-service from the Autodesk Knowledge Network.

Please refer to what’s written in the FAQ and direct any questions that you have to me rather than speculating on comments made by others. I will ensure that you have the correct information.

Thanks in advance for your time and cooperation.

Kind regards,

[Anonymous]

Sorry but I'm a bit confused by the difference between a subscription and a perpetual license.  I pay an annual maintenance fee, just as I did with Delcam that goes from May to May.  It expires in May.  Doesn't make sense to renew it now.  Is this a perpetual license or a subscription plan?  My guess is perpetual license (I hope).   After Artcam gets turned off next November how will the software continue to operate since there no longer is a dongle?  Where will it retrieve it's license to continue working.

Eric

[Anonymous]

Thank you @pakpck,

It’s nice to hear I was able to help!

If you want to take it any further, let me know.

Best of luck,

Jen

[dillon.moulder]

Hi @Anonymous,

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Sorry but I'm a bit confused by the difference between a subscription and a perpetual license.  I pay an annual maintenance fee, just as I did with Delcam that goes from May to May.  It expires in May.  Doesn't make sense to renew it now.  Is this a perpetual license or a subscription plan?  My guess is perpetual license (I hope).   After Artcam gets turned off next November how will the software continue to operate since there no longer is a dongle?  Where will it retrieve it's license to continue working.

---

If you have a maintenance plan, you do not have a subscription. A maintenance plan is associated with a perpetual license, and if you renewed your maintenance plan in May 2017 you will have a perpetual license for an Autodesk ArtCAM 2018 product.

Autodesk software licensing does not make use of a dongle; your legacy ArtCAM software developed and sold by Delcam is what makes use of the dongle in your possession.

The only thing that ends regarding Autodesk ArtCAM on 1st November 2018 is access to Technical Support, as documented in the FAQ. You will still be able to install your Autodesk ArtCAM 2018 software and activate it using your supplied product key and serial number. 

Autodesk licensing servers will remain active, because all Autodesk products utilize them.

You can find out more about Autodesk licensing in this article from the Autodesk Knowledge Network. You can also ask questions in the Autodesk Community’s Installation & Licensing Forum.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

Kind regards,

[Anonymous]

Thank you Dillon.  That puts to rest a lot of fears.  I will follow the link you sent me for licensing information.  Thanks.

Eric

[dillon.moulder]

Hi @Anonymous,

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Read the sixth comment in on this thread and what does the guy say? He says perhaps you should check out Fusion360 and you and I and he all know this is preposterous. But it is revealing and it is where more and more I see customers referred to.

---

By “the guy”, I expect you’re referring to me; this is the post to which you’re referring. I suggested that a particular customer might want to look at Autodesk Fusion 360 because there is some interoperability between Autodesk ArtCAM and Autodesk Fusion 360 when using quadrangle meshes, and also because there could already be a post processor for Autodesk Fusion 360 that will enable that customer to cut pieces on his CNC machine. I’ve already made it clear in several of my recent posts that Autodesk Fusion 360 is not a direct replacement for Autodesk ArtCAM software. There is no misleading or misdirection here on my part.

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Autodesk is going to kill Inventor and HSM and I bet Crispin Shoemaker and DentCam and gobs of other things.

---

I’m not aware of any plans to discontinue Autodesk Inventor or Autodesk HSM. The footwear and dental products previously developed and sold by Delcam and acquired by Autodesk were discontinued some time ago; please see the attached Autodesk Footwear.pdf document.

Kind regards,

[Anonymous]

"I suggested that a particular customer might want to look at Autodesk
Fusion 360 because there is some interoperability between Autodesk
ArtCAM and Autodesk Fusion 360 when using quadrangle meshes, and also
because there could already be a post processor for Autodesk Fusion 360
that will enable that customer to cut pieces on his CNC machine."

  The topic is the loss of Artcam and there is not one other Autodesk
product that even does a fraction of what Artcam was meant to do. What
you clarify in this is something that was not clear in the first quote
and is pretty irrelevant anyway. Why did you even bring this up anyway?

   Any statements from Autodesk employees are not to be trusted. It is
not that you personally are not trustworthy. It is because those who
make the rules are not and you do not go to their planning meetings. You
can only repeat what you know and you are lied to and kept in the dark
on a regular basis. Could you have thought in your wildest dreams
Anagnost was going to axe Artcam three months ago?

  Autodesk is a company that has proven to be untrustworthy and if I
were you I would be looking for the exit door before they shove you out
the door.

[dillon.moulder]

Hi @Anonymous,

---

@Anonymous wrote:

The topic is the loss of Artcam and there is not one other Autodesk product that even does a fraction of what Artcam was meant to do. What you clarify in this is something that was not clear in the first quote and is pretty irrelevant anyway. Why did you even bring this up anyway?

Any statements from Autodesk employees are not to be trusted. It is not that you personally are not trustworthy. It is because those who make the rules are not and you do not go to their planning meetings. You can only repeat what you know and you are lied to and kept in the dark on a regular basis. Could you have thought in your wildest dreams Anagnost was going to axe Artcam three months ago?

Autodesk is a company that has proven to be untrustworthy and if I were you I would be looking for the exit door before they shove you out the door.

---

My response gives context to your previous post, and that was my only intention when responding to it. 

I’ve worked on nothing but ArtCAM for the last 17 years, and I would like to think that your peers in the Autodesk Community do consider me trustworthy. I certainly hope so, because I’ve always represented their interests.

This situation affects me directly, yet I remain focused on supporting users of ArtCAM software to the best of my ability. I might not be able to change the outcome here, but I will do everything I possibly can to help affected people through this situation.

Kind regards,

[Anonymous]

Who can I contact about receiving a partial refund on my maintenance agreement? It seems that if the product is discontinued with no updates or bug fixes, but I have paid for maintenance for 3 licenses through October, that I should have a refund coming my way. What did the $3375 I paid for this year get me???

Thank You in advance...