Recap "Startup" or "hobbyist" license

[dumbmail101]

Hi!

I'm currently using PAINFULLY LEARNING (LOL) Fusion 360 under a Hobbyist / Startup licence for doing 3D printed models.

As the 3D printer machine prices drop, there is a growing small army of casual and hobbyist users, as well as many current Students at all levels from about 4th grade on. We are all excited about bring in our own models. 

Obviously, ReCap comes into play.

A number of those people will become proficient, they will graduate to become drivers of Industry, doing it large scale. It behoves AutoDesk to court them.

I searched for about a half hour trying to find if there's a Hobbyist / Startup license, to no avail. The Pro

Licensing fees are way out of line for a casual user, so it becomes a dead end if there is not such a license structure.

Just as an aside - if there is NOT such a structure (of course, I lobby strongly for that ... 🙂  ) you might consider it with restrictions on use; "x" number of models / month for the hobbyist, or, when it comes online, restricting the hobbyist to local processing, so you're not incurring data transfer & processing costs, probably a couple of the biggest cost involved.

I think you will be missing a HUGE market going forward if you don't allow for the smaller users, something you're OBVIOUSLY aware of since you did the Fusion 360 Hobbyist / Startup Licensing! 

[anil_mistry]

Hi @dumbmail101,

Thank you for participating in our Community!!! I am not aware of this type of license for ReCap, this is really good feedback. I would suggest to submit you feedback on the “ReCap IdeaStation” link on the ReCap community home page.  This will help the Project Manager and developers hear your voice on any changes/concerns with functionality directly for consideration in future builds.

Thank you and have a great day!!!  

Please select the Accept as Solution button if my post solves your issue or answers your question.

[anil_mistry]

Hi @dumbmail101,

I'm just checking in again to see if you need more help with this. Did the suggestion I provided yesterday work for you?

If so, please click Accept as Solution on the posts that helped you so others in the community can find them easily.

[dumbmail101]

Thanks for checking back, I'm leaving it open ~just in case~ someone wings in with another reply. 🙂

I did indeed post it as a suggestion, thanks for the link, still new to this community.

I must have joined a hundred Forums over the years, in every imaginable field from Nuclear Engineering, to Flame Glass working to healing a sick Quaker (the BIRD, not a PERSON, LOL)! Each Forum is like moving to a new town, different rules, different layout, different editor, it can be dizzying! 

[anil_mistry]

Hi @dumbmail101,

Thank you so much for your reply. That's fine we can leave this thread open for now. Please, let me know if you have any other question or concern. 

Thank you and have a great day!

[TomislavGolubovic]

ITS US$300 a year for a licence, that's not out of reach, less than a $1 a day.

Also, Education gets licences for free, so students shouldn't have to worry.

[dumbmail101]

@TomislavGolubovic

Hi Tomis!

Thanks for the feedback, but I strongly disagree.

"It's only $1US a day" is a classic SALES technique to soften the blow of an expensive product or service; all the large companies use it.

It's STILL $300 US dollars, which may be an inconsequential amount of money to YOU, but it's not for many, and I'd venture to say over 80% of the world's population, so your statement is a slightly arrogant or condescending reply.

I'm NOT attacking you, just pointing out your reply looks different from this end than what you probably intended. 🙂

Let's break this down:

Student:

As for the Student fee, that's great, but it's not altruistic. Most big companies recognize the opportunity to expose their product to (usually) young people to develop a loyal following, it's a brilliant move. Does it help allow the Student to accomplish their life goals? Yep. That's why it's brilliant!

HOWEVER.

Once the Student graduates, they lose the license. Now they have to pony up $300, EVERY YEAR, an enormous price to a recent grad who probably owes $50K for their education. 

Let's say they decide to do a Startup with their newfound skills. What's their budget? Well, it sure can't support popping out an extra $300/year while they work flipping burgers or, if they're particularly talented, in an entry level job in their field. To them it's a LOT of money, and an ongoing one.

Hobbyist:

If someone buys a 3D printer for a small hobby, as a huge number of people are doing, they will usually get a machine under $500US. They then quickly find that those machines aren't well built, and need a number of Mods to get them going, as well as a lot of filament, nozzles, etc, etc, etc, ad nauseum.

Those can nearly double their costs. I know, I followed that route, and found many others who are doing so too. For me, it's fun. I'm very mechanical, and have been an Electronics Tech for 47 years, Computer Tech for 37 years.

BUT.  IT'S.  A.  HOBBY.

I still have a budget, and it certainly does NOT include sending Autodesk $300US a year, that's more than half what I paid for the printer, and doesn't even include the costs to setup a proper scanner. Yeah, I know, you can use a Cell phone. Blah Blah. It's STILL going to cost more money, even if you go lo-tech.  At some point you'll become discouraged with the low quality you're getting and MORE money will be spent to upgrade the hardware. At some point, it becomes out of reach financially for many, and I mean many.

Autodesk realized this when they created the Student / Startup licensing fee plan for Fusion 360. As a result, it's quickly becoming the "go to" for many 3D hobbyists and Startup companies, with a $100K / year income cap.

If you start down the road to designing 3D objects, ReCap is the next logical step. I'm simply lobbing for Autodesk to consider making it available to those who are not using it in any real commercial way, as they did with 360.

Thanks again for the feedback, it gave me a chance to flesh out my point. Have a great day, and smile, Summer's coming 'down under' !! 🙂

[TomislavGolubovic]

It's not condescending at all. It's how it is when you break it down. We could talk about anything having an annual fee. Let's look at car registration. If, for arguments sake, your car registration is US$300 per year, so you could say the same thing for car ownership. It's an added fee to let you use the car on the road. Less than $1 a day to have the car registered. Same for car insurance. If that's US$600 a year, then breaking it down it's less than $2 a day. I don't know how else to put it. It is what it is. It's not a sales technique. It's the truth.

At the end of the day, if you need the software, and I'm not just saying this for our software, look at other companies who have subscription models, then you (and not you directly, I'll be general here and you meaning anyone who needs it) have to pay a subscription.

If the hobbyist model works for Fusion then great, so be it. But at this direct point in time, Recap, or the Collections for that matter don't have that license model.

And yes, summer is coming!

[Anonymous]

I'm sitting here at home on a Saturday wondering how to mod a slider part for my 3D printer. I was looking for a way to take an STL file and make it into a solid. I see a video on Autodesk Remake. The product is free or you can buy it for $30. Of course the video is 2 years old and I come to find out that "Remake" seems to have been replaced by ReCap. The disappointing thing is of course it's no longer free or $30. I may use it a few times a year. Certainly not now at $30/month or $300/year.

[Anonymous]

Tomislav, to give you another perspective on the issue:

You are Autodesk paid IT professional and $300 is something below your recognitive capability.

Same thing like CEO's doesn't notice $3K expense on their vacation.

There in CZE/EU that's monthly food budget for two - so that expense really counts.

It's not car that you need to drive to your job, where you earn your bread.

We're talking about hobby to make live less miserable.

[pendean]

We are still talking about a license for a software, aren't we? What the heck has that got to do with food budgets or cars for crying out loud, if you cannot afford this software go find a software you can afford.

Get back into focus: this is a forum for the RECAP software, nothing else.

[Anonymous]

This is topic related to license schemes of Recap software, discussing it's price is therefore ontopic, especially when we're talking about hobby segment

Your comment might be relevant for professionals, where that $300 should be part of price of their work and thus kinda irrelevant to anybody but their clients.

[dumbmail101]

@pendean - 

"We are still talking about a license for a software, aren't we? What the heck has that got to do with food budgets or cars for crying out loud, if you cannot afford this software go find a software you can afford."

Your aggressive and nasty reply to someone who is pointing out the realities of the world isn't appropriate here. The point is there are not lower cost solutions that actually work. Playing at agressive entitled elitist isn't needed here, glad to hear you're well-off enough to afford it, many are not.

"Get back into focus: this is a forum for the RECAP software, nothing else."

That's exactly what this thread is about, licencing fees for RECAP software, as a HOBBYIST. If you don't like the discussion, you're welcome to move on, while the rest of us have a thoughtful discussion on that subject.

[louisS3LYW]

I would support you in your queries about a hobbyist arrangement for ReCap.

I am a semi-charity with the social goal of spreading the word about 3D printing round the local county (Cornwall in England). I have done some workshop work on behalf of Fusion 360 and I have qualified as a small business for Fusion.

Recap is a much less friendly part of the Autodesk community. I am currently trying to scan a model bird for a blind contact who wants to be able to replicate it so other blind people can feel its shape. To do this kind of work, I have had to take a monthly subscription and invest in a $100 of credits, when I only need 12. I am with you. These are significant sums of money for people down here at the charitable/hobbyist/small business end of things.

My dealings with ReCap leave me feeling bitter. I watch comparative reviews and am desperate to find a cheaper alternative.

I think of two things: Firstly, there is the way that Fusion 360 works much more positively with the small players like me. Secondly, if Autodesk does need to charge, then Adobe have a business model where you subscribe to their Creative Cloud, which involves a monthly payment, but then gives you access to a whole suite of programmes including heavyweight ones such as Photoshop.

Given Autodesk's range of software, they could offer the same kind of deal. That might still be expensive for me, but I would he happier paying them.

[Anonymous]

Thank you Autodesk for all you do....You have a business to run!!  Thank you for allowing 360 for Hobbyist!! If I need ReCap, I will gladly pay your fee!!  Done rant...

[Anonymous]

I would love to see this! Even an "on-demand" option where I pay per model would be great, as I would realistically use it a couple times per year.

[nate2BHFS]

I'd also like to see a startup or hobbyist license. I have a project that involves machining a part to closely fit an existing organic surface that would greatly benefit from an accurate point mapping application. Unfortunately I can't justify the cost of purchasing a decent 3d scanner and $300 for an application I may only use a couple of times a year is a little much. It would be even better if there was integration with fusion360.