Malcolm Crowe

Thanks for the explanation Cary. Malcolm

Attached are simple rendered images of an assembly with the "Perspective Camera" turned on. The time to render 100% was 46 seconds. However, when I turn off the "Perspective Camera" (keeping everything exactly the same) is takes 4 1/2 minutes just to complete 1%. Why is this? This slow rendering (without perspective) only occurs with perpendicular views such as front, right, left, top, etc... If I rotate the view slightly so that it isn't perpendicular to the screen then the rendering is fast (with or without perspective). Any suggestions as to why my perpendicular views are painfully slow to render (when perspective camera is turned off)?

Hi Harley. Check the layer settings for the model elements. These layer(s) may have been set to "don't print" (red cross shown through the printer icon). Malcolm

Hi Eric. Unlinking an external file doesn't delete the external file. So if you have CAXA drawing files or other scene files referring to that external file then these won't be affected. When you unlink an external file within the current scene that you are working in, only the "link" between the scene part and external file is broken. You still have the external file. But now you have a separate standalone part within your current scene that is no longer linked to the original external file. If you make a change to the part in your active scene it will not affect the external file as it is no longer linked. If I am starting a new project that is similar to a previous project I will often open the main assembly of the previous project, save as a new file, then remove all of the external links so that I end up with a single file containing all of the parts that I now want to manipulate. When I have finished making all of the design changes that I want (including part numbers etc...), then I save all of the parts within this single file as external files. From these individual external files I then create my CAXA drawings. Malcolm

Hi Vic, When I moved from SOLIDWORKS to IRONCAD I did so because I needed greater versatility for the type of work that I do. Essentially, I thought that IRONCAD would be a better fit for my business, and that has proved to be the case. However, for the first two years I would sometimes focus on what I couldn't do in IC, instead of what I could do. In my case I needed to adapt to work within the limitations of the software, while also improving my understanding of it's capabilities and how it does things. Malcolm

Attached is an image of a B-Spline 2D sketch. From outside of the sketch select it in the property browser, then select extract 3D Curve. From this 3D curve you can then measure the curve length. I don't know how to measure inside the sketch itself.

Hi Vic. Welcome to the forum. Attached are images of 2 3D curves. One is open and the other closed. The measure the length of these you can use the "Measurement" tool. Be sure the select the properties tab in the scene browser on the left, and then select the type of measurement wanted. In this case it is the "Curve Measurement" button. Then click on the 3D curve to display the result in the property browser. Malcolm

Hi Nick. Dragan's suggestion is a good one. The attached images (3 steps and result) are another method. Step 1: Create the master cavity Step 2: Blend the master cavity by selecting the bottom face (easier than selecting the 4 edges). Step 3. Select the previous 2 features (important) and activate the pattern tool, and select bilinear pattern, set the two directions (by selecting edges) and the offset.

Hi Joseph. Thanks for the suggestion. It is an interesting looking piece of software, but I haven't downloaded and trialled yet to see if it has enough functionality for what I want.

Are any IRONCAD users using other software alongside IRONCAD (such as RHINOMOLD) for providing mold design tools such as Draft Angle Analysis?

Thanks Joseph. I haven't used the NASTRAN product this year, but found it useful previously when analyzing wireframe structures and thermal transfer. So disappointed that it isn't continuing with IRONCAD.

I have just noted that NEI NASTRAN is no longer listed as an IRONCAD partner. Is NEI NASTRAN (IN-CAD) still available for IRONCAD users?

Hi Cary, The parts are "Innovative". I have discovered that when creating a new "part", it will reference external parts that have been imported into its "own" scene. However, if both parts have been imported into a different scene (such as an assembly), then they cannot reference each other. So it works in specific conditions. The problem that I have been experiencing when saving parts in my assemblies as external, is that the previous relationships between the parts aren't being saved with the individual part files. The relationships are also lost in the assembly file (that is now looking at external files). Malcolm

When will IRONCAD be able to Project Constraints for external parts? This seems to be the cause of my problem. If IRONCAD can't create Project Constraints for external parts then it seems logical that IRONCAD isn't going to be able to maintain these project constraints when parts are saved as external.

Hi Cary. Attached is a simply movie demonstrating how "Project Constraints" between parts are lost when parts are saved as external files. Is there a fix or work around to this problem? IRONCAD_2014_SP2___Project_Constraints_Lost.zip

Some might wonder whether there is any practical benefit in IRONCAD having "Dual Geometric Modelling Kernels". Attached is an example demonstrating one kernel producing a shape that the other one failed to generate. The default kernel that I use is PARASOLID as most of the other CAD systems that I collaborate with are PARASOLID based. However, sometimes the PARASOLID kernel can't produce the shape that I want (as in the attached example). By simply switching the kernel to ACIS allowed me to generate the desired shape. IRONCAD_2014_SP2___Benefit_of_Dual_Geometric_Kernels.zip

Welcome newbie. I have been using IRONCAD since 2011. My previous CAD experience being with AUTOCAD and SOLIDWORKS. Occasionally I still need to work in SOLIDWORKS and GEOMAGIC DESIGN (ALIBRE) for some customer projects. On those occasions I really miss not working in IRONCAD. While I was able to immediately start producing 3D models based on my experience in other CAD software, it has taken me time to understand and work within the capabilities and limitations of IRONCAD. So some changes in my methodology have been required. Are you new to 3D CAD software, or do you have experience with others?

Thanks Robert!!! I had previously tried orientating at the part level but couldn't get it to work. I never would of guessed that I needed to orientate at the Intellishape level. The steps that worked for me were: 1. Select the part at the "Intellishape" level. 2. Turned on the TriBall and orientated the "Intellishape" parallel to the required XYZ planes. 3. While in this new orientation, I turned off the TriBall and reselected the part at the "Part" level. 4. Then with the "Part" selected, I used the "Reset SizeBox". Tools/Operations/Reset SizeBox.

Within my IRONCAD DRAFT bill of materials (BOMs) I extract "Part" SizeBoxLength, SizeBoxWidth and SizeBoxHeight from the 3D model. This works great for automatically generating material cutting lists. However, sometimes the "Part" SizeBox (not to be confused with "Intellishape" SizeBox is sized or orientated incorrectly. The end result is that the Length, Width and Height information extracted in my BOMs is incorrect. Attached is an example of a simple length of RHS originally modeled within a larger assembly (inclined at an angle). The part is inclined but the SizeBox for the part isn't. How can I re-orientate and resize the "Part" SizeBox? IRONCAD_2014_SP2___Part_SizeBox_Orientation.ics

With reference to "Product Update downloads require a active AA or SS annual contract. Service Patch releases are free to all customers." What is IRONCAD's definition of a "Service Patch" (SP....) verses a "Product Update" (PU...)?

Hi Cary. With assemblies of hundreds of parts it isn't practical to hide all of the parts of an assembly to detail just one part. It also requires a lot more processing power. Often it is also easier to open the model of the single part to modify rather than drilling through a large assembly each time and again hiding what you don't want to work on. Have you been able to duplicate the problem for yourself?

During the design process I currently create assemblies as a single file, and use the "Project Constraint" tool in 2D sketches to maintain the relationships between parts in this single file. Once the 3D model of the assembly is complete I then save the parts as external files and create the individual 2D drawings for each part linked to those individual files. The problem is, that as soon as the parts as saved as external files, the previous "Projected Constraints" are lost. So when I need to make a change to a part, I also need to manually change the other affected parts as well. How are other IC users maintaining constraints with other external parts?

Thanks Tom. The intent is to keeping falling trees out rather than people in. Cary, I have emailed you a file of the assembly.

Hi Cary. Yes I only get the lines when using WYSIWYG image export. There are no extra lines in the working scene, and no extra lines when using advanced rendering. The screen capture is using the default rendering settings using OpenGL 2. The hardware that I am using is a DELL PRECISION M6700 which uses a NVIDIA QUADRO K3000M.

I just wanted to let the team know that I really appreciate IRONCAD 2014. In spite of all that was good in previous versions, I used to miss certain things that I could do in other CAD software; and I continued using other CAD software for some projects. However, that has not been the case since the release of 2014. Now, when I need to use other CAD software on specific projects, I really miss not being able to do the work in IRONCAD. It isn't just the efficiency and flexibility of the software, but I also find it more "fun" to use.