What’s New in 2020
Dec 2, 2019 |
IronCAD 2020 Release
We’re excited to announce that IRONCAD 2020 is here, and it’s got more than just perfect vision. This new release contains many exciting improvements and capabilities that help you conceptualize your ideas more efficiently and allows you to take your vision and transform them into reality to further drive innovation and get your products to market faster. Our goal for IRONCAD 2020 was to focus on performance, commonly asked usability items, and continued improvements on key functionality that sets IronCAD apart in the design process.
We understand that cad software users are under consistent pressure to make the design process much more efficient and effective. With this in mind, we listened and focused on what was most important to you, our customers. Based on user feedback, we improved the ICD (IronCAD Drawing Environment) to increase productivity and enable metal fabricators and custom machinery manufacturers to design, work, and collaborate with large assembly designs and part designs.
Below are more specific details about this release and focuses specifically on the following areas:
Quick Links
- Large Assembly Performance
- Production Drawings Improvements
- Improved Usability and User Interface Enhancements
- General Improvements
Large Assembly Performance
IRONCAD 2020 has significantly improved large assembly performance, allowing users to work more efficiently. Specific large assembly performance improvements include:
Improved Performance in Large Assembly Load/Save/Import/Interaction Performance
Open/Save/Import speed is improved for files that contain large structures that may have large assembly trees containing many nodes under individual assembly levels. In all areas of open, save, import, and interaction with the scene browser, changes have been implemented that have significant improvement in speed in all areas while working on large assemblies.
This improvement effectively propels IronCAD past traditional CAD software making us one of the fastest machinery software systems for large assemblies in terms of performance.
In addition to the structural changes, we have also made new use of multiple cores on machines to improve the loading of files. Overall, users can see general improvements, as well as varying addition improvements depending on the model, as mentioned above, that can see 30-50% improvements in these cases on many different operations.
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Improved Performance in Large Assembly Drawing Interaction
Additional changes have been implemented to the drawing and interaction performance for large assemblies with the IronCAD (ICD) environment. In this latest release, users will see a significant improvement in interaction (such as pan/zoom) for drawings that have many dimensions and transferred annotations such as cosmetic threads while working in the drawing environment.
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Shrinkwrap Model Swap Light and Full Models In-Place
For ShrinkWrap Swap In-Place, improved interactions between the light and full models, making them much more useful and powerful in the design process. With the ShrinkWrap functionality, users can load a full or ShrinkWrap model (or selectively load). After it is loaded, users can now swap between the full and shrink versions while the file is open giving them more flexibility to load the desired information in real-time during the design process.
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Production Drawings Improvements
Dimension Property Browser on Edit
Previously, the property browser was populated with dimension settings and options during creation. Now, when a user exits the creation command and selects a dimension, the property browser will populate with similar information, ensuring consistent creation and editing along with quick access to common items defined for dimensions.
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Automatic Dimension Line Breaks
Automatic Breaking of the dimension lines is now supported. This is a sheet based setting to enable/disable and options to break around arrowheads as well. This capability is based on the layering order of dimensions. Users can select on dimension and right-click to use the options to move forward and back in the display order. This will control which dimension lines will be broken (the dimension on top is not broken as an example).
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Chamfer Dimension
A new dimension type has been added to create a chamfer dimension similar to the DRAFT environment. This command allows for a quick dimension creation to call out a chamfer edge. Pick a reference edge and the chamfer and the length and angle are automatically displayed.
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Parallel to Line Dimension Support
The Smart Dimension will now have the ability to snap and align to an edge to create a parallel dimension. Users can pick two points, move the cursor over an edge to be parallel to, and hit Tab. In those tabs, one will align to the selected edge. Once aligned, other operations like insert new will adhere to the parallel alignment.
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Hole Callout Tool Support for Threads
The Hole Callout tool in the ICD will now have options on the Callout Dimension Property to show Hole and/or the Thread Callout Information. This can be set up as a style setting as well as giving users the control to display both the hole and/or thread information associated with the hole.
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Automatic Re-snap Offset Distance
Introduced in 2019, users can click on an edge or dimension and have it offset based on offset options in the dimension properties. This has now been enhanced to support the capability when moving an already placed dimension. Simply repeat the same movement and it will re-snap based on the selected item.
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Dimension to Section Lines
The Smart Dimension will now allow the ability to hit and dimension to the section line for additional detailing clarity and or reference dimensions.
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Filter to Dimension to Points under Section Lines
Smart Dimensions filters will now properly honor settings to hit geometry below the section line to access hidden points.
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Section View Section Face Only Option
New options to only show the sectioned face geometry when creation sections. This eliminates the display of unwanted geometry in section views.
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Automatic Overall View Dimensions
Ability to enable the overall view dimension for views. Useful in Bulk Drawing Creations and exporting to laser cutters to have an overall sheet size (for example sheet metal) that is automatically applied without user interaction.
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“Do Not” Transfer Dimension to View Settings
New options to prevent the transferred dimensions from appearing on a specific view. This is also useful for the Bulk View Creation to set up templates to have transferred dimensions appear on specific views only.
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Command for Displaying Hidden Edges for Selected Parts
Now accessible at all levels (not only the sheet level), users can quickly enable hidden edges for a selected part in views with a simple right-click on a view or at the sheet level.
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Standard View Dialog Usability Improvements
Improvements to make this larger due to the use of larger resolution monitors.
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Spell Checker
A commonly asked for item to spell check text and dimension text in the drawing is now supported and will use local language dictionaries in the spell check.
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Zoom to Cursor Improvements
The zoom to cursor will function properly and similar to other applications to zoom based on the cursor location.
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Embedded Objects and Groups on ICD need to have Layer Control
A new style setting has been added for these elements to set the default layer so that they can be exported properly for manufacturing drawings.
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2D Catalogs Support Annotation Drag & Drop
The 2D Catalog now supports the ability to add specific leader-line based annotations to the catalog for common reuse. Text with Lead, GD&T and weld frames are among the supported elements.
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Home Tab to include icons for Save, Open and Create New Files
The home ribbon bar in the IronCAD Drawing environment has been updated to include common actions such as Open and Save to help reduce mouse-travel in the detailing process.
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Support for Bulk View Creation with Draft
Similar to the Bulk View creation for IronCAD’s Drawing environment (ICD), users can now select an option to use CAXA DRAFT in the process. Once enabled, users can select CAXA DRAFT specific templates to use for each part/assembly used in the process.
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Multiple View Move
The ability to select and move multiple views in the DRAFT environment to a new location using the Move View tool has been added.
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BOM Part Quantity
BOM Part Quantity now counts “User set Quantity” multiplied with “Number of Parts”.
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Support Project Shown Parts on Update
Users can now set certain parts to be hidden in the scene and not projected in the view creation. When new parts added to the scene, these will not be projected and only the current selected to show parts will update.
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Improved DWG Compatibility
Some known issues with DWG importing have been resolved to have a more compatible version coming into DRAFT.
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Ability to Set Background Color
In Draft, the ability to change background colors for model and layout modes. Users are now able to set the Model space color different from the layout mode. This enables fast visual as to where they are in the drawing environment.
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Table support for Drop Down Menus
This can be configured by the user for the content in the drop-down and which columns support the drop-down. This is useful for having tables with variable content that users can select to display.
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Improved Usability and User Interface Enhancements
Support for 4K Monitor Improvements
In order to better support 4K monitors, IronCAD invested in the development of Vector Icons that are used in our system for areas such as the Ribbon Bar. This change will help the appearance of the UI when using the DPI scaling commonly found on 4K Monitors.
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Search, Search and more Search
New search controls have been added throughout IronCAD. Search on the IronCAD Frame will locate commands in the Ribbon Bar to locate and activate commands. Users can also access search tools in the Tools/Options and in the Keyboard/Ribbon Bar customization tool.
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Dockable Catalogs (Tear-off Catalogs)
Users will now have the ability to tear-off individual catalogs to have multiple catalogs open at once and even move to a different monitor. For example, users could display the start, sheet metal, and IronCAD Mechanical catalogs all on a second monitor to seamlessly drag and drop objects/commands from the desired catalog without having to toggle to each catalog.
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Change Units by Click Units on the Status Bar
A simple improvement to allow the user to click on the status bar units to bring up the controls to change the units has been implemented.
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Replace Part With Links
Ability to perform a Ctrl Drag from catalog to replace parts that are linked. Previously it would break the link and replace the single object. Now it will retain the links and replace all the linked objects.
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Symmetrical Handle On/Off Dynamic Control Behavior
Options have been added to enable or disable the symmetrical toggle handle on IntelliShape handles. When enabled, the option appears on the sizebox dimension handle and it will remember the handle state based on what was last selected. When disabled, the handle behavior will not remember the selection state when clicking on/off the IntelliShape and allows user to just use the CTRL-Left-Click to select multiple handles for editing quickly.
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Find Gap in Sketches
A new tool has been added to help locate gaps in sketches. Activating the tool will allow you to specify a tolerance range for the gap and the tool will locate open areas within the range.
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Open Options for DWG/DXF
Options are available when opening DWG/DXF to determine which environment to open in. New options can display these options on open or you can access these options in the open dialog manually.
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Options for Search Behavior in Catalogs
In the catalogs, you can type and search for the desired components within the catalog. Options are available to dynamically search as you type or to search after “Enter” is pressed.
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General Modeling Improvements
Fill Pattern Feature
The pattern feature has been enhanced to support a Bilinear and Radial fill pattern. This is a very powerful command that allows desired patterns to populate on a planar face and update when the geometry is modified.
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Ability to Set Front View Definition on Any Object
New options to allow the user to define the Front View Definition for objects that may not have a planar face such as a cylinder. Users can set advance horizontal locations that are based on the anchor or global coordinates.
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Sheet Metal Convert to Sheet metal with Rip Tool
The convert to sheet metal tool has been enhanced to allow a rip feature definition during the command. This is useful for objects that do not have a defined bend.
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Sheet Metal Step Unfold/Refold
New features that appear in the feature tree to allow unfold/refold of specified bends have been added. This is useful for documentation flow or for editing the area that is unfolded.
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Sheet Metal Corner Break
A new command has been added to add corner features to sheet metal either a chamfer or blend as an entire part level. This allows for quick editing of the sheet metal to remove all sharp edges for example on the exterior of the sheet metal (this will not edit form geometry).
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Sheet Metal Bend Type Change at Feature Level
A new option has been added on the bend IntelliShape right-clicks menu to set the bend alignment type. This was previously accessible at the part level handles only.
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Support for the Latest Translator Versions
IronCAD’s support for Native Translator formats such as SolidWorks, Inventor, Pro/E, Unigraphics, and Catia have been updated to support newer formats. The following versions are supported for the 2020 release.
- CATIA V5: V5R8 – V5–6R2019
- Pro/E (CREO): 16 – Creo 6.0
- UG NX: 11 – NX 1847
- Inventor: V11 – V2020
- SolidWorks: 98 – 2020
- SolidEdge: V18 – ST11
- JT Import: 8 – 10.2
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KeyShot 9 Support
IronCAD Design Collaboration Suite 2020 fully supports the latest KeyShot 9 release to create amazing visuals fast. The real-time 3D rendering workflow displays results instantly and reduces the time it takes to create realistic product shots. From scientifically accurate material and environment presets to advanced material editing and animation, creating interactive product visuals or sales and marketing imagery has never been easier.
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