A Quick Intro to Forge and APIs | Autodesk Forge: Pricing

Many of you may have had some experience by now with Autodesk Forge, whether it be through video tutorials, practicing on your own, or perhaps this is your first-time hearing about it. Many of its APIs and services are free to use, but others require the use of Autodesk Cloud Credits to use. This article is intended to get you up to speed on what you need to know in regards to the cost of using certain APIs, and services from Autodesk Forge.

 

A Quick Intro to Forge and APIs:

In order to better understand Forge, and the APIs it offers, we need to understand what APIs are. The acronym API stands for Application Programming Interface, which simply put, is a piece of code/program someone else has written, and has given you access to. This piece of code/program can be used when developing your own apps to include certain features, and reduce the amount of time, and effort spent to produce your apps.

Autodesk Forge is a collection of certain APIs and services that are offered to us for use in our own applications. The current collection of APIs and services includes: Authentication, BIM 360, Data Management, Design Automation, Model Derivative, Reality Capture, Token Flex, Viewer, and Webhooks. These can be used individually, or all at once, depending on the complexity of your application.

Each of these APIs and services require a certain amount of computing resources to provide the functionality they promote. As a result, there are predetermined costs associated with using some of these APIs. You’ll need to be aware of these costs, and include them in your expenses of building and maintaining an application/service of your own.


Autodesk Forge Trial:

Getting started with Forge can be a challenge, from figuring out which APIs you’ll need, to how many Cloud Credits you consume, it can be a little bumpy getting started. Luckily for you, Autodesk Forge has a 90-day trial in which you are given 100 Cloud Credits to use up until the 90 days is over, or you’ve expended your Cloud Credits, whichever comes first. These 90 days will give you full access, and can be a great time to experiment with Forge, and see if it would be a good fit for your business, and your workflows. You will also have access to tutorials, walkthroughs, code samples, and Forge experts to help you out when you need it. The trial will also include 5GB of storage for files related to Forge workflows.


In Closing:

Autodesk Forge has done so much for the organizations who have chosen to use the features it offers, no matter the industry. Spend some time looking at the Customer Success Stories to give you an idea of what it can do, and perhaps spark some ideas as to how you could apply it in your own organization. Or better yet, get some hands-on experience with Forge by signing up for a free 90-day trial, and see for yourself what it has to offer. After using Forge, its APIs and services, there’s no doubt that you’ll soon see why so many actively use it in their environments today!

This article was written by Ethyn Roux.


To learn about Forge Cloud Credits, click here.

To learn more about Forge, click here.

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