Seems like part of the reason it lags, even on newer hardware is that they aren’t taking advantage of the full processor. Even on my M4 Pro MacBook Pro, you can watch the CPU hit 100% and sit while it’s doing something whereas, a true multithreaded application would be using all cores and I’d see ~1200-1300% cpu like you do with things like Handbrake.
As much as I hate the slow downs, to me, the pricing is still the thing that heavily irritates me and has me looking at alternatives. I’m not using Shapr for work. I’m not selling things. I just like making things for around the house and generally tinkering with modeling and 3d printing. That being the case, $40/mo or $300/annually is still quite expensive for someone that’s just wanting to use it as a hobby but they seem to not remotely care about pricing for hobbyists. “We can’t find a pricing structure that works for hobby”. Well.. then I hope WAY more of your customers are using it for business and ok with your prices because, if you can’t fix some of the issues, the hobbyists are still paying, won’t stick around and then you’ll be without a price plan and a job.
The bad thing is though, the alternatives typically don’t run well or at all on an iPad. I’ve REALLY come to like using my iPad Pro with Shapr. Then there’s also things like.. you wanna talk about crap performance.. even on this brand new M4 Pro MacBook Pro, Fusion360 is super slow to start, and just doesn’t feel smooth at all.
Agreed. But it lacks critual features like being able to have more than one file open, linked components (modifying a separate file will update it’s incidence in another file where it’s embedded), proper textured previews with decent lighting. - Like Autodesk Fusion! So we now create rough concepts in Shapr3D then move over to Fusion to do the big boy stuff. The real annoyance is not being able to see logos and other bitmap or png artwork on Rendered models.
And Shapr3D is very expensive, almost as much as the full Adobe CC suite. It needs to decide what it is, else Shapr3D will go the way of the Amiga.
Totally agree with you… The hobby / 3D printing community has been requesting a light version of Shapr where models can be exported with a high resolution. People would be willing to pay for a light version that doesn’t have all the professional features + no support from shapr… Yet they somehow manage to ignore this request.
It is amazing when companies bitch about their software being pirated yet when people even specifically tell them they would pay for it, if their requirements are met, they simply ignore the community.
I couldn‘t agree more! This app has become weird! It used to be a simple well thought out app that worked pretty well. But the latest version have become more and more complex and things that used to work earlier do not work anymore and old problems have not been solved yet. Is there a new team/lead who does not understand what the benefits of the earlier app was?
Sorry, but this is not true. Basically EVERY item has a name. Even if it is not named by you, Shapr does that. And still, even if you name it, you get suggestions that repeat the chosen name like 3 times, making useless suggestions what to select.
This can happen if we select a multiple connected corner (which I think is unrealistic) but here I also get the description I renamed. Of course, this can still be improved, for example, if I select a row, it is highlighted, if it is good, then a check mark at the end of the row.. I think the direction is good, because it is easier than hiding and unhiding the bodies if I want to change it a little..
When selecting sketches, where to define points on a line, one needs to draw another line over it - this is (at least my) problem: It shows you a view with: Line 1, Line 4, etc. To be honest, I’d like to turn this feature off, at least for sketch mode.
That is exactly how I feel and how I expressed it couple weeks ago here.
When they started to “improve” the app, I dared to criticize it here several times (also e.g. the removal of the possibility - apart from the visualization - to mark parts in color). I was “silenced” twice for this by having my forum account frozen. Today they no longer seem to care what gets written here - I assume that they no longer even read it …
My hope is Shapr solve Creative Challenges instead of engineering challenges. Creatives are on the Mac and iPad. I can go on windows if I need Solidworks or NX.
I’m using Shapr for work and I’m strongly considering switching to a different program. The main issue is how slow the program gets on (semi) complex models since the introduction of parametric history.
Features that are missing:
Customisable hotkeys
Components
Basic copy paste between files
A proper measuring tool without the limitations of fixed points
Features that make me want to switch to a different program:
Too many updates (which is showing that things are not under control and there are constant issues).
The folder organisation when you start copying or creating a pattern (everything ends up in one folder).
Issues when creating drawings (parts either don’t show up or old deleted elements show up).
Random moments when a tool doesn’t work even though you see the shape being created, but still getting an error.
The tools which need multiple clicks to use which can’t be done through a keyboard shortcut.
The jumping of the move tool in certain instances and the lack of control over the orientation.
When I started using Shapr some years ago I was excited about the promise of the program and the intent to create the best user experience. It truly seems that parametric history took the program in a direction where more time is being spent fixing issues than creating a better program and I can’t help but feel that’s because parametric history step was too ambitious and has simply not worked (ie is causing too many bugs).
Can you provide any examples where Shapr gets unreasonably slow with relatively simple models? Performance is our always our primary focus, we want to be the fastest. Have you reported these issues to our support team? We treat performance issues at the highest priority.
Custom hotkeys have been available since last year.
We’re just about to ship plenty of improvements in the measure tool. What do you miss exactly?
I was going to write a long rant, but there really isn’t a lot missing in Shapr3D that I miss. So, instead I tried figuring out why I was about to write a rant.
I my view, one of Shapr3D:s greatest strengths is how light and fast it feels compared to Fusion, yet so very manual at the same time. I would focus on rivaling the modeling capability with new tools that save users TIME. I know everything CAN be done manually, but at some point you get tired of a 3-step process when other apps offer a single step operation. This seems to be the most common ask in the forum.
I just feel like Shapr3D has stood still for quite some time on the modeling front. I’m sure the team is working really hard on a lot of great stuff, but do users really want new materials rather than new modeling operations? Visualization looks good n all, but I rarely use it. Is it widely used?
Who are your target users? Is it hobbyists that 3D print gadgets or professionals that draft parts for manufacturing? I would pick a feature for your largest user group and implement this better than your competition.
An example for 3D printing enthusiasts:
Instead of “just” implementing a standard thread tool - Implement Threads for 3D printing as an option, Find out what works and make it the best tool for 3d printed threads. Add a tool for adding a snap fit thing or whatever. Add a layer analysis tool to identify weak spots. Go all in.
If it’s professional product designers, then add tools for draft angles, mounting bosses etc. to rival Fusions Design addition. Pick something and make it great. Right now it feels like you are trying to catch up on 50 different things at the same time with all the minor releases and updates, adding stuff that don’t seem to be widely requested.
Well. I ranted. Sorry.
Have a nice day, hope to see some great new features in the future!
Brand new to the 3D design software realm. Like literally last week I started with Tinkercad. Yep, very easy to use but yep, found the limitations VERY quickly. This week, I’m trying Shapr and although it has been frustrating to learn to interface, I felt like I was getting somewhere and might have stumbled across my ideal package. But then tonight, the file seems to have corrupted with random triangles appearing in the middle of my box project running at all sorts of weird angles. I also really don’t like the Cloud Only file management. I want to save my files locally, thanks.
But the question to all you in here that have way more experience than me… So, what are the alternatives that run on Mac or Linux? Are they as easy or steeper learning curves?
Much appreciate any pointers to the next piece of software to try.
