License Information
Do I Need a Commercial License?
| User Type | Purpose / Application | Academic Public License (QBlade-CE) | Commercial License (QBlade-EE) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Private Individual | Personal, non-commercial, non-profit | ✓ | |
| School / University | Courses, teaching, labs | ✓ | |
| Student | Coursework / thesis / homework | ✓ | |
| Researcher (at university or equivalent) | Non-commercial academic and fully public funded research | ✓ | |
| Researcher (at university or equivalent) | Research in cooperation with industry or involving industry funding | ✓ | |
| Enterprise / Company / Consultant | Software evaluation | ✓ | |
| Enterprise / Company / Consultant | Research or commercial projects | ✓ |
What are the differences? QBlade-CE vs. QBlade-EE
QBlade is released in two editions: the public Community Edition (CE) and the commercial Enterprise Edition (EE). Functionally, QBlade-CE and QBlade-EE share the same core simulation capabilities – every aero-hydro-servo-elastic physics model in CE is fully equivalent to those in EE. This allows academic and evaluation users to experience the full fidelity of QBlade’s models. However, QBlade-EE includes a range of additional features, performance enhancements, and services that are critical for commercial use and large-scale projects. The table below provides a feature comparison:
| Feature | QBlade Community Edition | QBlade Enterprise Edition |
|---|---|---|
| License Type | Academic Public License | Commercial License |
| Commercial Use Allowed | no | yes |
| Included software training | no | yes |
| Support | user’s forum | dedicated on-demand support |
| Source Code Avaliability | public | closed |
| Aero-Hydro-Elastic Modelling | yes | yes |
| Wind and Wave Generation | yes | yes |
| Graphical User Interface | yes | yes |
| Text Based Object Import and Export | yes | yes |
| Software in Loop (SIL) Interface | yes | yes |
| Modal Analysis, Campbell Diagram, Aeroelastic Power Curve | no | yes |
| Higher Order Particle Wake Aerodynamics | no | yes |
| Multi-Rotor Turbine Design | no | yes |
| Multi-Turbine Windpark Simulations | no | yes |
| IEC Compliant DLC Preprocessor (61400-1, 61400-2, 61400-3, 61400-2-3) | no | yes |
| Command Line Interface & Batch Automation | no | yes |
| Full Parallelization and Optimized Libraries | no | yes |
| Real World Performance | ~ 1x real time at 20Hz | ~ 30x real time at 20Hz |
QBlade Community Edition
QBlade-CE is our free and open version of QBlade, distributed under the Academic Public License. It is intended for academic, educational, or personal use. The full functionality of QBlade’s multi-physics simulation engine is available in CE – you can perform complete aero-servo-hydro-elastic simulations of wind turbines with no artificial limits. All modules for airfoil analysis, blade and turbine design, wind and wave generation, and results post-processing are included in QBlade-CE.
However, QBlade-CE comes with two important restrictions: (1) it may only be used for non-commercial purposes, and (2) it does not include the premium features and services of QBlade-EE (such as advanced modules, dedicated support, or training). QBlade-CE also serves as the evaluation version for those interested in QBlade-EE. We encourage companies to test their workflows on QBlade-CE; once you see QBlade’s capabilities and wish to use it in a commercial project, you can seamlessly upgrade to QBlade-EE.
QBlade Enterprise Edition
QBlade-EE is the commercial-license version of QBlade, intended for companies, startups, and other commercial users. It is provided under a flexible commercial licensing agreement (available as annual subscriptions or perpetual licenses) and includes professional support and training services as part of the package.
In addition to all core QBlade features, the Enterprise Edition offers essential productivity enhancements and workflow integrations that make it a production-ready engineering tool. This includes the ability to automate and script simulations (for example, running entire batches of load cases overnight), significantly improved computational performance via fully unlocked parallelization, and specialized modules for certification (like the IEC load case generator). These additions are all about saving time and reducing uncertainty for commercial projects. With QBlade-EE, wind turbine design and certification can be carried out in an intuitive GUI environment but with unprecedented numerical accuracy and efficiency. Higher modeling fidelity and lower uncertainty in load predictions lead to more optimized turbine and component designs – ultimately translating to cost savings and improved reliability in the field. Meanwhile, the accelerated simulation speeds and batch automation reduce engineering cycle times and boost productivity.
Each QBlade-EE license also comes with personalized support: annual licenses include a multi-day training workshop for your team and hours of on-demand support to help troubleshoot issues or implement advanced workflows. Our team is committed to ensuring QBlade-EE delivers value from day one in your organization.