BricsCAD® V21 offers many enhancements to 3D
modeling tools to help simplify and automate the modeling process.
Dynamic UCS
Dynamic UCS is now supported by the PLAN command. This allows you to select a face for
the current UCS and immediately display it in plan view.
Direct modeling
Threads
The new DMTHREAD command enables you to add a standard parametric thread to a
cylindrical face of your 3D solid. You can edit the properties of the thread using the
Mechanical Browser.
Drawing views created with the VIEWBASE command, the VIEWPROJ command or the VIEWSECTION
command represent the threads following drafting standards. The following image show
views of a cylinder before and after adding threads.
Chamfers
The DMCHAMFER command offers more flexibility with new asymmetrical, angular, variable
symmetrical, variable asymmetrical and variable angular modes.
Fillets
The DMFILLET command offers more flexibility with a new variable radius mode.
Push Pull
The DMPUSHPULL command includes an option to specify subtract mode (on/off), which is
also controlled by DMPUSHPULLSUBTRACT system variable.
It also allows you to switch the starting point of the dynamic dimensions on cylindrical faces. Press the Tab key to switch between radial and offset dimensions.
Broken views
The new VIEWBREAK command enables you to break an associative drawing view of your 3D
model created with the VIEWBASE command, the VIEWPROJ command, or the VIEWSECTION
command and automatically include break symbols. You can change the appearance of a
selected broken view symbol using the Properties panel. The VIEWBREAK command correctly
supports dimensions you put on the drawing view before breaking. They remain associative
with your 3D model and the drawing view.
3D Entity snaps
Easily toggle 3D entity snaps on and off by pressing the F4 function key.
3D Polyline
The vertices of 3D polylines now support sub-entity selection, the Properties panel, and
nearest distance.
Additional enhancements to 3D Polylines enable you to apply 3D constraints to their vertices and edges.
Parametric blockify
The new PARAMETRICBLOCKIFY command enables you to quickly convert model entities to
parametric blocks. Select a parametric block or parametrized entities as input geometry
to compare against other geometry in the drawing. Matching geometry is automatically
converted to parametric blocks.
3D display
Material glossiness has been adjusted to ensure entity details are distinguishable, even with glossy materials. The glossy effect is less intense for light materials and more intense for dark materials.
Solids and meshes
Convert to mesh
The CONVTOMESH command is optimized to triangulate planar faces only when necessary and
with as few faces as possible. As an example, the original solids on the left are
converted to meshes in BricsCAD® V20
(center) and BricsCAD® V21 (right).
Convert to solid
The CONVTOSOLID command enables you to convert a mesh to an optimized 3D solid based on
the new SMOOTHMESHCONVERT system variable.
When set to optimized, coplanar and adjacent faces are merged into a single face. As an
example, the original mesh on the left is converted to a solid in BricsCAD® V20 (center) and BricsCAD® V21 (right).
Mesh properties
The Properties panel offers access to additional properties for selected mesh entities.
Mesh entities now include Mesh and Geometry properties including the ability to specify smoothness.
The Properties panel also supports mesh sub-entities including faces, edges and vertices enabling you to apply different levels of creasing.
Associative data
The new GENERATEASSOCATTRS setting controls generation of associative data on 3D solids
during modeling. When set to On, 3D solids contain associative data from the moment of
creation. This allows BIMSECTIONUPDATE command and VIEWBASE command commands to produce
drawings for which dimensions and tags can be automatically updated after the 3D model
changes.
View Twist
The Twist option is added to the -VIEW command.
Animation Editor
The Animation Editor is enhanced to support the animating of exploded views in model space.
Point clouds
Point cloud functionality is significantly faster and more powerful in BricsCAD® V21.
Pre-processing
The E57 file format is added to the supported files for pre-processing.
When you attach a point cloud that requires pre-processing, it converts 5 to 8 times
faster in BricsCAD® V21 than in V20. A
progress meter at the bottom of the display shows the conversion progress.
Alignment
The new POINTCLOUDALIGN command automatically rotates a point cloud to optimally align
it with the X and Y axis. To determine the best alignment it can analyze the entire
point cloud or you can specify the most relevant area.
Bubble Viewer
The point cloud displays bubbles at all the scan locations. It’s at those locations where you will experience the most realistic visual representations.
Double-click one of the bubbles in model space to open the Bubble viewer. You can press the middle mouse button and move the mouse to view the point cloud in any direction from that scan location.
Press the Tab key to cycle between three different visual modes.
The first mode displays the points as their actual colors or in grayscale, depending how
the data was scanned.
The second mode displays the points as red, green, or blue according to their normal vectors. The colors correspond to the UCS axes.
The third mode displays the points from light to dark as the distance from the scan location increases.
You can easily sync the drawing view to match the Bubble viewer by pressing Ctrl A.
Entity snaps
The new Point Cloud Closest Point entity snap significantly improves your ability to select relevant point cloud points. It uses an imaginary cylinder from the current viewpoint toward the cursor.
The radius of the imaginary cylinder is defined by the Entity snap aperture box setting.
Enable the new Point Cloud Closest Point entity snap along with other 3D entity snaps in the Entity Snap menus, toolbar, and settings.
Export
The new POINTCLOUDEXPORT command allows you to export a cropped selection of a point
cloud to a .pts file.
