TouchCAD 3.5.0 is a maintenance upgrade but also contains many new and exciting features such as much improved 3D editing abilities, a new "Stretch unfold" family, support for HPGL export, improved PlotMaker, DXF, VectorWorks support, support for scaled background images, high resolution image unfolding, and lots of other improvements. All in all, version 3.5 is over 50% bigger than version 3.0.
The update is free for registered 3.0 users and you can contact Lundstrom Design for further instructions
how to get access to a full version of TouchCAD 3.5.1
Support for background images, in scale, they follow the model when pan and zoom. This is a key feature when recreating existing objects on the screen and when doing reversed engineering.
The import dialog allows you to scale, rotate, skew and deform the picture, for example to flatten the perspective. The background image import features support very high resolution images.
A new dialog allows you to fine-tune the location of the background image in the main drawing window.
Support for Image unfolding based on the background images. These images can now be mapped on given parts of the 3D model and exported in scale as a set of image files. TouchCAD can handle very large files for use in full-scale objects. We have tested models being over 50 mega-pixels in size. The image unfolding features can not be seen in the demo as it is a save feature but we recommend you to take a look at the Image Balloon movie (7.2 Mb / 8 minutes) that illustrates the combination of importing background images and Image unfolding.
The steps used to unfold a picture is as follows.
1/ Import a background image.
2/ Select the part or parts to be used and make sure that they all have an unfolding property. (No Unfold is of course not valid).
3/ Select Unfold Images in the Export menu (File menu).
4/ Define the image settings in the dialog that follows.
5/ Define a file name to be used. When generating separate images for
each panel, TouchCAD then automatically adds the main and sub panel numbers
and saves each panel as a separate object.
The boat above was originally modeled in TouchCAD. It was then direct exported to Artlantis where it was rendered using a parallel view.
These images where then re-imported as background images, which of course matches the original perfectly.
A test run at 48 DPI with the two hull panels at 48 DPI took a little over nine minutes to render and save. The resulting files where 107 and 86 Mb when opened in Photoshop and the bigger panel image alone was about 16,500 x 2,900 pixels.
Sail
The sail below was imported from Sails Science Sail Maker as a 3D ASC file.
It took a G5 Mac 2-1/2 minutes to render and save the 40 panels at 12 DPI
in full scale.The sail is 10.6 meters high and the area is 59 Sqr...meters
(634 Sqr. feet).
The support for Sails Science Sailmaker 3D ASC files import has been
improved. Note that you may need to update your software from Sails Science
as well but we are both working on it. A short QuickTime movie showing how
to import a sail. Sail Import (780 K)
Scale models and calculations.
Below is a practical example showing the background image feature in use. The owner of the boat needed a weight estimation but only provided the height in the bow and some pictures. One of the pictures was imported, flipped and rotated to match the 3D model in the screen. The 3D model was then moved and rotated to match the floating position of the image, and then the marine calculation command did the calculation. The result is of course a bit approximate but the result was very reasonable. The unfolded hull side was just an entertain side effect but illustrates that you can use the image unfolding for building very realistic scale models.
Shrinking the model in one or several directions.
A new set of tools where a temporary stretching / shrinking can be applied
in one or several directions. The feature helps to detect small errors in
the smoothness of a panel.
Analyze Smoothness palette
The new Analyze Smoothness palette adds a new set of tools for graphically
analyzing the smoothness of a surface in the X-Y, X-Z and Z-Y directions.
Rapid changes in the change are displayed as highlighted areas within a
given selected surface. The analyzing process is dynamically updated as
the shape is updated, when you change direction or when you change the setting
of the sensitivity slider. A short QuickTime movie showing how to use the
smoothness analyzer (1.2 Mb)
The stretch unfold features are a new family of unfolding options. It allows you to calculate shapes that need to be stretched when unfolded due to a double curvature in the shape. In the older settings (1) you essentially used the mesh resolution to control the unfold. The stretch unfold mode (2) combines it into a single surface that needs stretching to fit. TouchCAD calculates where and when tensions occur and plots it by value or as points(4). You can even move the starting point parametrically over the surface (3). It is also possible to parametrically combine strips into groups of strips (5 and 6) to generate a setting somewhere in between the ordinary and stretch unfold modes. The tensions are dynamically analyzed and plotted as the model is changed and you can even edit the 3D model and instantly see the updated tensions while being in the Unfold view.
The user interface also contains many new features and improvements. The Intersection Point symbol now allows constrained dragging from any view as seen above. You can even drag away / towards you in the fixed front, top and side views without actually seeing the motion. A small lead text does however occur showing where you are and how much you have moved. This constrained dragging also provides reference snapping by simply holding the cursor over another control point or surface mesh point. The dynamic sectioning now works in any 3D view so it is now possible to do intricate shaping from any view. Directional view axes in any 3D view helps to indicate the view direction.
The very useful gray Reshape box, which allows simultaneous editing and reshaping of any number of control points located in any number of objects, now comes with no less than 28 features for mode less editing. The new features include five new rotation(1), four skewing(2), and four new deformation (3) modes.
The OpenGL rendering features now include support for cross sectioning, enhanced edges, lines along, across or both the mesh, along the unfolded panel joints, etc. It is also possible to display any number of parts of the rendering as a wire frame or as lines. The fly-over, walk-through, cut-though, light, transparency and animation tools works as in the 3.0.
A localization/translation kit is now available for TouchCAD 3.5. At present we have a Swedish version available.
TouchCAD 3.5.1 has now been released. The new features include an improved user interface, rendering and light setting features, and the ability to generate QuickTime presentation movies. The Max OSX version is now Universal Binary. More info here. Download a DEMO here.
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Lundström Design, Ekhagsvägen 7, 104 05 Stockholm,
Sweden
Phone int-46-8-15 46 63, Fax int+46-15 82 85, E-mail: info@touchcad.com
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