Tech Soft 3D Product Consolidation FAQs:
What is Changing, Why, and What That Means for you
Tech Soft 3D is undergoing a product consolidation that will combine, clarify, and streamline the experience for both our developer partners and end-user customers. We understand that this process comes with a lot of questions and perhaps a little anxiety. Here, we will outline the new products, explain what is happening to the existing ones, and answer the most pressing FAQs we expect you to have.
Most importantly, we want to immediately stress the following: You will not lose access to any product, feature, or benefit you currently have. This consolidation is about clarity of presentation, not a change of service.
Our CEO, Ron Fritz, summarized it well:
"We don’t make these changes lightly. We are making them to serve you better. By consolidating our products, we’re reducing complexity, speeding up innovation, and creating more room to serve your needs under a shared roadmap."
While we hope to cover what we can, this is an ongoing process, and we want to hear from you: questions, feedback, and concerns are always welcome.
A core part of how Tech Soft 3D tries to serve you to the best of our ability is through the expansion of the features and products we offer. This mindset has led to new HOOPS toolkits, the CEETRON family of products, and, most recently, the acquisitions of both Theorem and SpinFire.
This consolidation is intended to reorganize and streamline the features of these products into a simpler, more straightforward portfolio. We want to be able to navigate the breadth of solutions we provide both developers and end users with ease.
Whether you are developing new engineering software, taking advantage of OEM and resold products, or leveraging end-user applications for your organization, these changes will help you find the right tools for your needs.
Of course, with consolidation comes the natural concern of how the changes will impact you and your organization, and we have done everything as possible to eliminate confusion and negative consequences.
In terms of impact on you, our partners, and customers, here are the most important takeaways:
You will not lose access to any features, products, support systems, or favorite Tech Soft 3D team members.
Your licenses, login information, and prices are not changing.
You do not have to re-sign contracts or licensing agreements
The capabilities and people you know, and trust aren’t going anywhere; they’re just being packaged and labeled differently.
In the next sections, we will dive into how the new products are organized, answer the most important FAQs, and provide you with all the resources you need to learn more. Click the buttons below to jump to the section most relevant to you.
This section will cover the changes for developer-focused products, including HOOPS Products, CEETRON, OEM, Parasolid, REALDWG, and Polygonica.
For those licensing SpinFire or Theorem, click here.
What are the New Developer Products and Where are the Old Products Going?
Tech Soft 3D’s toolkits will be consolidated under the HOOPS name, combining all the features you trust in our SDKs in one organized, simple-to-navigate portfolio. These products will be organized under 4 distinct pillars of functionality that they serve: Data, Graphics, Simulation, and 3D Modeling.
Some existing product names will no longer be available, but we want to stress that no features are disappearing. This change provides clearer naming and clearer product selection.
The new product names are HOOPS Exchange, HOOPS Access, HOOPS Visualize, HOOPS Envision, HOOPS Solve, and HOOPS Mesh. We will also continue to offer Parasolid, Polygonica, RealDWG, AutoCAD OEM, and Inventor OEM.
The features of HOOPS Communicator, HOOPS Publish, HOOPS Luminate, and our CEETRON Products will be combined into these new versions of the HOOPS products. These product names will be sunsetted.
HOOPS Exchange, HOOPS Access, & RealDWG
Our new data solutions toolkits include HOOPS Exchange and HOOPS Access. These data translation toolkits are designed to provide rapid, accurate read/write capabilities for CAD, AEC, and CAE applications, without the need to develop the technology in-house. RealDWG will continue to be offered as the world's #1 DWG access SDK as a part of this solutions pillar.
HOOPS Visualize & HOOPS Envision
These graphics-focused toolkits provide engineering applications with the advanced graphics they need for desktop, web, and mobile applications. HOOPS Visualize will now have a Desktop and Web Version, and HOOPS Envision will provide the CAE features simulation engineers need.
HOOPS Solve & HOOPS Mesh
Tech Soft 3D’s tookits for simulation, with technology for both 2D and 3D meshing. These SDKs can form the backbone of simulation and analysis, with HOOPS Mesh for fail-free mesh generation and adaptation, and HOOPS Solve for CAE your solving needs.
Polygonica, Parasolid, & OEM Tools
Our 3D Modeling Solutions are comprised of our resold products, including Polygonica, Parasolid, AutoCAD OEM, and Inventor OEM. These game-changing products empower you to create innovative software related to 3D Modeling, from solids-based meshing/modeling to creating applications for the juggernauts that are AutoCAD and Inventor.
What About the Other Products?
Product names are going away, but features are not.
All of the features present in HOOPS Communicator, HOOPS Publish, HOOPS Luminate, and the CEETRON products are not going away – they’re simply moving. You can find more details on a per-product basis in the questions below.
In a word: NO.
Whether you license a product that is changing names or one that is gaining additional features for new partners, your service will not change (unless you want it to).
You will continue to pay for and have access to the same feature outlined in the contract you have with Tech Soft 3D.
In the same way, you are not losing access to your features, you will not immediately gain new features. For example, existing HOOPS Visualize partners will not automatically get the web-focused visualization tools that were previously a part of HOOPS Communicator.
That being said, we want to help. We offer a number of discounts for those licensing multiple toolkits, and are happy to talk to you about integrating new features into your current partnership with Tech Soft 3D. The best way forward is to contact us.
We want to be very clear about what’s happening with HOOPS Visualize and HOOPS Communicator:
The current version of HOOPS Visualize will exist unchanged as HOOPS Visualize (Desktop). This product continues to be our powerful SDK for developing 3D engineering applications on desktop and mobile platforms.
HOOPS Communicator is being renamed to HOOPS Visualize (Web). This is a name change only; no APIs are changing. This is the right toolkit for those looking to develop web-native 3D engineering applications. The two versions of HOOPS Visualize will remain different under the hood.
For all the details on the new HOOPS Visualize, check out the product page.
Existing HOOPS Luminate users can continue using their current, standalone SDK without changes. Photorealistic rendering provided by HOOPS Luminate will be available and licensed through HOOPS Visualize for Desktop via a bridge at no additional cost to HOOPS Visualize for desktop partners.
The capabilities of HOOPS Publish will now be a part of HOOPS Exchange. These products have always gone hand-in-hand, being shipped together and sharing core libraries. This change will serve to streamline packaging and naming, without impacting its features.
Since joining the Tech Soft 3D family of products, CEETRON has been trusted for its industry-leading capabilities in simulation data access, meshing, solving, and visualization.
Parasolid, Polygonica, AutoCAD OEM, and Inventor OEM are not receiving any changes. They comprise our 3D Modeling Solutions. Our reselling of RealDWG remains unchanged, but it will be sold under the Data Solutions page.
Overview for End User & Enterprise Applications
This section will cover the changes relevant to developers who license our end-user applications, including SpinFire and Theorem Products, and Tetra 4D.
For developers looking for information on our toolkits, including HOOPS and CEETRON SDKs, OEM products, Parasolid, and Polygonica, click here to jump back to that section.
Theorem Products are Being Consolidated Under the SpinFire Brand
A key part of this consolidation is bringing the two recently acquired product families of SpinFire and Theorem together under one brand identity. As a result, Theorem XR, CADTranslate and CADPublish are being rebranded under the SpinFire name.
From these existing offerings, we are incredibly excited to share the release of TWO new SpinFire products, SpinFire Convert and SpinFire XR.
SpinFire Convert is the result of the combination of two of our Theorem products, CADPublish and CADTranslate. This new addition to the SpinFire line is your solution for seamless CAD translation and lightweight 3D publishing, and provides a purpose-built option for your entire workflow.
SpinFire XR is the new name of Theorem XR. This product provides the unmatched, immersive experience of Extended Reality through our range of XR experiences, along with the ability to convert CAD files into a format usable in your own XR creations. The functionality of this product is not changing; it is simply being brought under the SpinFire brand.
End User & Enterprise Product Consolidation FAQs
Simply put, the SpinFire products you know and love are not changing; they are just getting some new family members.
This means that SpinFire Insight and SpinFire Manage will remain the same. Each product has a revamped product page, which we encourage you to explore below.
With these changes, we will be sunsetting the Theorem brand with the products brought under the SpinFire name.
We know that the Theorem brand has a large fan base and significant name recognition, and we do not make this decision lightly. These changes will help us provide the same features you know and love alongside those offered by the previously existing SpinFire products, all under one concise, easy-to-digest product family.
We have created a blog post that goes into more detail on why this decision was made and what that will look like, which you can read here.
The features you know and love from Theorem are not going away: they are moving. A few things that may change include:
Installation path
Desktop and Start Menu
Interactive CAD menus on SpinFire Convert
Application commands- they'll still be there, but they will have an updated look and feel!
This consolidation requires no changes to your license on your part, except where the brand name change necessitates it.
Absolutely NOT.
Whether you license a SpinFire product that is not changing or an existing Theorem product that is joining the SpinFire brand, your prices and features will not change as a result of this consolidation.
Your support resources have not been diminished, but may have moved with the consolidation and our new website.
Follow these links for support and SpinFire documentation.
Tetra 4D is not changing. You can learn more about this powerful 3D PDF technology here.
A New Website, Built to Support You
We know these changes can be confusing and perhaps a little frustrating, but we believe these changes are necessary to streamline and focus our product offerings. If you have any questions we didn't cover, concerns, or feedback, please don't hesitate to reach out. As always, we want to hear from you, and thank you for your flexibility and patience with our changes.
With our consolidation comes a brand new website, designed from the ground up with you in mind. Some of our most exciting new features include...
New Homes for both Developers and End Users
An organized, filterable home for resources, including blogs, case studies, news, and events
...and much more. So, take a look around, make yourself at home, and let us know any feedback you have!
