I have a Business subscription and use this program daily - it’s my most important tool for fabrication. I’ve been giving glowing references to anyone who asks. Now, Shapr3D LOCKED ME OUT OF MY DESIGNS WHEN I NEEDED THEM MOST.
I spent 6 months designing and building a complex steel structure with at least 10 different designs and countless shop drawings. As the construction lead for the project, I relied on Shapr3D heavily during the build process, as a paperless reference for how the hundreds of parts bolted together. Just as I did in the shop, I planned on using my iPad instead of paper to train the build crew about the bolting systems and parts diagrams. But there’s a catch: the build site was in a remote area with no cell signal or internet connection.
When it came time to actually install, I had expensive heavy equipment, ready to lift these huge things into place. I needed to show my operator how the structure bolted together, so I booted up my iPad to give him the 3D view. To my horror, I discovered that Shapr3D needed to check my subscription status on the internet, and had locked me out of 6 months of design work. What’s the point of having a totally portable design tool if it doesn’t work without an internet connection???
So now I had to manage a complex 3-week-long build, with a crew of 20 people, as the superintendent, without any drawings. All because I didn’t have an internet connection to check my subscription.
My biggest project to date using this program, and I had to do it all from memory while managing a crew that had no idea how it went together because I was locked out of my drawings. What about people who live on the road and do designs? Would you ever think that someone might use a handy portable device in a place that’s not tethered to the internet???
Some people use this product in the real world, not at a desk. I expected better.
@Yzzostudios, I sincerely apologize for your experience. We should do better than this. This must have been a very unfortunate coincidence - Shapr3D does require a network connection sometimes for license validation, but quite rarely. It’s very unfortunate that the license validation happened at the time when you did not have a network connection. That being said, we’ll look into this asap, and figure out something to make sure that this doesn’t happen to you again.
@SteSchmi , I understand that you are concerned about cloud services. This incident though is unrelated to the cloud. Even most legacy CAD systems need to access their licence servers sometimes, and if the licence server is not accessible for any reason, you won’t be able to use the software. This happened with @Yzzostudios as well, due to a very unfortunate coincidence of events.
I’m getting scared now…!
Can it not validate at a time when the software is not being used and when a signal is available, during a wide validation window.
Something similar to iPad backing up when you’re connected to the power source and a WiFi.
If I’d just paid for the yearly subscription, would this have happened? It was seriously embarrassing. I imagine others could experience this too. Imagine someone building an off-grid cabin, for example.
This was not a situation where I could just get internet. The nearest cell signal or wifi was far away, and I was running a job site and couldn’t get away anyway.
What if I wanted to hide out on a mountain somewhere to avoid internet distractions and focus on my designs? Not everyone who uses this program wants to be tethered to the internet 24/7.
