Software Update Information for SUM3d and MillBox CAM Users

All software requires periodic updates because no software can be produced “finished”. One cannot expect it to last forever. Besides, you want your software to enhance your growing business. You want it to prevent production interruptions which can affect your bottom line.

CIMsystems article below explains some of its new updates and how they can benefit you and make your job easier and better. As an example of updates that can do that, queued import of restorations, intelligent support pins, 90-degree milling, are some improvements make nesting more productive and help to eliminate wasted time from your milling operations.

Read the article and learn why and how these updates benefit your business.

What are Annual Updates?

Annual Updates for MillBox grants you access to all the new features, updates, and optimizations throughout the year as CIMsystem makes those changes. These updates keep you in sync with all the Windows updates, CAD software updates, and security updates that your computer is often automatically performing. Annual Updates also grant you access to new milling strategies and machine improvements that are made routinely (both time & quality improvements).

Why do I need to pay for Annual Updates?

You have every right to ask, "Why should I pay for Annual Updates?" Although there are many different benefits, here are three:

1. 1. Safeguarding the stability of your production: All softwares require updates these days, whether it's a desktop widget displaying the weather or an office application that you use daily - CAM is not exempt from this reality. Automatic updates from Windows along with other software on your PC have introduced an ever-changing environment for software in efforts to protect users from network / internet vulnerabilities. The trade-off is that software publishers can no longer release a product and expect it to work forever. It is not a matter of "if" but rather "when" you'll need to update. Often times this could mean the difference between running stable production versus having production interruptions, affecting your bottom line. When you mill is down because of an automatic Windows update or another 3rd party application - you are losing money! Don't let this happen to your business.
  2. New Features & Improvements: Our improvements to MillBox are worth it. Since 2017 we've made 809 changes [and counting] to MillBox. Many of those changes are new features to make your job easier and the software more intuitive. Queued Import of Restorations, Intelligent Support Pins, 90 degree milling... etc. Simply put, these improvements make nesting more productive and help to eliminate wasted time from your milling operations. Those who do no constantly improve are being passed up by those who do. Stay in the fast lane, and don't let your competition pass you up.
  3. Strategy Benefits: We perform strategy improvements based on technician feedback from around the world. By taking this feedback and combining it into one global milling strategy for dental, we are able to take individual benefits that labs make / suggest and apply them to all of our users across the world. In the past, this was not easy to do because typically each dealer or lab needed their own strategy expert. They would each have their own style of programming production and constantly need to make tweaks to keep production running optimally. Now you can reap those benefits by using our Strategy X which features improvements and updates all throughout the year. We have also added benefits over the year that makes working with one strategy possible, regardless of the tool supplier or combination of cutters you may be using. Make sure you are using the very best strategy.
  4. Your support is worth it: Support keeps your customer’s business running. CAM systems are complex, not only to setup but also to maintain over time. When we’re dealing with custom designed restorations, we’re rarely if ever seeing the same case come through the software. This means that it is only a matter of time before one of your customers produce a file that require additional tools in order for the machine to mill the part or may require an update to the CAM’s milling strategy to accommodate a specific design feature. Whether you’re assisting customers in making small or large changes to their production, customers buy from you because of your expertise and insight into the CAM.
    
    Your teams field calls day in and day out so you are the de-facto experts on the CAM and should always endeavor to be a 1-call solution. You want your people to be the best in the business. Building that kind of expertise and support culture takes investment. Your support team should always scale as your sales do. Annual Updates with MillBox help to make that possible.

When should I purchase Annual Updates?

Annual Updates should be purchased every year for every license. The renewal runs from Jan to Dec within a calendar year. Annual updates are not based on the purchase date. Annual Renewals are not an automatic process and when they are purchased must be applied by the dealer.

Some software companies wait to release updates and improvements until they’ve reached a yearly milestone, effectively locking away those features from you and your users until their next major release. Our philosophy at CIMsystem is quite different. We want your milling to be as efficient as possible, so we don’t wait or hold back any of those updates and software improvements. By paying for annual updates, you and your customers will get access to improvements as we develop them.

Are Annual Updates Required?

That is really what it comes down to doesn’t it? Am I required to pay for Annual Updates?

What we have seen and experienced over the years is that everybody pays for software updates eventually. Will the dongle stop working on Jan 1st if you haven’t paid for Annual Updates? No, the dongle is perpetual in that sense. But it is only a matter of time before Windows updates or the security software automatically updates and messes you CAM software up causing you very expensive down time. If you've already paid for annual updates that year that’s a quick fix. Simply do an update. If you try to skip paying for years of annual updates, the fix is the same but the cost is higher as you have to pay for all the updates/years you’ve skipped.

Everybody pays for software updates eventually.

End of Support Announcement

Being current on annual updates is required for escalated support to CIMsystem. CIMsystem has provided support for SUM3d and MillBox for the past decade. But the time came for us, along with our partners, to invest our resources towards supporting more recent versions and technologies so that we can continue to deliver great new features and milling experiences. As a result, technical assistance for SUM3d and MillBox 2019 & older versions is no longer available - updating to the current year for Annual Updates is required.

Being current on Annual Updates is also required when you are transferring a license from one reseller to another or when upgrading a license.