How many Inventor Licenses/seats available?

[Stu Bloom]

I asked this question in the CAD/Inventor forum and have gotten no response ... please help !

I have heard varying reports about the number of seats of Inventor software that are actually "donated" to FIRST teams. It just does not make sense to me that Autodesk would only supply one license per team ... why bother? There is no way to get any significant amount of work done in the time frame we are allowed, with only one license. The extra seats don't cost them anything and they would have many more advocates out in their marketplace if more students were using their product(s). I am very interested in hearing opinions/methods that other teams have "used". Specifically if there is truly a limit of one copy per team (as absurd as that seems) and/or what is the method of obtaining additional VALID/LEGAL licenses. Thanks! - by the way, see my post about Pro/DESKTOP Express software HERE for another great FREE option.

[JVN]

Stu,
I am sorry that no one has replied yet.

I honestly have no idea, and cannot answer your question. I will look into how we do things on 229, and get back to you.

Hopefully some other moderator will be more helpful than I am.



John

[Clark Gilbert]

I would imagine as many as you need. One thing I've noticed about Inventor is that you can install it, but you don't necessarily have to register it. All you do is install it on a computer and then run it. A box comes up that says "Authorization Wizard" with the options, "Authorize Autodesk Inventor Series 6" or "Run Autodesk Inventor Series 6", then just click the "run" one and "next" and the program loads. This would let you run it on as many computers as you need I think but I'm not sure how legal it really is.

[Ken Leung]

I feel really stupid for saying this, but it seems to me there is two obvious ways you can get more legal license for Inventor:

1. Buy more licenses
2. Get them donated

If you don't have the money to do so, then raise money from sponsors, or find another software that will donate more license to your team. I think that's what you are trying to ask, is where to get more licenses donated. Otherwise you wouldn't say valid/legal.

There are other software that can do what Inventor can do, Solidwork is a good example. I know for sure Solidwork have a great deal for workshops that teach you how to use the software, and may or may not include a deal to get you student copies. If you are motivated enough to post the same question twice, you should be motivated enough to find those companies' contact info and ask them about it.

As far as Autodesk goes, if they have to provide more than 1 license to one team, they will have to do it for every team to be fair. I have a feeling FIRST is the one to talk to them to chance this 1 license donation from them.

Also, this Q&A forum is intended for quick questions from teams during the build period. Anything that doesn't have a quick answer, and require lengthy discussion belongs to their appropriate forum. If you want publicity to the question post them in General.

[ChrisH]

I might have replied earlier, but I have been busy working 60 hour weeks. The project is done now so I have more time to be here.

The short answer is each team recieves one license per year. Generally each year's license is a different version, so even if you collect several year's worth they are not 100% compatible. In some previous years they made additional licenses available to teams that requested them, but I do not remember that happening for several years

As a result, we as a team have given up on AutoDesk and are switching to Pro-E. They have a program that enables teachers to take a class in how to teach Pro-E and then distribute 300 licenses. These are educational licenses, meaning the recipients agree not to use them for work they are paid to do. The only restriction on functionality is your honor.

Since we have team members spread over a large area, the only way we can use CAD effectively for communication is if we are all on the same version. Otherwise somebody gets left out of the loop. For us 100% compatibility is a key issue.

Of course this limits our ability to compete for the design and animation awards, but we rarely have the resources to do those anyway.