ZW3D 2016 Released

GUANGZHOU, China, Mar 30, 2016 - ZW3D, one of the world's leading suppliers of advanced CAD/CAM solutions for the manufacturing industry, announced the availability of ZW3D 2016, a full-featured & pro-level CAD/CAM program designed for Product Design and Operations alike, to smoothen interaction and shorten time-to-market.

Like most of 3D CAD programs, ZW3D 2016 is embedded with numerous powerful & comprehensive functionalities, like new 3D sketch for efficient piping design, new alignment for quicker assembly and expansive FTI for much-advanced sheet metal etc., allowing mechanics & engineers to explore design ideas, visualize concepts, and simulate designs. It also includes some easy-to-learn & entry-level functions to link operation departments in the following approaches:

Import & Healing

Data interoperability matters a lot in product development. For the engineering department, the ability to reuse rather than re-create modeling data will save countless hours; for others, the ability to access internal and external data will minimize communication costs.

In ZW3D 2016, the built-in file translator ensures seamless data exchange with mainstream CAD programs, like Catia, NX, Creo, SoldWorks, STEP, JT, Parasolid and much more, in latest file formats. Plus, abundance of healing & freeform tools enables quick detection & restoration of imported models.

Drawing Review & Direct Edit

Model Checking is vital to safeguard the manufacturability & quality of products. For procurement, ZW3D can help calculate mass properties and stock size of geometries before purchasing; for CAD managers, a series of verification tools, like thickness analysis, interference check & dynamic section view, etc., are provided to inspect product structure and assembly reasonability before releasing the design data downstream.

Plus, with the much-more stable Direct Edit technologies in ZW3D 2016, the pinpointed problems in the previous checking process can be easily fine-tuned, if required.

3D Annotation

Annotating is to upgrade the paper-based collaboration into digital one. Engineers can define dimensions & annotations vividly on 3D models with the newly-developed PMI in ZW3D 2016, which allows their collaborators who don’t work with CAD to be highly engaged in product development. This will help speed up interaction, avoid project delays and boost productivity.

File Output

Offering proper files to corresponding users is crucial to the cross-department and cross-company interactions. ZW3D 2016 comes with much improved 2D sheet, delivering rapid and precise generation of various standard 2D sheets and BOM table from parts or assembly. Moreover, designs in ZW3D can be exported to STEP, IGES, STL, Parasolid, SAT, CATIA & 3D PDF files etc.

“This new release is our attempt to expand the reach of ZW3D,” said Colin Lin, Director of ZW3D Overseas Business. “By developing simple-to-learn & use solutions to both CAD users and ordinary people.”

About ZW3D CAD/CAM

ZW3D is cost-effective CAD/CAM software for 3D modeling, mold design, and machining, which takes engineers from concept to finished product in one easy-to-use, single collaborative environment. For more information, visit http://www.zwsoft.com/ZW3D/ or follow ZWSOFT on facebook.

IronCAD Integrates with SprutCAM

ATLANTA, GA, USA, Mar 27, 2016 - IronCAD, a leading provider of design productivity solutions, announced full integration with the latest version of SprutCAM, a powerful programming system for milling, turning, wire EDM, multi-tasking machine tools and robots.

IronCAD's unique Catalog Drag & Drop technology leads the industry in design reuse and is especially helpful for CNC machine setup and fixture design. The Drag & Drop process offers intuitive part positioning which make it easy to create fixture assemblies, part setup documents and other relevant machining content. IronCAD makes it easy to share this information among your design team and the machine shop for convenient access.

The IronCAD catalog can archive parts with precise datum locations for CNC machining and fixture design and when combined with IronCAD's patented TriBall, customers can position and orient machining parts with ease. IronCAD also delivers a wide range of tools to allow you to keep your manufacturing team closely involved in your CNC projects by including photorealistic rendering, 3D/2D PDF, web publishing of models, and a standalone 3D viewer.

Being a Gold Partner of IronCAD, SprutCAM system allows its users to add a "SprutCAM" button directly in IronCAD. On clicking this button, the current model is transferred and opened directly in SprutCAM. Additionally, while in the IronCAD session, the user is able to keep editing the model and then with a click of the "SprutCAM" button they are able to update the earlier opened model, recalculate the current tool path and generate a new control program. Such associativity ensures convenient working and updating with SprutCAM and the highest efficiency of the machining process due to excellent control programs.

Cary O'Connor, Vice President of Marketing at IronCAD stated, "IronCAD is pleased to announce the SprutCAM integration and the granting of our Gold Partners status to SprutCAM." Cary added, "The SprutCAM integration is a natural extension in the design process and the ability to make changes to the design for manufacturing with the update mechanism to maintain tool paths, provides a significant increase in productivity."

Download the latest version of IronCAD from http://www.ironcad.com/try-it-now and SprutCAM with the IronCAD Integration from http://www.sprutcam.com/downloads.

About IronCAD

Based in Atlanta, GA, IronCAD is a leading provider of 3D Design Productivity Solutions that deliver the highest levels of customer satisfaction and productivity. Individual components of this solution can be used standalone, complementary within an existing design environment, or can be used together to collaborate effectively throughout the enterprise to extend productivity. Its flagship product IRONCAD has won many industry awards for its innovative technology and leads the industry in its ease of use and design productivity. For more information on IronCAD, call 1-800-339-7304 or visit www.ironcad.com.

About SprutCAM

SprutCAM with over 25 years of experience is a leading developer and supplier of computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software for a full range of machine tool applications. SprutCAM is a powerful, high-performance, full-spectrum programming system for milling, turning, wire EDM, multi-tasking machine tools and robots. SprutCAM has over 5,000 licenses worldwide, managed through its network of dealers and OEMs.

Facts and figures:

• 2013 - SprutCAM topped the rating of the fastest growing CAM vendor of the world CAM market on the basis of CIMdata's data.
• 2014 – A new SprutCAM training center in the USA was opened.
• 2015 – A new SprutCAM training center in Germany was opened.
• Throughout the world, a new copy of SprutCAM is installed every 40 minutes.

Independent from the branch of industry, SprutCAM will provide you with a wide range of automatic functions on everything from simple to complex machining jobs, which successfully cover and even surpass CAM systems of the upper level. For more information on SprutCAM, call +1-608-849-4430, email info@sprutcamamerica.com or visit www.sprutcam.com.

IMSI/Design Releases TurboCAD Pro, Platinum 2016

NOVATO, CA, USA, Mar 23, 2016 - IMSI/Design, the developer of the #1 best-selling CAD in retail, announced the release of both TurboCAD Pro 2016 and TurboCAD Pro Platinum 2016. 

"While this year's release follows others with remarkable architectural and visualization/rendering enhancements, TurboCAD Pro Platinum 2016 is a particularly outstanding release when it comes to professional mechanical design enhancements. These include advanced 3D Blending, 3D Law tools and Point Cloud support," stated Bob Mayer, President of IMSI/Design. To view new feature video click here.

TurboCAD Pro 2016 and TurboCAD Pro Platinum 2016 new and improved features include:

3D modeling / Mechanical

• NEW Advanced Blending Functionality - New 3D Fillet Blending options allow for much more organic and realistic object creation. New Holdline Blend uses 2D elements to control limits of the fillet. New Variable Blend uses points to specify the radii at various locations on the fillet. 
• New Bend to Path and Part Tree operation can bend an ACIS solid object along a line, arc, or curve.
• New Curve from Law tool creates a parametrically defined 2D, 3D curve using Laws. The resulting curve can be used by the Graphic on Path tool, in Sweeps, etc.
• New Surface from Laws generates an entirely new parametric surface object by formula.
• New Warp Entity by Law can warp an existing 3D solid based on a formula.
• New Offset with Laws reshapes the resulting offset object based on a formula. 
• New Extract Entity allows extraction of edges and faces from a solid body with or without an offset. Offset sheet faces loops, and other extracted objects can be used by other tools such as sweep. Options include extract edge from body, extract/offset face from solid, remove open gap from sheet body, and offset face/planar face loop.
• New Imprint Edge imprints edges into Faces, dividing them into discrete areas each of which can have its own material. 
• New Tweak Face Tool extends the face of an existing 3D solid object to the boundary that is defined by a sheet face, allowing users to easily create more complexed forms.
• Improved Revolve Face offers the ability to use a 2D profile to generate a revolve from the face of an existing 3D object and either add or subtract the result.
• New Slots Tools including Slot, Circular Slot, and Circular Slot By Center and Radius.
• New Point Cloud Support – TurboCAD Pro Platinum now offers tools to interpret a set of data points in X, Y, and Z coordinates, used to represent the external surface of an object. New Point Cloud Import/Export uses .PCD and .XYZ formats to transfer data. New Point Cloud Triangulation can extract a surface from a point cloud data set, and New Subset Point Cloud selects a subset of an existing point cloud to create a separate entity.
• Additional Enhancements include new 3D Slice by Facet, new Lofting to a Point, and a checkerboard pattern added to the Array / Pattern Tool. TurboCAD Pro 2016 and TurboCAD Pro Platinum 2016 also now use the ACIS R26 Kernel for its 3D modeling engine.

Architectural

• New Convert Roof Slabs - Take a classic TurboCAD roof, and convert it to a set of roof slabs. This makes it more convenient to create and edit custom roofs (clipped gable roof, dormer, etc...).
• New Trim Roof Slab by Plane - Allows users to trim a Roof Slab by the plane of other roof slabs, standard roofs, or walls.
• New/Improved IFC Object Support - The IFC file filter, used for building information management (BIM), now supports the Import and Export of Beam and Column object types. 
• Improved House Wizard for quickly laying out house plans now allows you to name each room while in the tool.
• Additional Enhancements include that ability to multi-landing stairs from a 2D polyline. Also, the Edit Roof Slab Tool now includes an input field.

Rendering

• New Redsdk 4.1 Engine with Photorealistic Enhancements including New Portals to designate objects as transparent to sky luminances, and New Tone Mapping Controls that are both interactive and graphical.
• Improved Render Manager and workflow of rendering components including materials, luminances, environments, and advanced render styles. The render manager also now supports the Dark Theme.
• Improved RedSDK Transparent fill support - Transparent fill now works the same in both Redsdk and GDI. A solid brush pattern can also be called a fill. 
• Additional Enhancements include new Active Drawing Components, improved Double Precision, and faster update of some objects in RedSDK mode.

User Interface

• New Highlighting of 3D objects and parts of 3D objects while using certain tools in Redsdk mode including imprinting, quick pull & 3D mirror copying.
• Improved Conceptual Selector – Users can now relocate the reference point and the rotation bars using the CTRL key. Also, scale handles are now available on the boundary boxes as in classic mode.
• New Spaces - Manage all your spaces through the design director including model space, and all paper spaces so you can handle spaces more efficiently than the tab interface allows. 
• New Show Normals - The visualization of the normals make it easier to estimate the smoothness and orientation of the 3D objects, and to find artifacts/defects on those objects.

General

• New/Improved Mirror Copy Tool for 3D Objects includes New Mirror along Face option and New Try to Create Single Object, plus operations are now recorded in the Part Tree. 
• New File Management Options – Improve workflow with New Backup of Open Documents on Program Close. The New File Buffer feature saves the Undo/Redo buffer.
• New ISO Circle/Grid - New tool allows you to easily construct isometric circles.

Interoperability

• New PRC 3D PDF Support – In addition to existing file export support of U3D PDF, TurboCAD now exports 3D content to PRC (Product Representation Compact) 3D PDF.
• Improved AutoCAD (DWG/DXF) - TurboCAD now uses the latest Teigha engine for the conversion of .DWG and .DXF files to and from TurboCAD for improved interoperability with other CAD applications.

Availability and Pricing

• TurboCAD Pro 2016 is now available for $1,495 USD for a full license, $399.99/year for an annual subscription. 
• TurboCAD Pro Platinum 2016 is now available for $1,695 USD for a full license, $499.99/year for an annual subscription. 

About IMSI/Design

IMSI/Design is the global leader in retail CAD (Computer Aided Design) and a pioneer in mobile solutions for the AEC (Architectural, Engineering, and Construction) industry. With over 16 million products distributed since 1988, IMSI/Design products include the award-winning TurboCAD, DesignCAD, TurboFloorPlan, TurboViewer and TurboSite families of precision design applications for desktop and mobile. For more information, visit www.TurboCAD.com or call IMSI/Design at 1.800.833.8082 (+1.415.483.8000).

ODA Announces Teigha PRC Production Release

PHOENIX, AZ, USA, Oct 21, 2015 - Open Design Alliance (ODA) announced the production release of Teigha PRC, a 3D PDF component for Teigha. This component can be used to export a .dwg or .dgn file to PRC-based 3D PDF (Portable Document Format).

The accurate and highly compressible PRC file format is optimized to store, load and display 3D data such as geometry, assembly structures and product manufacturing information. PRC files encapsulated within PDF, an open standard, can be viewed universally which means that detailed 3D designs can be widely communicated.

PRC-based PDF files can be easily archived yet original 3D information will always be accessible for design reuse and revision within CAD, CAD and CAE systems.

“Our members have expressed a strong interest in 3D PDF and the versatility it provides,” comments Neil Petersen, ODA President. “Teigha PRC gives them an additional option for storing and sharing 3D information.”

Teigha PRC is also intended for use as a stand-alone library, providing support for the entire ISO specification for PRC. The component is available to members on the ODA website at http://www.opendesign.com.