IronCAD announced the immediate availability of the IronCAD® 2022 Product Update #1 (PU1), a major extension to the most recent 2022 release. Geared to enhance productivity and the user experience in both 3D and 2D for mechanical machinery and fabrication design users, PU1 was purpose-built with new improvements to empower manufacturing companies and their ability to drive efficiency.
The power and flexibility added with this release to IronCAD are significant and can become an essential part of the user’s product development strategy. PU1 for IronCAD 2022 offers enhancements that empower engineers and increase user productivity through improvements to IronCAD’s performance when using the 3D Section Tool, usability for the 3D environment, and time spent for users during the detailing phase.
The new features and improvements of PU1 for IronCAD 2022 improve the entire CAD value chain to optimize design efficiency and production. Enabling users to take design processes to the next level, let’s take a closer look at the enhancements included in Product Update #1:
Performance Improvements:
IronCAD users will notice a major performance improvement when using the 3D Section Tool, especially with large data sets such as large machines. Additionally, improvements have been made in the usage by automatically enabling the TriBall positioning tools and Default Orientation plane on the initial action to make the tool more intuitive.
Ease of Use Improvements for the 3D Environment:
Users are now enabled to use the Object Browser to visually identify catalog items and selected items in the scene browser using a 3D viewer docked in the IronCAD interface. Thus quickly providing a visual representation of the selected object to help identify the correct element for a given task.
PU1 introduces faster methods to restructure the assembly tree using Ctrl-X/CTRL-Shift-V to place under the selected item in the Scene Browser. This is a powerful ability in IronCAD to reorder the structure dynamically, and with this new improvement, it has become even faster and easier to update the assembly structure.
Direct Dimension Measure in the Stretch Tool to set the desired stretch distance without having to measure outside of the tool. Users typically want to stretch a model a certain distance from point A to B. With this new option, users can get that distance between A and B within the tool to quickly stretch the model.
In addition, users can now use Ctrl-E 3-phase toggle to Show Hidden Edges, Hide All Edges, Show Visible Edges to help control visibility in the 3D and to allow for speed increases to turn off edges on selected models that slow the performance during rotation.
Added is a new click selection filter (`) to select the lowest visible assembly in the path which enables quick access to an object’s parent assembly. Users can simply hold the (`) key and click to get the select object parent assembly.
IronCAD Drawing Improvements :
To reduce the time for users in the detailing phase, IronCAD enhanced the Auto-Item Bubble Tool to allow for more control for placement of Item Bubble and improved results to reduce overlapping leader lines.
With the addition of new visibility controls for the BOM to show non-item bubbled rows in the BOM both inside the edit BOM control and with the Item Bubble creation Tool to help users understand what “is” an “is not” item bubbled.
Improved dimension capabilities, including correct dimension placement and spacing using Over/Under Scripts, Diameter dimension support for both outside arrows and dimension lines, and to create a circumference diameter by clicking on quadrant points.
PU1 features new options to “push” individual dimension style changes back to the global style, which then would apply to all dimensions using the style.
Additionally, this release adds a new Hole Callout Style Editor in the Dimension Style to control custom callout symbols and test strings.
Further improvements in PU1 for IronCAD 2022 feature many modeling and user interface enhancements designed for existing customers and new customers alike. This product update adds new tools for corrugated packaging using the sheet metal tools, such as inverted bend support and visibility controls in sketch bend for disabled bends and color differentiation for each sketch bend category. Furthermore, IronCAD adds a powerful new ability to link to a Part Body in another Part so that changes can be made in one part and updated in the second part. A few improvements of note include updates to the integrated 3D Party products, including IronCAD Mechanical and Multiphysics for IronCAD, and quick access to reset the IronCAD XML’s inside of IronCAD to improve the support communication with customers with corrupt user interface issues.
