IronCAD 6.0
Key New Features

Getting Started with IronCAD 6.0

This document contains some of the new features introduced in this release. "Show-Me" tutorials have been provided with this documentation that will walk through simple examples of the new functionality added in this release. "Show-Me" tutorials are visually rich, yet extremely compact movie files, which transform static text help files into vivid product demonstrations. Each "Show-Me" opens in its own unique Flash enabled browser window (requires Flash Player plug-in). Click on the following link to test your browser for Flash support: Flash Test. The following "Show-Me" tutorials will automatically begin to play when you select the "Show-Me" icon. Additional controls in the "Show-Me" can be used to pause, stop, fast-forward, and rewind. 

To view new features introduced in the previous IronCAD 5.2 release, click on the following link: IronCAD 5.2 Key New Features.

New Additional Surface Modeling

New Additional Surface Modeling has been added for IronCAD 6.0. Prior to V6, users could create surfaces using the existing Intellishape creation tools like Extrude, Spin, Sweep, and Loft or from existing Part faces (Still Available). The Additional Surface Creation tools include UV Mesh, Ruled, Sweep (Two Guide Curves, Bounded Curve, Parallel, and Fixed), Loft, Spin, and Edge. These additional  tools use 3D Curves and existing part edges as the basis for the surfaces. The new additional surface creation tools and the existing surface tools extend IronCAD's capability to modify solid models by removing geometry using the surfaces. Surface Shapes in IronCAD now have a new Icon that will appear in the Scene Browser to denote between a solid shape and a surface shape. In addition, Surface Intellishape icons are added to surface parts allowing users to create a single surface part with multiple surface Intellishapes. When a Surface Shape becomes a closed volume, the icon will automatically change to the solid icon to allow normal solid modeling commands to be performed. All surface shapes created using the additional surface commands are editable at the Intellishape level allowing powerful surface creation. Below are descriptions and Show-Me examples of each new surface type and 3D Curve Enhancements.

UV Mesh Creation

UV Mesh Surfaces are created by curves that lie in two different directions that connect to make a closed curve network (U and V). The UV Mesh command enables you  create a surface from a mesh of curves. A mesh of UV curves in space is a set of curves which can be divided into two separate subsets having the following characteristics:

• The curves belonging to the same subset do not intersect each other (that is, they are approximately parallel).
• Each curve in one subset intersects with all the curves in the other subset.
• The directions identified by each of the two subsets form an angle close to a right angle.

Ruled Creation

Ruled Surfaces are surfaces that are generated using two curves with a straight line connecting each curve. The two driving curves can be 3D Curves or existing edges of parts or other surfaces. When each curve is selected in the ruled surface command, match points are visible displaying the connection between the curves.

Sweep (Two Guide Curves, Bounded Curves, Parallel, Fixed, Pipe) Creation

Sweep Surfaces are surfaces that are generated from a section curve positioned along a path. Various Sweep types are available to extend the sweep definition as follows:

• Sweep by Two Guide Curves is defined as moving and adjusting a section curve along two guide curves. 

• Bounded Sweep is created by moving a section curve along a guide path while bounding the section curve by two bounding curves. 

• Fixed Sweep is a section curve moving along a guide path while fixing the orientation of the section curve. 

• Parallel Sweep is defined as a section curve moving along a guide path while maintaining the section curve to be parallel to the guide path. 

Sweep by Two Guide Curves	Bounded Sweep	Fixed or Parallel

Loft Creation

Loft Surfaces are surfaces generated by multiple 3D Curves or existing edges creating a smooth tangency between the selected curves. Match Points are created between each selection denoting the orientation and path of the loft surface. Users can change the match point during creation by deselecting the curve and selecting at the opposite end of the curve. An option to have the loft surface to become a closed loop is available.

Spin Creation

The Spin Surface command enables you to create a surface by revolving a set of selected curves about an axis in any direction. The curves may be revolved through 360° or less. Users can define the starting angle from the curve as well as the revolution angle.

3 or 4 Edge Creation

Edge Surface creation can be defined as surfaces generated using 3 or 4 curves that make a closed connection. 3D Curves or existing edges of parts and surfaces can be used to create the Edge Surface.

3D Curve Improvements

The following improvements have been added to the 3D Curve capabilities to extend creation and editing capabilities. 

• Precise Input Capabilities

  

  • Users can now input points for the 3D curve using a precise input method. To Use: Pick the desired coordinate system (Global or Local). Pick the Curve type to create. Type in the input locations for X, Y, and Z as follows: # # # (Number Space Number Space Number - ex: 1 5 2).

• Fillet Command

  

  • A Fillet command has been added to allow the ability to fillet between two connecting line segments within a single 3D Curve. To Use: Click the Fillet command in the 3D curve toolbar. Pick the connecting point between two connecting line segments in a single 3D Curve. Move cursor to adjust the fillet radius and left-click to place. Right-click on the Fillet curve to input a precise radius value.

• Position and Radius Position Input

  • Position, Arc, and Fillet radius values can now be precisely edited for 3D Curves. To Use: Right-click on any point in a 3D Curve and click edit. Input the position based on local or global coordinate. To edit radius values, right-click on the arc or fillet curve and select edit.

• Insert Point on Splines

  • Points can be inserted on splines to add additional control. To Use: While in the 3D Curve edit or creation mode, right-click at a desired location on the 3D Spline Curve and select "Insert Point". This new point can be positioned by dragging the point, editing the position value, or using the TriBall.

• Global or Local Position Locations

  • Position values for all points in the 3D Curve now have the ability to be edited in the local or global coordinate system. The local coordinate system is based from the 3D Curves anchor location and orientation. The Global position is based from the scenes global X, Y, Z location.

• 3D Spline Tangency Handles Reverse

  • A new option on the tangency handles has been added to allow the user to reverse the tangency direction at the endpoints of the 3D Curve.

Modeling Enhancements

Chamfer Command Additional Types

Additional chamfer types have been added allowing chamfer input as Distance-Distance, Distance, or Distance-Angle. Once a user uses the chamfer command, the command will default to the last used type of input, which improves productivity of the user. Each chamfer created will retain the input type used. This allows the user to edit chamfers in the context they were created in. 

TriBall Enhancements

• Right-click on Planes for Options to "Move to Point" or "Center Point" While Staying in the Plane.

  • New options have been added to allow a user to right-click on a plane to select "To Point" or "To Center Point". When the user picks the point to move to, the Triball will position the shape while staying in the selected plane coordinates. 

• Right-click and Drag on Planes for Move, Copy, Link with Distance-Distance Input.

  • Right-click and drag on the Plane handles of the TriBall will give the user the ability to Move, Copy, or Link the selected shape in the selected plane coordinates. The user will have precise input from the starting location in both distances in the plane movement.

• Left-click and Drag for Visual Display of Distance.

  • Left-clicking and drag on the plane handles will now display distance values from the starting locations. This is a display only input. No distance input is available on the left-click and drag. To edit the distance values, use the right-click and drag and select move.

• Rectangular Pattern by Right-click and Drag on the Plane Handles.

  • Right-click and drag on the plane handles now has the option to create a "Rectangular Pattern". Visual display is available to show the distance increments in two directions.

• Rotate and Step-Up Move with the TriBall (Staircase).

  • Users can now input a step-up value on a rotate command in the TriBall. To Use: Left-click on a Transition handle to lock the rotation axis. Move the cursor inside the TriBall and Right-click and drag in the rotation direction. Select Move, Copy, or Link in the pop-up menu. In the Input dialog, input a step-up value along with the rotation angle.

• Right Click at the Placement Point to get Move, Copy, Link on "To Point" or "To Center Point" Commands.

  • After selecting "To Point" or "To Center Point" from right-clicking on the Center Point Handle or Plane Handle of the Triball, right-click on the placement point for the command instead of left-clicking. This will give the user the option to Move, Copy, or Link the shape at the precise location.

• TriBall will Activate on a 2D Profile Shape in the Edit Mode of the 2D Profile Shape.

  • During the creation mode using the 2D Profile shape, users can now turn on the TriBall to precisely position the 2D editing plane.

Part and Assembly Rendering Property to Display Hidden Edges

New options to display hidden edges for any part/assembly regardless of the scene rendering setting are now available. Users can turn on hidden edges on any given part/assembly by selecting "Display Hidden Edges" under the Rendering tab on the Part/Assembly Properties dialog (Part/Assembly Properties is accessed by right-click on a part/assembly and selecting "Part/Assembly Properties". Ctrl-E on a selected part/assembly is a hotkey to turn the hidden edges on/off.

Rendering Options for Selection Through Parts

Using the new hidden edge display, users can select through the part to the hidden edges for the parts that have the selective hidden display on. In addition, the TriBall has been enhanced to snap to the hidden edges that are displayed in the scene environment.

Option to Turn 2D Profiles into 3D Curves

Extending the 3D Curve creation capabilities for surfacing use, users now have the ability to create 3D Curves from 2D Profiles. To Use: Create a 2D Profile shape. Right-click on the 2D Profile shape and select "Create 3D Curve".

Profile Edit and Creation Visibility Display

New display options have been added to the 2D profile when editing and creating 2D shapes (2D Profiles for Extrude, Spin, Sweep, Loft, or 2D Shapes). These display options allow for easier editing by eliminating unwanted or unnecessary geometry in the edit or creation mode of the Intellishape. New options appear under the "Show" option when right-clicking on the grid background as follows:

• Hide edited Intellishape - When editing an Intellishape profile, this option hides the Intellishape geometry that is visible in the part geometry. 

• Hide edited Part - When editing an Intellishape profile, this option hides the geometry of the part that contains the Intellishape. 

• Hide All - This option will hide all geometry in the scene including assemblies, parts, and Intellishapes.

• Display All - This is the default behavior that will display all geometry including Intellishape geometry. This is the current behavior in prior versions of IronCAD.

Profile Input Capabilities

Users can now input precise input for curves on the 2D grid. Values are entered as # # (number space number - ex. 1 4). Users can input values for length and radius values. To Use: While in a 2D Profile, select on the desired line type. In the coordinate field, type the location for the first point as number space number then hit enter. For the second point or radius, input its value and hit enter.

2D Profile Selection

A new option to double-click on lines in the 2D Profile to select the complete path for operations has been added.

B-Spline Improvements on the 2D Profile

New behavior on spline creation in the 2D Profile has been implemented to increase predictability. Based on the view zoom, tangency values created between splines and other lines will be created as a dependency of the zoom. This will eliminate tangency values that are extremely large during the creation. Users can expect to see more predictable values due to the zoom of the view. Zoomed in close will give smaller tangencies and zoomed out will give larger values.

2D Import Improvements

New options are available in the profile import command to allow users to import desired layers as well as setting the tolerance for the lines and points. Tolerances will allow for the profile to try to connect points that are not at exact connection points. Other enhancements added are the double line detection and deletion capabilities. On the execution of the Intellishape command, this command will detect double lines present and will remove these lines so that it can complete the profile command. Double lines can occur on imported geometry and in commands like "Project 3D Edges".

Statistics Check on Assemblies

Users can now perform a statistics checks on Assembles as well as Parts. Results for the statistics will give the users feedback on the type of problem and will display problem areas if possible. 

Right-Click and Drag from Catalog Enhancements

A new option has been added to allow a right-click and drag of any Intellishape from the catalog with an option on the drop to place as Intellishape or Part. This option gives users the ability to drop Intellishapes at precise drop locations with options to create as an Intellishape or new part.

First Drop Shape in Scene Positions at 0,0,0.

On new scenes, parts will be positioned to 0,0,0 for the first shape dragged-and-dropped from the catalog. This allows users to have a base point reference when editing positions for parts and Intellishapes.

Shift Drag and Drop to Catch Center of Selected Edge

New options to drag and drop from the catalog while holding the shift key down will snap to the center point of selected circular edge. To Use: Drag shape from catalog and hold down the shift key. Move cursor to circular edge. Drop the selected shape and it will snap or reposition to the center point of the selected circular edge.

Analysis on 2D Planar Surfaces

Users can now perform analysis calculations on 2D Planar Surfaces for calculating Area Moments of Inertia, Surface Area, and Center of Gravity. To Use: Right-click on a planar face on existing geometry and select "Create Surface Shape". Select the newly created Surface Shape. Under the Tools Menu, select Analysis. Select Compute on the Tab for the desired calculation.

Box Select Parts

The box select command has been enabled at the part level to allow the ability to box select parts in a scene. To use: Set the selection filter to Part. Select the Box Select command. Left-Click and drag a box around the desired parts.

Right-click Export Parts

A new option on the right-click menu of selected parts and assemblies has been added to export. This saves users time by eliminating the extra step to go to the File Menu to export parts.

Drawing Enhancements

Crop View Command

New to IronCAD, is the Crop view command in the drawing. On any view (except Detail Views and Broken Views), users can crop the view based on a closed profile created by the user to show only the desired area of a view. To Use: Right-click on a view and select crop view. Draw a closed profile cropping area using the 2D Drawing tools and select the finish command. 

Hole Table

The new Hole Table command allows users to create a table of holes values based on a selected view. This table can contain holes sizes and positions along with additional user defined settings. To Use: Select a view. Under the "Create" menu, select Hole Table. Place the location of table. Next, place the X and Y location based on the geometry in the view. Select the holes to be placed in the table. Hit Esc or select the Hole Table command again to finish.

Aligned Section Command

A new aligned section tool has been added to increase the view creation types for manufacturing needs. To Use: Select the Aligned Section Command on the view creation toolbar. Using the 2D Drawing tools, draw the desired section line. Select "Choose Sight Direction" on the aligned section toolbar and select the line in the view to be used as the looking direction located at the ends of the section line. Choose the arrow direction and select the Finish to execute.

Auto-Item Bubble Command

A new option to auto-item bubble views is available when a Bill of Materials (BOM) table is present on a drawing. This will create an Item bubble for every part present in the view (It will place item bubbles on hidden parts as well). To Use: Create a BOM table. Right-click on the view and select Auto-Item Bubble.

Item Bubble Part Highlight

A new behavior has been added on item bubbles that highlight the parts that they are attached to. This new behavior makes it easier to detect which part is referenced by the item bubble.

Zoom and Pan Camera Commands in 2D work with Middle Mouse.

Zoom and Pan camera commands now work with the middle mouse button and wheel. Middle mouse button and drag will invoke the Pan command and the Wheel movement will invoke vertical scrolling, horizontal scrolling with Shift Key pressed, and zoom with Ctrl Key pressed.

Background Color for Drawings Option.

A new option in the Tools/Options/Color tab for Sheet Background Color is available to set the background color of drawing sheets. This setting will only change the background color. Users will need to set color settings for lines and other geometry to support the select background color.

Hide Part Improvements

New hide part selection options are available. Users can select part edges (which allows selection through other parts) to highlight parts to be hidden. When moving the cursor over the part or the part edges, the part will highlight to allow the user the ability to determine the correct part.

Broken View Extension Line Improvements

New Handles have been added to Broken View Extension lines to allow user to adjust the length values. The handles have snapping that allow the user to move one handle to the desired location and snap the other handles to the first.

Transfer to Drawing Improvements for Metric Callouts

Dimensions transferred from the scene are now updated based on the dimensions in the scene. Updates made in the scene will automatically update the drawing dimensions. Users will be warned not to edit dimensions properties that are defined from the scene setting since they will be overwritten on the next update. Dimension properties that are not available in the scene can be edited on the drawing and will be maintained by the drawing.

New Dimension Types

New dimension types have been added to help users create cleaner drawings for manufacturing. Additional Dimension types added are as follows:

• Leader Line Style Dimension - Allows the leader line to move off the extension line for dimensions that may be smaller or in areas of little space.

• Broken Style Radius\Diameter with Jog - Allows the Extension line to have a Jog segments for Radius\Diameter dimensions.

• Arc Extension Lines - Allows Diameter\Radius dimensions to extend past the arc segment while displaying a phantom extension line.

Leader Line Style Dimension	Broken Style Radius\Diameter with Jog	Arc Extension Lines

New ISO Cosmetic Thread Display

Users have a new option to display the cosmetic thread as 270° circle for ISO standards. This option can be set manually on individual cosmetic threads or as a global default in the default element properties.

Miscellaneous

Preview Display for Open of Files

New file previews for scene and drawing files are available for files saved in IronCAD V6. The preview window in the scene is available on open, insert, and import. In the drawing, the window is available for creating standard views, general views, and BOM. Other enhancements available: Users that have IronCAD installed on their machine can use Windows Explorer and the Thumbnail Preview to see previews of IronCAD scene and drawing.

Configurations

Users have the option of specifying how configurations handle externally linked part files. Prior to 6.0 the configuration in a linking file would always defer to the active configuration in a linked file. We have now added a switch in the Configurations dialog so that the user can always have the local configuration override the state of an externally linked part in the linked file.

Part Edge Smoothly Connected Selection

A new option to select smoothly connected edges on a part is now available. To Use: Select to the Edge Level of a Part (Not available in a command context like the Blend Command. Use the Smooth Connected option in these commands). Select an edge that has other edges that are smoothly connected to it. Select the Tab Key. This will select all smoothly connected edges in the loop.

Boolean Retains Intellishape

When performing a Boolean operation where the shape used as the Boolean operator only has a single Intellishape, the Intellishape will be retained in the resulting part to allow editing after the Boolean. To Use: Create a shape with a single Intellishape (Can be a Part or Surface). Select Set Operation under the Shape pull-down menu and pick add or remove. Create a part to perform the Boolean on. While holding the Shift key, select the part to be modified by the Boolean and then the part that will be used in the Boolean. Select the Boolean command from the Shape pull-down Menu. Notice that the resulting Part will have a new Intellishape that is fully editable that represents the original shape prior to the Boolean.

License Activation Enhancements

New license activation options (Internet, Email, and Fax registration) are available to help streamline the activation process. Error detection has been developed for the Serial number and Codeword input to help eliminate invalid registration. The new activation process allows users to activate the serial number and codeword on multiple machines without limiting the user. After 3 registrations, an email will be sent to IronCAD and the first registration user (if available) to let them know that the product has been activated more than 3 times. This may prompt a call from IronCAD to the Registered user to verify usage and to track illegal copies from spreading.

Installation Improvements

Installation will now only install IronCAD or Inovate based on the users selection. If a user wished to install both products on a single machine, it will require the user to run two installation processes. New Trial Startup Messaging has been added to help users determine the trail time and to allow the user to skip the trial message until the end of the trial period. 

Memory Usage and Management Improvements

Improvements have been made on the memory usage and management of IronCAD.