ViaCAD V11 New Features
Overview
2D Dimension and Constraints
Dimension and constraint tools are now available to manage the geometric relationships between 2D shapes. These relationships are used to remember design intent of 2D sketches, which typically drive 3D solids. Modifying any object within a system of constraints will update all other dependent objects accordingly.
Highlights of the Dimension and Constraint tools are implementation:
—Thirteen Geometric Constraints
—Dimension Constraints
—Variable and Equations
—Constraint Animation
—Auto Constrain
—Animate Dimension and Constraints
Products : ViaCAD 2D, ViaCAD 2D/3D, ViaCAD Pro
Video :
Highlights of the Dimension and Constraint tools are implementation:
—Thirteen Geometric Constraints
—Dimension Constraints
—Variable and Equations
—Constraint Animation
—Auto Constrain
—Animate Dimension and Constraints
Products : ViaCAD 2D, ViaCAD 2D/3D, ViaCAD Pro
Video :
Constraint Tool Palette and Variables Dialog
Example Animation of a Simple Constrained System
Left Figure : Constrained Profile with Dimensions
Right Figure : Extruded Part From Constrained Profile with Shell Features
Arc Radius Animated between 3 and 5 inches preserving design constraints such as tangency, concentricity, and length
CLICK IMAGE TO ANIMATE
Layer Duplicate
A new command to duplicate a layer and all the objects in that layer is now available through Concept Explorer. To access this command, place your cursor over the layer you want to duplicate, right click, and select the Duplicate command.
If you Duplicate a sub layer, the new duplicated layer is promoted to a first level layer.
Products : ViaCAD 2D, ViaCAD 2D/3D, ViaCAD Pro
If you Duplicate a sub layer, the new duplicated layer is promoted to a first level layer.
Products : ViaCAD 2D, ViaCAD 2D/3D, ViaCAD Pro
SVG Import and Export
Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) is an XML-based vector image format for two-dimensional graphics with support for interactivity and animation. The SVG specification is an open standard developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) since 1999. V11 now supports importing and exporting to this new format.
The new SVG Import/Export provides an alternative to using the Adobe Illustrator format for sharing vector based (scalable) graphics.
Products : ViaCAD 2D, ViaCAD 2D/3D, ViaCAD Pro
The new SVG Import/Export provides an alternative to using the Adobe Illustrator format for sharing vector based (scalable) graphics.
Products : ViaCAD 2D, ViaCAD 2D/3D, ViaCAD Pro
SVG Import & Export
LightWorks Texture Integration with OBJ, 3MF, 3DS, and SketchUp
Lightworks PhotoRendering now supports rendering texture images imported from OBJ, 3MF, SketchUP, and 3DS file formats.
Products : ViaCAD Pro
Products : ViaCAD Pro
Lightworks Rendering of a 3MF File
High Resolution Printing for Objects with Textures
Prints involving objects with textures now internally use Lightworks to generate the image for the printer, providing a high resolution output.
Products : ViaCAD Pro
Products : ViaCAD Pro
Print to 2D PDF of a Four View with Textures
Example Animation of a Simple Constrained System
Left Figure : Constrained Profile with Dimensions
Right Figure : Extruded Part From Constrained Profile with Shell Features
Arc Radius Animated between 3 and 5 inches preserving design constraints such as tangency, concentricity, and length
CLICK IMAGE TO ANIMATE
Skinning is the process of constructing a NURB surface between sections. Skins in ViaCAD can be open resulting in a NURB Surface or closed creating a Solid.
V11 introduces the ability to specify a path. The path defines the flow of the surface between the sections. Specifing a path means you may be able to define less sections which may produce a more overall smooth surfaces.
Restrictions
—Path must be one G2 smooth curve
—Path must be perpendicular at a section intersection
Video : https://youtu.be/-pgV41oxVN8
Products : SharkCAD Pro, ViaCAD Pro
V11 introduces the ability to specify a path. The path defines the flow of the surface between the sections. Specifing a path means you may be able to define less sections which may produce a more overall smooth surfaces.
Restrictions
—Path must be one G2 smooth curve
—Path must be perpendicular at a section intersection
Video : https://youtu.be/-pgV41oxVN8
Products : SharkCAD Pro, ViaCAD Pro
Skinning with Centerline Path
Example Skin
Rectangle to Circle along a Path
Simplify Curves
Some design tasks prefer higher order curves such as arcs, circles, and/or ellipses over lines. For example sharing data with a plasma or water jet cutting CNC system or extruding a profile into a solid and later adding edge treatments. V11 introduces the Simplify Curve tool to assist in this task.
Covert Lines or Polylines into:
—Arcs
—Circles
—Ellipses
—Splines
Products : ViaCAD 2D, ViaCAD 2D/3D, ViaCAD Pro
Covert Lines or Polylines into:
—Arcs
—Circles
—Ellipses
—Splines
Products : ViaCAD 2D, ViaCAD 2D/3D, ViaCAD Pro
Edge Features
Furniture or counter top designers often need to add an edge to their designs for either decorative or functional purposes. Adding these edges can be time consuming especially if the underlying length, width, or height is changed.
Edge features introduced in V11 provide a means to rapidly define parametric edges used in wood, marble, or granite designs.
Some predefined edge treatments include:
—Cove
—Rounds
—Rounds with Beaded Offset
—Full, Half, and Beaded Ogee
—Waves
—Bullnose, Half Bullnose
—Custom Edge
Products : ViaCAD Pro
Edge features introduced in V11 provide a means to rapidly define parametric edges used in wood, marble, or granite designs.
Some predefined edge treatments include:
—Cove
—Rounds
—Rounds with Beaded Offset
—Full, Half, and Beaded Ogee
—Waves
—Bullnose, Half Bullnose
—Custom Edge
Products : ViaCAD Pro
Example Edge Features
Stopped Chamfer
Stopped Chamfers are a new solid modeling feature in V11. A Stopped Chamfer replaces an edge with a bevel, typically for decorative purpose. The bevel starts and ends by a user specified value.
Parameters used to define a Stopped Chamfer are;
—Chamfer Length
—Distance from Start
—Distances from End
The transition rolls off using a smooth arc simulating the path of a router bit.
As with other features, the user can modify any of these parameters during the design process to explore alternative shapes quickly.
Products : ViaCAD Pro
Parameters used to define a Stopped Chamfer are;
—Chamfer Length
—Distance from Start
—Distances from End
The transition rolls off using a smooth arc simulating the path of a router bit.
As with other features, the user can modify any of these parameters during the design process to explore alternative shapes quickly.
Products : ViaCAD Pro
Railing with Four Stopped Chamfers
Threads (Precise & Cosmetic)
Threads are a common feature used in fasteners.
Threads in ViaCAD are defined with the following parameters.
—Inner Thread
—Outer Thread
—Pitch
—Length
—Starting location
Presise Threads
Accurately modeled threads via helix on ACIS models.
Products : PowerPack
Threads in ViaCAD are defined with the following parameters.
—Inner Thread
—Outer Thread
—Pitch
—Length
—Starting location
Presise Threads
Accurately modeled threads via helix on ACIS models.
Products : PowerPack
Outer and Inner Thread Examples
Surface From Laws
Regenerative design or algorithmic modeling is a method in which designers use and tweak formulas to create complex shapes that would otherwise be very difficult to design. V11 introduces the ability to use parametric formulas to design NURB shapes.
Formulas are defined by users specifying how x, y, and z relate to a parameterized equation (UV). For example a simple Paraboloid NURB surface is defined by U and V through the three parametric formulas:
f(x) = U*cos(V)
f(y) = U*sin(V)
f(z) = 0.2*U^2
Some predefined formulas available from a drop down for the designer include:
—Sine Wave
—Parabolids
—Moebius strip
—Klien Bottle
—Double Spring
—Barrel Spring
—Hour Glass Spring
—Sine or Twisted Tubes
Products : ViaCAD Pro, SharkCAD Pro
Formulas are defined by users specifying how x, y, and z relate to a parameterized equation (UV). For example a simple Paraboloid NURB surface is defined by U and V through the three parametric formulas:
f(x) = U*cos(V)
f(y) = U*sin(V)
f(z) = 0.2*U^2
Some predefined formulas available from a drop down for the designer include:
—Sine Wave
—Parabolids
—Moebius strip
—Klien Bottle
—Double Spring
—Barrel Spring
—Hour Glass Spring
—Sine or Twisted Tubes
Products : ViaCAD Pro, SharkCAD Pro
Example Surfaces from Laws
SPUR Gear Creation
A spur gear is one of the simplest and most common gears types. A spur gear consists of a cylinder or disk with teeth projecting radially. Spur gears are typically mounted in series to achieve large gear reductions and found in washing machines, alarm clocks and other devices.
The spur gear teeth in ViaCAD use an involute curve. The involute curve is the curve traced by a point on a straight line with rolls without slipping.
Spur Gears in ViaCAD are defined with the following parameters.
—Number of Teeth
—Module
—Pressure Angle
—Cone Angle
—Clearance
—Involute Samples
—Inner Hole Diameter
—Thickness
Products : PowerPack
The spur gear teeth in ViaCAD use an involute curve. The involute curve is the curve traced by a point on a straight line with rolls without slipping.
Spur Gears in ViaCAD are defined with the following parameters.
—Number of Teeth
—Module
—Pressure Angle
—Cone Angle
—Clearance
—Involute Samples
—Inner Hole Diameter
—Thickness
Products : PowerPack
Spur Gear Profile Extruded into a 3D Part
3MF Import & Export
The 3D Manufacturing Format (3MF) is a 3D printing format that allows design applications to send full-fidelity 3D models to other applications, platforms, services, and printers. The long term goal of the 3MF consortium is to replace STL as the industry standard format for 3D printing.
Highlights of the ViaCAD implementation are listed below:
—Supports UNIT description flag
—Color Attributes
—Textures (PNG, JPG) & UV Coordinates
—Support for full color 3D Printing
The 3MF consortium founding members include Microsoft, AutoDesk, Dassault Systems, 3D Systems, Siemens, PTC, HP, and ShapeWays. Check out the thousands of MicroSoft Paint 3D 3MF models in Windows 10 imported into ViaCAD 11!
Products : ViaCAD 2D, ViaCAD 2D3D, ViaCAD Pro
Highlights of the ViaCAD implementation are listed below:
—Supports UNIT description flag
—Color Attributes
—Textures (PNG, JPG) & UV Coordinates
—Support for full color 3D Printing
The 3MF consortium founding members include Microsoft, AutoDesk, Dassault Systems, 3D Systems, Siemens, PTC, HP, and ShapeWays. Check out the thousands of MicroSoft Paint 3D 3MF models in Windows 10 imported into ViaCAD 11!
Products : ViaCAD 2D, ViaCAD 2D3D, ViaCAD Pro
Variety of 3MF Imports from Paint 3D
VRML 2.0 Texture Support
VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language) is a file format used to describe 3D interactive graphics for the world wide web. Although replaced by other file formats, VRML is still popular in some circles. In fact VRML is one of the few formats that can be used to define a fully colored 3D print model*.
The image to the right is a VRML 2.0 file with textures uploaded to Shapeways. Shape ways has the ability to print this type of a model using SandStone suitable for figurines and sculptures.
*3MF will replace this feature at some point but many print bureaus such as Shapeways do not yet support 3MF.
Products : ViaCAD 2D, ViaCAD 2D3D, ViaCAD Pro
The image to the right is a VRML 2.0 file with textures uploaded to Shapeways. Shape ways has the ability to print this type of a model using SandStone suitable for figurines and sculptures.
*3MF will replace this feature at some point but many print bureaus such as Shapeways do not yet support 3MF.
Products : ViaCAD 2D, ViaCAD 2D3D, ViaCAD Pro
ViaCAD VRML with Textures Exported to Shapeways
Full Color Print Cost Estimate (~$22 for 3 inch model)
OBJ Texture Support
THE OBJ file format was updated to supporting reading and displaying textures.
Products : ViaCAD 2D, ViaCAD 2D3D, ViaCAD Pro
Products : ViaCAD 2D, ViaCAD 2D3D, ViaCAD Pro
OBJ Import with Textures
SketchUp 2018 Import/Export
SketchUp(TM) has introduced a new file format starting with their 2018 products. V11 has been updated to support the new format as well as supporting textures.
Products : ViaCAD 2D, ViaCAD 2D3D, ViaCAD Pro
Products : ViaCAD 2D, ViaCAD 2D3D, ViaCAD Pro
DXF/DWG 2018 Import/Export
AutoDesk(TM) has updated the DXF/DWG format with the release of AutoCAD 2018. V11 has been updated to support the new format.
Note: AutoCAD 2019 uses the same format as AutoCAD 2018.
Products : ViaCAD 2D, ViaCAD 2D3D, ViaCAD Pro
Note: AutoCAD 2019 uses the same format as AutoCAD 2018.
Products : ViaCAD 2D, ViaCAD 2D3D, ViaCAD Pro
PowerPack V11
PowerPack
PowerPack extends the feature set of ViaCAD/Shark with 70+ additional tools for Entity Management, 3D Printing Editing/Repair, and Advanced Modeling. V11 adds the Mesh to Analytic tool to convert mesh data (STL, SketchUP) into precise solids.
Videos:
SketchUP to Solid
STL to Solid
Products : ViaCAD 2D3D, ViaCAD Pro
PowerPack extends the feature set of ViaCAD/Shark with 70+ additional tools for Entity Management, 3D Printing Editing/Repair, and Advanced Modeling. V11 adds the Mesh to Analytic tool to convert mesh data (STL, SketchUP) into precise solids.
Videos:
SketchUP to Solid
STL to Solid
Products : ViaCAD 2D3D, ViaCAD Pro
SketchUp to Solid