FreeCAD is an open-source CAD software that specialized in 3D design. New features are added to FreeCAD by an active community of developers.
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Arena PLM and QMS
Score 8.5 out of 10
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Arena by PTC is a cloud-based PLM and QMS platform. Arena helps product companies that rely on distributed teams and global supply chains to develop products, ensure regulatory compliance, and respond to customer demands.
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Pricing
FreeCAD
Arena PLM and QMS
Editions & Modules
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Arena QMS
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Arena QMS Enterprise
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Offerings
Pricing Offerings
FreeCAD
Arena PLM and QMS
Free Trial
No
Yes
Free/Freemium Version
No
No
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
No
No
Entry-level Setup Fee
No setup fee
Required
Additional Details
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Arena's cloud-based PLM and QMS solutions include role-based subscriptions to meet diverse team needs. Their fixed-fee QuickStart™ implementations supports rapid deployment.
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Community Pulse
FreeCAD
Arena PLM and QMS
Considered Both Products
FreeCAD
Verified User
Anonymous
Chose FreeCAD
Free Cad is still behind the big guys of CAD systems, but it is understandable being a free product developed by the community, which is, in fact, awesome. As I said before, it's a powerful software that needs the user to be well-trained to produce good results in good time. …
Freecad is used often when receiving files from multiple sources and the need to work with cad in various forms from meshes to solid cad. Often when receiving scans of 3d objects the format is easy to work with and convert to traditional cad later on. There is no other cad …
Been a long time, and it was called Agile then, and I did not use it a LOT, but my recollection was the interface was FAAARRR better than Arena PLM and QMS. Simple things like 'where uses' was a graphic with lines to all items/places where an items was used, including REF DES, …
QT9 we have used previously, and this system was much more bare bones in its offerings but was sufficient enough when we were smaller. Now, Arena PLM and QMS has far exceeded the capabilities we previously had with QT9 as it has been more seamless to integrate it with other …
Expandable is hard to use compared to Arena PLM and QMS. Arena PLM and QMS is great when it comes to following the trajectory/ life cycle of products. One thing I like about expandable is that it allows for the exportation of products and the BOM. This was a great feature that …
Arena PLM and QMS is significantly better than Mastercontrol in terms of usability. It is far more user friendly and less confusing. Arena PLM and QMS and Agile are about the same for me in terms of general user friendliness.
Duro labs did not have the best functionality or connectivity like Arena PLM and QMS does. Some syncs may be missed and not everything was update to date. Other times, some parts in BOMs would not be present and a new sync had to be performed. Any small change that Onshape …
Arena seemed the easiest to use and the one that can best be configured to our own ways of working and set up in a way that integrates well with our company
I see FreeCad as the perfect solution for a startup with limited resources that want to save as much as possible and doesn't mind using non-standard 3D CAD software, i.e., it's not required by customers to use specific software for compatibility. It's perfect for hobbyist use and makers who don't care about brands and pay monthly fees. I see it as very well suited for small businesses that need FEA (finite element analysis) and can't/don't want to pay huge amounts of money for it, just like us. I see FreeCad as less appropriate for big corporations or well-established businesses that need standardized solutions, compatibility with clients or good version management. Don't get me wrong, it can get the job done, but it will be much slower than state-of-the-art CAD systems.
Arena PLM is well suited for part number, BOM and file management. Processing changes (ECNs, ACOs, DCO's, etc.) in Arena is very easy to do and provides great visibility on the status of submitted requests. The ability to communicate with Suppliers and grant them access to files in Arena is extremely helpful. Arena does not appear to be the best suited system for managing software
It provides easy, 'login-anywhere' internet cloud-based access to fundamental PLM functions.
It provides secure access control for employees & vendors (but you pay per person for access licenses).
Data is effectively 'always backed up' in the internet-cloud.
There is an option to attach thumbnail graphics representative of each item and create a Bill of Materials view that also displays the graphics to help provide item recognition for BOM readers.
Arena lacks the capability to edit documents within its interface and requires users to upload new versions of documents when changes are made. This makes it a bit more challenging to collect and implement reviewer feedback
Arena's requirement tracking world does not have the proper functionality we need and was not useful for us.
We have so much time and effort invested into Arena. The history of approvals, revisions, etc. are necessary for many of our customers. We also have entire device histories recorded. Having to re-create that on another platform would be a feat requiring years of effort. But mostly, Arena just works. It's transformed our business into a much more streamlined system, resulting in a massive cost and time savings.
Usability is awkward. Perhaps if you learn it as your first CAD, it will feel OK. Still, it comes from commercial CAD products like mine (Onshape, Solid Works, Inventor, Solid Edge). You will feel it is less intuitive, with a less polished UI, difficult to customize and, this is a subjective one, less serious. I'd love to see it improve the usability and UI. I believe the engine behind it is powerful, but how you interact with the software is still lacking.
The Arena interface is fairly intuitive, and has very complete functionality. Documents are easily accessed according to prescribed user permissions, and the navigation pane is clearly positioned and sensibly structured. Notifications are sometimes a minor distraction, and document organization and hierarchy display may be difficult to follow at first. After a brief learning curve, perceived usability quickly increases for the typical user.
Seems like when I need to access our workspace for an emergency situation, this is when maintenance is scheduled, just the luck of the draw, I guess, and I just wait until the maintenance is complete, and then can proceed
Upon initial observation, Arena Solution appears to possess a rather intricate nature, yet this complexity was effectively navigated during the initial configuration phase with the invaluable assistance of an expert well-versed in Arena, a factor that greatly contributed to our comprehensive mastery and autonomous handling of Arena Solutions thereafter.
The On line training was easy to understand and was very efficient for most of our users. We used the training tools to make sure we use all of the features to their fullest and correctly! After a few weeks mos of our users were very proficient with ARENA PLM and were able to work on their own and use mos of the sections and PLM capablilities.
Freecad is used often when receiving files from multiple sources and the need to work with cad in various forms from meshes to solid cad. Often when receiving scans of 3d objects the format is easy to work with and convert to traditional cad later on. There is no other cad that can bridge the gap between all the cad formats that we found yet.
I've used SAP, Agile in the past, for PLM, and unless the server is in your office, you cannot configure anything, and should it crash, you as the client are stuck until the issues are resolved. In my 15 plus years using Arena, there has only been one instance where the server was down, and the support team quickly resolved the issue with no loss or data or breach of any kind. Both PLMs are very light on what you can configure for your own company, most of it is out of the box, and you are stuck with it, whereas Arena Solutions gives you much more freedom to really tailor it to your company's specifics and what works for you.
Arena is easy to customize and therefore easy to scale. Different user groups with access restrictions can be easily created and new training plans can be created to support different user bases. Suppliers can also easily be added or items can be shared with them
Arena PLM and QMS has allowed [...] to efficiently respond to Design Changes and process them effectively.
Arena PLM and QMS has completely automated our CAPA process, removing all paperwork and 99% of other electronic files.
Arena PLM and QMS has allowed our Contract Manufacturing Organizations (CMO) to upload current manufacturing data; this puts [...]'s finger on the pulse of a CMO thousands of miles away. No more surprises.
