I emailed them my consern and got a actual phone call in 14 hours. you should do the same!
not that the call helped but i told him essentially they where stealing from their paid clients and have negatively effected my small company which paid for their service, require recosting of jobs to now pay for this change (one man band here)
I took the time to write an email that he could pass on to the powers that be, some compliments, some critizizm and some potential remodies to the curent retardation. Pm me if you would like contact infornmation to contact thier team with regards to this matter, it is compleatly unnaceptable. if you know any lawyers that submit class actions here is a easy case and willing participents. Big tech needs some push back somethimes.
In saying that, i (begrudgingly) understand priceincreases, but as stated in th letter below, it is absolitly wrong to remove services already paid for when there are customer friendly solutions to the problem. I hope they will read my letter.
"Good Day and thank you for reaching out to me with regards to my concern.
As a forward I would like to acknowledge Autodesk’s successful market penetration into the CAD/CAM space by its (at the time) unorthodox and industry disruptive marketing plan. Free powerful software available to the masses fostered unprecedented software adoption not only in the traditional marketplace, but expanding offering into markets that where unserved/poorly served, such as the hobby/inventor market. This unique offering allowed an unprecedented growth in development and ideas throughout these communities, enabling anyone with a computer to create, design and produce products, then move on to start the dream company they never thought possible. A true innovation in the manufacturing space.
For this I would like to thank your team. I personally went from no CAD/CAM experience to watching NYC CNC/ Lars Christensen YouTube vids for inspiration and learning to now owning a small one-man CNC machine shop where I design and produce my own products. Truly amazing.
In this journey of development and business ownership I have learned a lot about what is expected of Me, and what I can expect from my vendors. In business there are ups and down, right and wrong choices, but what sets the ground work for long term partnerships is Trust. Trust in the quality, reliability, stability, and openness for correction when a misstep has happened.
My relationship with the Autodesk Fusion 360 product has been a consistent and valued resource as the software has matured into a feature rich staple platform for my small business’s use.
As with everything in life things change and as your software has matured new and powerful features have been added that are not always provided with the base subscription, though disappointing, decisions like this are completely understandable as these development costs must be amortized for the business to continue to offer new features, base included or through extension programs.
What concerns me today is Autodesk’s decision to remove functionality from the base software package included in the software subscription. I have come to trust Autodesk to continue to move lock and step with my past experience and expectation. New features come, some integrated into the base package, some withing a paywall. But never loosing functionality of the software already paid for. This week’s announcements came as a shock to me that not only would original functionality be removed from the software, but this functionality would be taken from users that have signed up and paid for that functionality. It is akin to a 3-year automobile lease for $400/year, but 1 year in the manufacture comes to take a single wheel form the car, stating it is no longer included in the original agreement, but is now included in the “luxury Package” for a ongoing fee of $200/month. This change in auto policy may take place upon renewal, but not in the midst of an agreed upon term. As with the automobile, users have paid Autodesk for set length terms for functionality of fusion360 software and it in unethical to remove functionality that has already been agreed upon and paid for.
As stated, in business there are ups and downs, and mistakes will be made. It is the corrective actions to these mistakes that build future partnerships or erode trust long term. I would encourage your team to consider this when reviewing my concerns with regards to the current software update and removal of “swarf machining, multi-axis contour, multi-axis tilting (for 3D contour), and multi-axis flow functionality.” From subscribed users still within their current agreed upon and paid for term. Upon renewal it would be disappointing to lose a feature and some may calculate that into there business decision to stay within the Autodesk environment, but to remove functionality before then is untenable.
Knowing my history with your product and current concern, I would like of offer a suggestion that I believe is a tenable solution to my concern.
Forgive my ignorance of software coding, but I would like to assume the loss of function taking place may be a result of software changes, not corporate pricing strategy. A solution to current subscriptions that have paid for this functionality would be to simply grant them the manufacturing extensions for the remaining duration of their paid term (1,2,3 years as agreed upon). Not only would this allow the continued use of the already paid for functionality, but would further expand those subscribers’ capabilities for the term. This would provide the opportunity to benefit from the manufacturing extension and seeing its value first hand. Ideally generating income from the improved workflow that may then be used to pay for the extension upon renewal. The choice to renew is the customers decision with the then offered package no longer including multi axis. It should be the customers decision to lose function upon renewal, not taken during a term. I truly cannot stress this enough.
Haas CNC machines use a similar strategy whereas all software options come with a 200-hour demo (this demo timer may be turned on and off to preserve it until needed) many times that 200 hours use more than pays for the upgrade and it becomes an easy choice to then pay for it.
As I originally stated I believe the grassroots marketing style of fusion 360 was truly genius and of great benefit to budding inventors/businesses letting loose creativity and innovation globally. Fusion 360 became the “drug of choice” for creative minds to unleash potential, with this in mind I would like to offer another suggestion within fusion360 pricing/demo structure. Currently 1 time, 7-day trials are offered to demo options, but with busy schedules it is rare that anyone will learn and use a function in 7 days well enough to see the massive benefits possible, perhaps they think there may be a use 3 month later, but then the pay wall is there. Is the boss willing to throw dollars at it on a maybe? And surely the hobbyist will not. I feel this is a missed opportunity for both parties. Revisiting an interesting idea/method spur continued innovation, that is what made fusion360’s adoption so successful. In light of this I offer 2 interesting ideas. One being simply shorten the demo period, but have it reset monthly. 3 days a month use should demonstrate to company its value, and 3 days a month allows basement innovators to set aside a weekend a month to do truly creative things, post to YouTube and further grow your brand integration in the community. Alternatively, you could use the cloud credit system to make this a reoccurring benefit to users. This is used in the videogame industry every day, whereas simply being a user gives a small credit that accumulates for the user to then choose what they want. For free users receive a small credit, and paid users receive a larger “allowance” to spend as they see fit. When a function is found that cannot be lived without it becomes very easy to then purchase it permanently.
So, there it is, my praise, concerns, and suggestions. I hope that the time I have allocated to address my thoughts is taken into consideration. My time is valuable as is relationships with vendors such as yourself."