Whose using QC-Calc and what's next?

[[Jo...]]

Hello All,

We recently heard from our QC-Calc Rep that Prolink is now owned by Minitab.

So what does this mean? Well, we were notified that our current maintenance agreement will be increasing in 3 years' time. We currently pay roughly $5k for our current licenses, which is being increased to $30k PER YEAR!

This is definitely a bold move by Minitab. Either they are really greedy, or they are trying to lower the user base to discontinue it eventually (Or both).

 

Have you guys heard about this yet? Does anyone have any plans to transition to another SPC software? My guess is that most of the users here would switch to PiWeb. Is anyone else have any other options they are looking into? My company is not completely sold on PiWeb but plan to get a handful together and compare the options. 

Appreciate the feedback!

[[Ri...]]

I'm a die-hard PiWeb-Stan, so I'd love to hear why you/your company isn't sold on PiWeb. 

Just from a pure data management standpoint, there is nothing that can compete with PiWeb - I'm mainly talking about handling Zeiss inspection data (Calypso, Inspect, Caligo, GearPro, etc. ) though I am not trying to undersell it's ability to handle non-native Zeiss inspection data. 

The reporting side is extremely powerful, and Zeiss is always adding new features/suggestions to it. 

I'd love to discuss further with you on this to see if there are any questions or concerns I could help address. 

[[Jo...]]

What I really want is a way to gather all my metrology data in one place (manual and automated), and let engineers and supply-chain query it at will to make any report they would like.  QC-Calc/Prolink hit this nail on the head pretty hard...   I need statistical data for vendor performance more than for process control. 

Also PiWeb is just... shockingly expensive. "We would like to use piweb on a second computer, so we dont have to shut down the CMM to design and run reports" got me a quote about as much as a new car.  There is a gap in the licensing that makes it incredibly hard to approach as a lower-volume customer. (We pay for an offline/sim seat, why don't i get a full copy of piweb to play with?)

I have shared this feedback with Zeiss. (And they do seem to be listening! Which is very much appreciated!) 

Edited Wednesday at 12:38 PM

[[An...]]

Good day Joe, 

I am not a sales rep so take my numbers with a huge grain of salt. But yes PiWeb enterprise upfront is up there. But if you plan to pay 30k a year for QC-Calc you could pay off your PiWeb Enterprise initial cost in less than 2 years. 

With the Enterprise package, all your CMMs and other devices can output their data to one local server location. Where you can then do SPC or any data anaylsys from there. I would strongly talk to our sales rep for a demonstration on what you mean for stastical data for vendors. I am pretty confident we can prove an option based on your needs if you provide mored details. 

When you purchase the enterprise package, you get a few seats of monitor, 1 planner, 1 designer, and 1 server. Along with training and installaiton. 

You are able to use the designer seat regardless of CMM, so anyone can put it on their computer and design report templates and not tie up the CMM. 

Monitor is the report viewer and again does not need to be on the CMM computer. Depending on your package you can get this as a floating license so you can have multiple engineers using the software on their own machines. 

I hope this helps and would be happy to answer any other quesitons about PiWeb. 

[[An...]]

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Not necissarily a full copy. But you still have access to PiWeb Basic at minimum no matter what. This will still give you full access to PiWeb designer if you want to make templates for your CMM on a your offline computer. 

 

Here is a knowledge base link on how to access PiWeb Designer from CALYPSO to add your Company logo just to help you get your feet wet.

https://portal.zeiss.com/knowledge-base?id=2198405

[[Jo...]]

Hey guys,

Thanks for the feedback. Price is certainly a factor in the capabilities we are looking for. 

As far as our needs go, Joe K spoke along the same lines of what we are using QC-Calc for. Engineers are able to pull data at ease from their PC, run reports, ect. data being collected decoupled from the CMM software is a factor as well. 

And thank you for the feedback

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 we did not write off Piweb at this time. We are gathering data/options, and then we will look at our top contenders. I appreciate your input, and I will look more closely at Piweb and its capabilities. 

To clarify, I highly doubt we will be looking to pay the 30k to upkeep the software. They did give us an option for a 3-year fixed rate of 1.5k during the transition period. On the following year, the new price is 30k.

 

I still want to understand the thoughts of what other QC-calc users are planning. 

TIA!

[[Jo...]]

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I really appreciate the answers! The new licensing is a step in the right direction! There is a step below a full enterprise deployment and we have been investigating it.