Siemens PLM Software Expands Subscription Menu

It looks like Siemens PLM Software is getting more serious about a subscription pricing model for its software.

Late last year, the company announced a partnership with Local Motors, a car company built around the concept of co-creation, to offer Design1, a version of its Solid Edge 3D CAD tool made available to the Local Motors community for a subscription price of $19.95 a month. After testing the waters with that subscription licensing model, Siemens PLM Software is now following up with a offering that lets the Local Motors global community choose from multiple levels of its CAD program, depending on their specific design needs.

The initial Solid Edge Design1 offered Solid Edge's base technology, including 3D parts modeling with its synchronous technology, but at a price point closer to the low-cost CAD tools that are popular with design enthusiasts. With this announcement, Siemens PLM Software is giving the community a choice of moving up the functional ladder to license additional modules, including Solid Edge Design and Drafting, Solid Edge Foundation Solid Edge Classic, and, eventually, Solid Edge Premium.

Expanding on the Solid Edge Design1 building block, users within the Local Motors community can purchase on a subscription basis: Solid Edge Design and Drafting, which adds professional-level drafting and history-based modeling for $99 a month; Solid Edge Foundation, which includes surfacing, sheet metal modeling, and frames, among other functions, for $179 a month; Solid Edge Classic, which adds photorealistic rendering, basic FEA capabilities, and standard parts for $229 a month; and Solid Edge Premium, the top-of-the-line offering, which delivers full FEA simulation, wire harness design functions, pipe and tube routing, and other high-end functions, for a monthly license fee of $299.