Thread: nx pricing or where are you getting 'reasonable' from

Hello.
I read a few times here that people are able to get a seat of nx for not much more than solidworks costs or at least under 10k. Can you please tell me where you are able to pay so little. The two places that quoted me were both above 10k. No cam nothing too fancy.

Originally Posted by plutoniumsalmon

Hello.
I read a few times here that people are able to get a seat of nx for not much more than solidworks costs or at least under 10k. Can you please tell me where you are able to pay so little. The two places that quoted me were both above 10k. No cam nothing too fancy.

My second-hand info is from several years ago, but for one seat of basic modelling/drafting it was considerably north of that ($16 ish IIRC)--perhaps that has changed. Maybe if someone is buying a number of seats. I quit paying maintenance about 10 years ago NX6..still use my seat on an XP computer, and still can do virtually everthing (useful) on Unigraphics V18 as NX6, and I never found the technical support to be of any significant benefit (been using UG/NX (modelling) since 1995, the seat that I bought in circa 2000 was $18k (~212/month maintenance that we paid for 9 years). I really like the flexibility and capabilities.

I'm still using NX2, and it does everything I need it to do

Pirate dvd store. It's about a buck or six bits.

Have a unigraphics 16 somewhere, same price. Haven't managed to get it running yet tho. On the to-do list ...

Originally Posted by plutoniumsalmon

Hello.
I read a few times here that people are able to get a seat of nx for not much more than solidworks costs or at least under 10k. Can you please tell me where you are able to pay so little. The two places that quoted me were both above 10k. No cam nothing too fancy.

The NX CAD side is more expensive than SolidWorks if you buy it as a standalone seat. I am sure it always will be, and it is absolutely worth the price premium of a few $k (IMHO, and I was a SolidWorks user for 14 years).

NX becomes a much better deal when you price out SolidWorks + a high-end CAM package like MasterCAM or Esprit. Judging from my quotes from early this year, I basically paid $2k more for my NX CAD/CAM seat than what those guys wanted for standalone, comparable CAM. Given that SolidWorks wanted $4500 just to bring my 2017 seat up to maintenance (after I lapsed), I went with NX.

I subsequently have fallen so enamored with NX CAD that I'll never go back to SolidWorks, even if they brought the prices way down.

I really like it too. A lot of it just makes sense. Unfortunately the price is a little steep.

Originally Posted by EmanuelGoldstein

Pirate dvd store. It's about a buck or six bits.

Have a unigraphics 16 somewhere, same price. Haven't managed to get it running yet tho. On the to-do list ...

Aside from the ethical aspect of using pirated (stolen) software, better be careful about the legal aspects of using it. I have an acquaintance with a small company, one of the employees bought/downloaded a pirated version of NX off the internet somewhere. Several months later, they get a letter from Siemens legal department saying they owe them about $40 K (two seats of NX + a year of maintenance for each) to avoid legal action. They ended up agreeing on purchasing one seat + ongoing mantenance (a pretty fair resoloution). No one really figured out how they found out, whether it was a plant, or a file got back around from a vendor, etc.
Another incident was a friend works for a medium sized tech company, they use ProE, with their PDM system (quite a few seats). One of their vendors in China was using pirated ProE, the files were flagged in their PDM system and a bunch of lawyers descended on the company.
So, if people are using stolen software, better not be sending files to anyone.

Originally Posted by gkoenig

The NX CAD side is more expensive than SolidWorks if you buy it as a standalone seat. I am sure it always will be, and it is absolutely worth the price premium of a few $k (IMHO, and I was a SolidWorks user for 14 years).

NX becomes a much better deal when you price out SolidWorks + a high-end CAM package like MasterCAM or Esprit. Judging from my quotes from early this year, I basically paid $2k more for my NX CAD/CAM seat than what those guys wanted for standalone, comparable CAM. Given that SolidWorks wanted $4500 just to bring my 2017 seat up to maintenance (after I lapsed), I went with NX.

I subsequently have fallen so enamored with NX CAD that I'll never go back to SolidWorks, even if they brought the prices way down.

I checked a few years ago, and at that time they told me that I could get another node-locked license file for my old version of NX for $1000 (in case, for example, you need to install it on another computer). This is just to activate the version that I stopped paying maintenance at. Of course no support to install it (on XP), but i've done that multiple times, and still have all the original installation CD's. I have the PC running it backed up with RAID drives, recapped the PCB, and have a duplicate PC, so theoretically, unless the processor goes kaput, the NX version on the XP computer should be usable into the foreseeable future, and that PC NEVER gets connected to the internet.

Originally Posted by car2

Aside from the ethical aspect of using pirated (stolen) software, better be careful about the legal aspects of using it.

Tell 'em to come get me

btw, I'll tell you what's stolen - the $1500 I paid for DesignWave.

Originally Posted by EmanuelGoldstein

Tell 'em to come get me

btw, I'll tell you what's stolen - the $1500 I paid for DesignWave.

Siemens is notorious about going after pirated copies of NX. They have multiple anti-piracy systems in place, including a chain of custody for every NX file. You can run it on an air gapped system, but the second a .prt file that a pirated copy touches hits a licensed seat? Siemens will have the IP/MAC address and system info for every seat that touched the file.

Originally Posted by gkoenig

Siemens is notorious about going after pirated copies of NX.

In certain areas of the world where they have not bought off the local government, they do not do this

Originally Posted by EmanuelGoldstein

In certain areas of the world where they have not bought off the local government, they do not do this

Agreed, I don't think they set foot in China. Out of all the factories I have been in I have never seen a licensed seat. When I was teaching at the Gaungdond/Zhongshan Poly Tech they gave every student a pirated copy of NX. They just run down to the computer science lab and get about any CAD/CAM you can imagine installed then back to class. I was astounded, over 1500 students all running around with over $50 grand a person in stolen software and Siemens didn't bat an eye.

Originally Posted by g-coder05

Agreed, I don't think they set foot in China. Out of all the factories I have been in I have never seen a licensed seat.

I know a place that bought Euclid on an Indigo2. Cost them $70,000. Wish I'd kept track of them, it would be fun to play with.

They just run down to the computer science lab and get about any CAD/CAM you can imagine installed then back to class.

Hard to find I-DEAS. I been looking forever ...

I was astounded, over 1500 students all running around with over $50 grand a person in stolen software and Siemens didn't bat an eye.

Define "stolen" "Copied" would be more accurate ... bits don't cost anything and copying them doesn't hurt the original. Siemens wants to sell controls and CAT scanners and all kinds of real stuff. They didn't write NX anyhow, what do they care ?

Originally Posted by car2

Aside from the ethical aspect of using pirated (stolen) software, better be careful about the legal aspects of using it. I have an acquaintance with a small company, one of the employees bought/downloaded a pirated version of NX off the internet somewhere. Several months later, they get a letter from Siemens legal department saying they owe them about $40 K (two seats of NX + a year of maintenance for each) to avoid legal action. They ended up agreeing on purchasing one seat + ongoing mantenance (a pretty fair resoloution). No one really figured out how they found out, whether it was a plant, or a file got back around from a vendor, etc.
Another incident was a friend works for a medium sized tech company, they use ProE, with their PDM system (quite a few seats). One of their vendors in China was using pirated ProE, the files were flagged in their PDM system and a bunch of lawyers descended on the company.
So, if people are using stolen software, better not be sending files to anyone.

Originally Posted by EmanuelGoldstein

...Define "stolen" "Copied" would be more accurate ... bits don't cost anything and copying them doesn't hurt the original. Siemens wants to sell controls and CAT scanners and all kinds of real stuff. They didn't write NX anyhow, what do they care ?

Intellectual property has value and there is no mistaking that fact, there is no grey area; period. If you disagree I think you should try to pirate and re-sell Microsoft product and see how well that works out for you.

NX clients and network license servers call home; no secrets there but Chinese companies do it all the time. A few years ago we sent someone as a part of group to tour Chinese facilities. One site pointed out they had 50 seats each of NX and Creo. They proudly stated that fact and were also proud they hadn't paid anything to get it. I was so fuming at that point, not to mention the government subsidized material for mold building. Not fair trade in my book.

It is definitely illegal to pirate software and you definitely run the risk of your business being forcefully shut down when you get pinched. It happened to a local company a while back who pirated at least 6, possibly up to 10, seat of MC. Local police showed up one morning with a Fed accompanying them. They seized every computer on site as well as backup media, told everyone to go home, locked all the doors and put up no admittance signs at every point of entrance. The last I heard was the owners avoided jail time only by way of a plea arrangement which included compensating the software company, a long probation period and paying very, very large fines.

Originally Posted by Qwan

It is definitely illegal to pirate software and you definitely run the risk of your business being forcefully shut down when you get pinched. It happened to a local company a while back who pirated at least 6, possibly up to 10, seat of MC. Local police showed up one morning with a Fed accompanying them. They seized every computer on site as well as backup media, told everyone to go home, locked all the doors and put up no admittance signs at every point of entrance. The last I heard was the owners avoided jail time only by way of a plea arrangement which included compensating the software company, a long probation period and paying very, very large fines.

Yippee ! The US is the new Soviet Union ! Into the boxcars with you, tvaritshch !

"Intellectual property" is a myth. There is no such thing. You are suckers.

Originally Posted by Qwan

Intellectual property has value and there is no mistaking that fact, there is no grey area; period. If you disagree I think you should try to pirate and re-sell Microsoft product and see how well that works out for you.

NX clients and network license servers call home; no secrets there but Chinese companies do it all the time. A few years ago we sent someone as a part of group to tour Chinese facilities. One site pointed out they had 50 seats each of NX and Creo. They proudly stated that fact and were also proud they hadn't paid anything to get it. I was so fuming at that point, not to mention the government subsidized material for mold building. Not fair trade in my book.

It is definitely illegal to pirate software and you definitely run the risk of your business being forcefully shut down when you get pinched. It happened to a local company a while back who pirated at least 6, possibly up to 10, seat of MC. Local police showed up one morning with a Fed accompanying them. They seized every computer on site as well as backup media, told everyone to go home, locked all the doors and put up no admittance signs at every point of entrance. The last I heard was the owners avoided jail time only by way of a plea arrangement which included compensating the software company, a long probation period and paying very, very large fines.

/QUOTE? Yippee ! The US is the new Soviet Union ! Into the boxcars with you, tvaritshch !

"Intellectual property" is a myth. There is no such thing. You are suckers. /QUOTE

Please don't feed the EG troll.

Originally Posted by Qwan

Intellectual property has value and there is no mistaking that fact, there is no grey area; period. If you disagree I think you should try to pirate and re-sell Microsoft product and see how well that works out for you.

NX clients and network license servers call home; no secrets there but Chinese companies do it all the time. A few years ago we sent someone as a part of group to tour Chinese facilities. One site pointed out they had 50 seats each of NX and Creo. They proudly stated that fact and were also proud they hadn't paid anything to get it. I was so fuming at that point, not to mention the government subsidized material for mold building. Not fair trade in my book.

It is definitely illegal to pirate software and you definitely run the risk of your business being forcefully shut down when you get pinched. It happened to a local company a while back who pirated at least 6, possibly up to 10, seat of MC. Local police showed up one morning with a Fed accompanying them. They seized every computer on site as well as backup media, told everyone to go home, locked all the doors and put up no admittance signs at every point of entrance. The last I heard was the owners avoided jail time only by way of a plea arrangement which included compensating the software company, a long probation period and paying very, very large fines.

As described above in my previous post, US companies using Chinese vendors using stolen software can have issues when those pirated files make it into their systems.

Originally Posted by car2

/QUOTE? Yippee ! The US is the new Soviet Union ! Into the boxcars with you, tvaritshch !

"Intellectual property" is a myth. There is no such thing. You are suckers. /QUOTE

Please don't feed the EG troll.

Basic computer language lesson - you have to use punctuation in pairs, as () and [ ] and { } and < > . If you leave one end open it doesn't work.

Just because people don't agree with you doesn't make them a troll ... altho it does give me some pleasure to laugh at the fantasy that copying software is "theft".

If they didn't want secrets "stolen" then they shouldn't leave them out in the open. The guilds understood that all the way back in the Middle Ages. Plus it's not theft if the original owner is not missing anything, beyond his fantasies of how much he would have made if aliens landed on the roof. Hell, if I were a Hilton then I'd never have to work again. My birthright was stolen !

This subject will only get worse. Autodesk told me a couple years ago it was illegal for me to continue using my AutoCad. It was purchased and licenced in 2006, I have the original boxes, CD's, pretty sure I even have the receipt, and it is still installed on the original computer. They said I did not purchase a perpetual license, and would need create subscription and update my maintenance package. They were willing to make a deal to me for like $2300. I laughed and hung up the phone.

Solidworks quoted me $6400 for Solidworks and CAM Standard. CAM Professional brings that up to $11,500. They really bend you over at $1000 per post. $2000 per post if you require 4th simultaneous.

I have a serious problem with the whole maintenance concept. This was new to me when I got Solidworks and Inventor quoted. I asked both salesmen, "So you want to sell me a product that you can't guarantee works, but want me to pay several thousand dollars a year for you to fix it?"

Question for you gkoenig, can you install and use NX with no internet connection?

My design computer has always been stand alone. No connection to the internet. That is probably why it still works 13 years later. Currently the Dell's I use last 12-18 months before they fry a hard drive or cook the motherboard.

Originally Posted by Fal Grunt

This subject will only get worse. Autodesk told me a couple years ago it was illegal for me to continue using my AutoCad. It was purchased and licenced in 2006, I have the original boxes, CD's, pretty sure I even have the receipt, and it is still installed on the original computer. They said I did not purchase a perpetual license, and would need create subscription and update my maintenance package. They were willing to make a deal to me for like $2300. I laughed and hung up the phone.

Solidworks quoted me $6400 for Solidworks and CAM Standard. CAM Professional brings that up to $11,500. They really bend you over at $1000 per post. $2000 per post if you require 4th simultaneous.

I have a serious problem with the whole maintenance concept. This was new to me when I got Solidworks and Inventor quoted. I asked both salesmen, "So you want to sell me a product that you can't guarantee works, but want me to pay several thousand dollars a year for you to fix it?"

Question for you gkoenig, can you install and use NX with no internet connection?

My design computer has always been stand alone. No connection to the internet. That is probably why it still works 13 years later. Currently the Dell's I use last 12-18 months before they fry a hard drive or cook the motherboard.

That is ridiculous!! No reason a 3 axis post shouldn't be included. Heck, we *only* paid $4k for a 5 aixs post which included full machine simulation, for Mastercam thru postability.