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FE software, can it be that cheap...??

FE software, can it be that cheap...??

FE software, can it be that cheap...??

(OP)
Dear All,

I googled the web and found this:

Download Ansys AI-Nastran 1.0
Buy cheap OEM Ansys AI-Nastran 1.0 downloadable

$45 Buy Http >>

And the site : http://www.cheap-software-megastore.com/index.php?target=desc&progid=1771

I would appreciate if somebody could tell me whether you really can get this software for this price? Because I learned from one of the thread that FE software can cost from 10 to 50 K $....

RE: FE software, can it be that cheap...??

Quote:

You cannot get updates or technical support from soft manufactorer

Quote:

A) You are required to own an original copy of the title you intend to backup, if you sell or give away the original copy, you will either, (A) Destroy that backup or (B) Give the backup to the pers on receiving the original. This law extends to PC and basically anything that consists of copyable data for backup purposes.
I'm guessing that when your copy doesn't work, they will refer you to the terms and conditions and keep your $45...but that's just a guess...

RE: FE software, can it be that cheap...??

The link above is blocked by my IT department as "Illegal or Questionable". That should give you some indication as to the site's reputation.

RE: FE software, can it be that cheap...??

I would say that you can't get a legal copy that cheap.

Regards

Thomas

RE: FE software, can it be that cheap...??

As already stated, it is an illegal copy.

Some free structural softwares here:

http://www.structural-engineering.fsnet.co.uk/free.htm

Alternatively, you can download for free a 300 node demo version of Femap/Nastran to get familiar with the program

RE: FE software, can it be that cheap...??

Hi,
Confirmed, it's a site which sells illegal cracked copies.

Sites like that exist in billions, provided that you have a password to enter them... (How did you manage to have this?... winky smile )

RE: FE software, can it be that cheap...??

FEMdude

I downloaded Framework from this free site, but for the life of me cannot work out what it does?  Can you?

Thanks !

RE: FE software, can it be that cheap...??

FEMdude, my demo of Femap/Nastran is only 200 nodes, where do you get a 300 node demo?

Cheers

Greg Locock

SIG:Please see FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

RE: FE software, can it be that cheap...??

Greg, I got 300-node version from NeiNastran and from UGS (Femap). At least the current 9.3x version gives installation options "stand alone" or "300-nodes demo".

RE: FE software, can it be that cheap...??

Greg, I have a "full" Femap version that can also be run in demo-mode. That means a 300 node limit. I have actually never heard of a 200 node limit for Femap.

Regards

Thomas

RE: FE software, can it be that cheap...??

Hmm. well to be honest mine is MSC Nastran for Windows v1, but I'm pretty sure my demo disk for FEMAP 7 didn't have a solver.

Thanks anyway.

Cheers

Greg Locock

SIG:Please see FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

RE: FE software, can it be that cheap...??

Just to be clear.

When I said Femap I meant Femap only. There is no solver included. There might be an NX Nastran demo on the disc but since I use NEiNastran I have not installed it. I think the node limit for demo in NEiNastran is 300 but I'm not sure.

Regards

Thomas

RE: FE software, can it be that cheap...??

To quote from the site:

"Our company purchases software from various venues. Such places include: overstock, auctions, closeouts, companies going out of business. We provide great prices because we purchase them low prices! Also we provide downloadable software, so we do not spend money for shipping and our products become even cheaper."

I've bought software before too that was extremely cheap because the software prodcuers were trying to get rid of older versions that had been superceded. This might be the case here too.

corus

RE: FE software, can it be that cheap...??

corus:

I say Femap v9.3 64 bit at $45 (and that is the current version). Patran 2007 at $50 and MSC.Nastran 2007 at $50.
Autocad 2008 at $60.

I can't be absolutly sure but would be very surprised if they were authorized resellers from UGS, MSC, Autodesk or anybody else.

Regards

Thomas


RE: FE software, can it be that cheap...??

This is a pirate site. Do you really think software vendors want to sell old versions at greatly reduced prices? It's not like last year's cars sitting on a dealer's lot.

RE: FE software, can it be that cheap...??

Hi,
corus, sorry, this can not be the case. At least, not for anything related to Ansys. This is not a shareware software, when a company owing a license goes out of business, the license is returned to Ansys Inc. and definitively cleared out from the universe!!! A license of such softwares is NOT portable from one site to another, or even from one computer to another (if not by borrowing the license for a limited time period).
The mentioned site is definitively a "pirate" site. At least, it has to be considered so in all countries subjected to copyright laws. For example, in today's China such laws simply don't exist, so a site like that is  perfectly legal, what it does is legal and the copies you get are legal... in China only and only from Chinese Gov's point of view, of course!!!!!

RE: FE software, can it be that cheap...??

Well, I've known ANSYS sell off old versions before with the proviso that there was no technical support for the product. I also was given the ANSYS-ed version free by ANSYS for attending one of their training courses, many moons ago. I think Nastran have sold off some of their older versions too in the past, and I also have a free copy of Nastran (limited to a few hundred nodes). Basically they had these older versions and wanted to get rid of them so selling them off cheap with no support was one way of making a little extra money. Why you don't see that so often these days I have no idea. Maybe it's because they make more on the annual licence/maintenance fee than on the product? Who knows. Saying that the copies do seem to be recent, which makes you think...

corus

RE: FE software, can it be that cheap...??

Refer to the "terms and conditions".  Besides the fact that there are several mis-spelled words, you could drive a truck through all the caveats that they put in them.  You have to own the license, apparently with a current maintenance contract.  This tells me that you have to have all the proper access codes and this is an upgrade to which you probably already have the rights.  The only reasons allowed for returning the software is that the software itself is physically damaged OR that the company from which you are purchasing this software agrees to accept the return.  It sounds to me like you pay $45 and get nothing...

RE: FE software, can it be that cheap...??

(OP)
Guys,

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions.
And corus, thanks also for being honest...
But, where did you buy your software?
From a similar site?

I have checked the site with McAfee Site Advisor and it said: "Feedback from credible users indicates an overall concern with shopping at this site."

I wonder who would the "credible source" be ?

Too good to be true, but still tempting as usual...
Has anybody tried?


RE: FE software, can it be that cheap...??

The old versions of software that were being sold (I didn't buy it at that time) was sold by ANSYS and by Nastran at that time, but it was a limited time period offer.
Why the software people don't sell off older versions at dirt cheap prices I don't know, as they must have recouped all of their design costs over the years, and it would encourage people to buy the software and perhaps upgrade to later, more expensive products for which they could again make loads of money from the product/support, and from training etc.

corus

RE: FE software, can it be that cheap...??

FYI I found this on the web site http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/findsoftware/f/oemsoftware.htm

"Is it legal to install an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) version of software on a computer other than the one on which the software came?
OEM software is only distributed when sold with specified accompanying hardware. When these programs are copied and/or sold separately from the hardware, it is a violation of the license with the software publisher, and therefore illegal."

So there you have it.

corus

RE: FE software, can it be that cheap...??

I agree it is an "illegal site".

I appreciate that using pirated software is wrong and its priced the way it is because of development costs, but consider this;
Here on this side of the pond we loose orders because it is cheaper to resource both materials, labour and design in the far east. Now this may be called fair competition, except that there are some well equipped design houses in the far east with all the latest software design tools. Why?, because there are no copyright laws over there

RE: FE software, can it be that cheap...??

Hi,
6060842, yes this may be a problem. But it's not a reason why you would become an illegal user if your country does have piracy laws. China (just to make an example I know directly) does not have such regulations. BUT the software houses themselves could claim for illegal use of their software (as they do have international copy-RIGHTS) and take consequent actions. In fact, I think they should. They probably don't because they hope to create a potentially-infinite bassin of new users which are able to use their software and will "push" their company to buy the software they already know, should one day their country adopt some kind of piracy regulation. Think of it: that's what happened in the early '80s with the earth-wide diffusion of AutoCad. Why Autodesk didn't make serious efforts to ban illegal users? The reason was clear after 10 years: beginning of piracy laws, everybody knew how to use AutoCad -> AutoCad became a "standard de facto" of the 2D CAD world.
Regards

RE: FE software, can it be that cheap...??

cbrn

Agree with your point about China and I hadn't considered the Autocad case. I thought it was down to the fact that all other 2D CAD at the time was inferior.

I personally think that software houses turn a blind eye to students using pirate copies for exactly the same reason, so they in turn encourage future employers to use software they are familiar with.

I think software should be made cheaper for the student/indivdual user to learn so long as it is heavily caveated with;

"If thou make money from this software, thou shall go straight to hell !"

Tom

RE: FE software, can it be that cheap...??

You always get what you pay for.

RE: FE software, can it be that cheap...??

Well only one way to find out.

Try and see only $45 to lose.  Maybe you have tried already ?  Never know if you dont give it a go !

RE: FE software, can it be that cheap...??

Quote:

Try and see only $45 to lose

Unless it is a phishing site, in which case you stand to lose a lot more!

RE: FE software, can it be that cheap...??

That's not what I would call a phishing site, where you give people your bank details etc. If you pay by credit card to download the software and if the goods don't arrive then you can claim the money back from the credit card company, who will then either pursue the individual/company or have them blocked from future transactions. Paying by credit card is one of the safest ways of paying for goods on the internet.

corus

RE: FE software, can it be that cheap...??

Googling suggests the site is a scam.

http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:qUa5S4ygzOgJ:www.talkgraphics.com/showthread.php%3Fp%3D171084+www.cheap-software-megastore.com&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=5&gl=uk

Quote

"Thanks for your help , sadly it appears i've been had  after buying or believing I was buying it appears the site I downloaded it from is nothing more than a scam.

Not only do they take your money without providing you a serial number they also have a virus hidden in the set up called Hacktool the company url is http://www.cheap-software-megastore.com/"

RE: FE software, can it be that cheap...??

I'm astonished that an illegal website would spark so many messages around it. It's not even worth a second look, much less to be looked into further.

I think if it's about getting legal free or low cost FEM software, the ace would be the Code Aster solver, it's unbelievably awesome & free. A lot of the other free software or lower priced software (someone already posted one site, a Google search points to another excellent listing at www.freebyte.com/cad/fea.htm ), but none of them can hold a flame to Code Aster. Someone even wrapped it up with a pre& post for a convenient install at www.caelinux.com .

Like penny stocks, you'll find some on the freebyte page, that can be had for a dollarstore rate of under $ 50, but their element libraries are limited. Astonishingly, an old linear German code, called LISA which used to be priced between Eur 800 - 2000, is now under new ownership that's practically giving it away for free, actually $ 50.

I believe we are going to see this happen more and more to vendors in the future as the open source paradigm starts challenging propreitary software makers pound for pound. ANSYS has a choke-hold on the industry, like Microsoft on desktops. We need more codes like Code Aster who can compete against ANSYS to push their prices downward, and to tear up their one-way street licensing terms. The same thing applies to all the other vendors - we need to embrace quality open source FEM codes so that vendors of propreitary software are forced from a shrinking client base, to price their products downward and eliminate their restrictive licensing policies.

The future is open source. The future is free software.

RE: FE software, can it be that cheap...??

(OP)
CM400T,

I do not agree with you CM. The discussion worth every bit of it, at least for myself, and if I may see myself as being part of the FE community. After reading all the given comments the message is simple: share of information and a reflection and a review of our stand point. And it is not only about the illegal site, but the whole software industry and the community themselves. We agree that there is no such thing as being black or white, but still it should not be use as an excuse. If this should be specific for the FE community, I think simply, it is because of the need and the common  feeling of helplessness and grieveness to realize that after all these years of development, FE softwares are still expensive while in the mean time FEA knowledge and experience is becoming an avoidable requirement especially for structure engineers.

"The future is open source. The future is free software."

Not for the sake of being free only, but for being fair.

RE: FE software, can it be that cheap...??

Hi,
in addition, I'd like to point out that the main cost of a modern FEA package is mainly split into three factors:
1) robustness of the algorythms. Everybody is able to self-program a valid FE code for solving 1-D elements in the linear domain. It's probably one of the easiest "things" to program in engineering. But when you begin to deal with non-linears, contact interactions, composite materials, multi-layer elements, birth-and-death, adaptive meshes, etc etc etc, and in addition all this "thing" must be optimized in order not to take millenia to solve, you can imagine the effort of the development people.
2) support. Have a problem with Ansys you can't get out of? No problem: apart from the fact that being one of the most known programs you can find a very huge users' comunity to help you, in "extreme" cases you have two levels of support: your reseller, and the main Company itself. You pay for it, but that makes a lot of difference wrt a "free" software (most of which is univ-born, so would you write e-mails directly to the teachers, researchers and students? Sometimes it may work, but usually...)
3) user interface. OK, this may not be a problem any more nowadays 'cause there are several pre- and post- already programmed and compiled by the "free comunity" which do a good (or at least acceptable) job.

Anyway, just because of the first two points you can not simply take a good free solver and claim that it would save the world instead of commercial packages such as Abaqus, Ansys and some others... It would save YOUR world and money UNTIL you run into one of their weaknesses (every program has some bug). Should this happen, good luck: it would be you and the program...

Regards

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