3-D - What's New?


Service Pack 2 2022 (V 2702)

Views - Show/Hide parts

New in the context menu for 3-D parts and part lists is the Show part list in view selection, hide all other parts function. This function shows only the active part or - in case of a multiple selection - all selected parts. All other parts will be hidden. This applies to all currently selected views.

 

Tip: 
To subsequently show all parts of the drawing again, select all parts in the ICN with CTRL+A and then select this function again or select the Show part list in view selection function.


Divide surface

The Divide surface function has been revised and extended once again.


Sketch Technology

Close polyline

The context menu that is displayed while drawing polylines after pressing the right mouse button has been extended by the Close polyline function.

This function closes the current polyline, i.e. the last point will be connected to the start point of the polyline by a new line. The sketching tool will remain active afterwards, so that you can directly draw the start point of another polyline.

 

Marking of the current drawing plane in 3-D sketches

As of SP2, when working with 3-D sketches, the current drawing plane is displayed in a lighter colour during sketching.

 

Drawing of tangents

The functions

have been combined into the new Tangent function .

 

Optimisation of value input (space bar) when drawing sketches

If you want to enter a value, e.g. a length or a radius, explicitly via the keyboard when drawing graphical elements, you can select the Value input function in the context menu or alternatively simply press the space bar. HiCAD will then display the calculator and you can enter the desired value. As of SP2, the distance and angle to the last point or the X and Y distance to the last point can be entered in one step. The two values must be separated by a space.

Which entries are possible depends on the respective function and the mode selected there.

XY-grid
Line

X distance Y distance

Rectangle

X distance Y distance

X distance Y distance

Circle
Arc

These possibilities do not apply to the start point.

 

Transition from arcs

The Transition from arcs  function has been revised. Overview of the new features:

 

Example

The illustration shows the selected start point on the left and a selection of possible transitions on the right.



Weld seams and symbols

Clone weld symbol

New in the pull-down menu of the 3-D Dimensioning + Text > Symbols > Weld function is the Clone weld symbol function.

This function allows you to copy existing weld symbols in the drawing and to assign copies to other weld seams. The function is also available in the context menu for weld seams.

 

Please note that the function will only clone the representation of the weld symbol. The content of the symbol will be read from the selected weld seam line.

 

Example:

The illustration shows a free weld seam symbol (1) and a labelled weld seam(2). The weld symbol (1) is cloned and repeated and selected as the weld seam line (3). (4) shows the result.

 

Tooltips for additional symbols

As of SP2, tooltips are also displayed for additional symbols in the dialogues for weld seams and weld symbols.

 


Text - Itemise part

The Itemise part function has been extended. The Part selection area is now additionally available here.

There you have the option of selecting whether the selected part is to be annotated (as previously) or only the 1st sub-part-level. If the 1st sub-part level option is active, then the highest superordinate part of the 1st sub-part level that is BOM-relevant will automatically be searched for and annotated, starting from the selected part. This can be particularly useful in complex drawings if only the assemblies are to be annotated.

Example:

We consider the illustrated drawing.

Now the Itemise part function is called, the option 1st sub-part level is activated and the L-profile (1) is selected. In this case, the highest superordinate and BOM-relevant part is the Assembly Tensioning Elements, which is highlighted in colour by HiCAD. This assembly will then be annotated.

If the function had been executed with the Selected part option, the L-profile would have been annotated instead.

 


Hatching in section and cut-out

The Hatch section + cut-out function has been completely revised. It affects the active view and allows a preview of the changed hatching. Also new is that a distinction is now made between "normal" hatchings and insulation hatchings.

Please note that for certain hatchings no or only a schematic preview can be displayed.


Service Pack 1 2022 (V 2701)

Views

New dialogue when creating new views

The previous functions

Views > New > Standard

Views > New > New list view, Select parts

Views > New > New list view, Copy from another view and

Views > New > New list view, Copy from active part list

have been combined into the function New view, without link with a new dialogue.

The new function is clearer, offers better user guidance and enables list views to be defined much more quickly.

In addition, the representation type of the view, the view name and the scale can now also be selected directly. It is also possible to assign view captions.

 

Changed meaning of the term "view list"

As of HiCAD 2022 SP1, the term "view list"stands for a multiple selection of views - in analogy to part lists.

The previous use of the term meaning "list of parts displayed in a view" has been replaced by part list of the view or part list for short.

 

Highlighting of view lists

If a view list is available, i.e. if multiple views are selected, then all selected sheet views will be highlighted by a coloured, wider and dashed view frame. The frame representation corresponds to the settings selected for the active sheet view in the Configuration Editor - but dashed.

Automatic assignment of numbers as view designation

Up to now only capital letters were automatically assigned in view markings, i.e. the smallest letter not yet assigned was suggested as a designation (detail views start with Z and run backwards in the alphabet). If, for example, the drawing contained sectional views with the designations A and B, then designation C was automatically suggested for the next sectional view and so on. If the drawing contained sectional views with the designations A and C, then the next letter not yet assigned was searched for, i.e. B.

As of HiCAD 2022 SP1, this behaviour also applies to the use of numbers in view markings. This means that, when creating a new sectional or detail view or for view markings according to the arrow method, the smallest number not yet used will be searched for in the view dialogues of the corresponding functions and suggested as a designation. Views that only have a caption (without a designation in an original view) are also taken into account.

Whether a letter or a number is suggested depends on the last designation used. For example, after a sectional view with the designation A, a letter will be used again for the next sectional view, and after a sectional view with the designation 1, a number will be suggested again.

 

Views window of the ICN - Changed column headers

Due to the risk of confusion between the column header Designationin the Views window of the ICN and the term Designation(view designation, section designation, detail designation) in different view dialogues, the column header Designation in the ICN has been changed to Number/Name.

 

Show/Hide isolated points in view

Analogously to assembly points, isolated points can now also be shown/hidden in views. The Show/Hide elements in view function has been extended accordingly.

Isolated points also include named points, symbol points and fitting points.

Please note that isolated points can be hidden globally by means of the Drawing > Others > Visual... function. If you have hidden isolated points in this way, they cannot be shown again with the Show/Hide elements in view function.

 

Please note:

 

Improvements for view captions

Below view, left-aligned

 


Sketches

Extended range of points on the Autopilot

When sketching planar sketches and 3-D sketches, in addition to the points in the sketch, the point options X and Y are now also offered for the last point found by the Autopilot (with the exception of the point option O). This does not happen directly when you "run over" a point, but only when you briefly stay on this point with the mouse. This point will then be visualised graphically.

Example:

You move the mouse over the middle of a line. Then the Autopilot will offer the point option Midpoint. However, you do not click but move the mouse further after a short moment. The midpoint will be visualised graphically and from now on the Autopilot will offer the point options X and Y for the coordinates of the midpoint.

 

As of HiCAD 2022 SP1, this option is also available when inserting isolated points in a sketch.

 

3-D sketches - New option: Do not leave drawing plane

For 3-D sketches, the checkbox Do not leave drawing plane is also available in the Angle+Distance grid, XY - grid and Free modes. Activating the checkbox causes selected points outside of the current drawing plane to be projected onto this plane and thus to be drawn in a plane. For the On axes mode, the checkbox Do not leave axis is available, working in the same way.

Example:
The start point of the line is point (1). Point (2) is selected as the following point. If the checkbox is inactive, (2) will be the determined point. If the checkbox is active, point (3) will automatically be determined.



 

Apply direction

As of HiCAD 2022 SP1, the Apply direction function is also available in the context menu of the Sketching Tool. With this function the direction of the line shown in the preview is taken over as the direction for the next line to be drawn.

 


Annotations

3-D annotation with interruption of lines and hatchings

You can set whether the lines of parts and hatchings behind a 3-D annotation should be interrupted under System settings > Annotations > Part annotation in the Configuration Editor. If the option Interrupt background lines is active, hatchings and lines will be hidden. This applies to the representations Glass Model, HiddenLine, HiddenLine dashed and Shaded with Hidden Line.

Please note that this option is read in when HiCAD is started and is active by default. Changes will only take effect after a restart.

 

Point option O when setting annotations

When determining the reference point of a 3-D annotation, the point option O (online to edge through point) is now automatically activated in the Autopilot settings toolbar. This also applies to the setting of surface symbols.

This applies to the following functions:


Dimensioning

Unit of measurement

In the settings for the parameters for dimensions, the designations for inches (am.) and " (brit.) have been replaced by ft in and ' " respectively.

Newly available for selection are in and ". This means that it is now also possible to output values larger than 12 inches completely in inches. Previously, the output was a combination of feet and inches.

 

Delete weld seam symbols

There are new functions for deleting weld symbols under 3-D Dimensioning+Text > Symbols > Weld.

 


Process parts

Divide surface

The dividing of surfaces has been modernised in HiCAD 2022 SP1. The previous function Insert edges in surface / Divide surface (under 3-D Standard > Tools > Edge) has been replaced by the new function Divide surface . You can find the new function under 3-D Standard > Tools > Surface.

With this function you divide surfaces of the active part. For example, the side of a sheet can be divided into two surfaces that can be addressed separately and thus can also be coated, coloured or hatched differently.

Two modes are available for dividing surfaces.

Use sketch for dividing

In this mode a sketch is used for dividing. The lines are drawn out internally in the Z-direction of the sketch to form surfaces and are intersected with the surfaces to be divided. Each intersection curve that is closed or goes from edge to edge splits the surface into two pieces. Lines ending in a surface are extended there to enable dividing.

Use polyline for dividing.

In this mode, instead of a sketch, polylines consisting of straight lines one at a time are used for dividing. These lines must lie exactly on the surface that is to be divided. As a result the surface will automatically be specified and does not have to be explicitly selected. Due to the constraints, only flat, cylindrical and conical surfaces are allowed; the division of freeform surfaces is not possible in this mode.

In the following example, the part (1) was divided via the sketch. After calling the function, the option Tangentially connected surfaces was selected, then the surface (2) and the sketch (3) were selected. (4) shows the result.

A feature with the name Divide surface is created for each division. Double-click on the entry in the feature log to start the Divide surface function dialogue, for example to process the sketch on which the division is based, to change the surface selection or to select a different polyline.

 

Clean up intersections

The Clean up intersections function has been completely revised/modernised and is now identical to the function of the same name under Sheet Metal > Further functions > Extras.

The main improvements:

Example:

The pictured sheet metal part colliding with two cylinders should be cleaned up.

The processing should be perpendicular to the surface and all surfaces on the sheet should be processed. Therefore, the automatic surface selection is selected.

The result:

 


Major Release 2022 (V 2700)

Sketches

N-gon

The previous N-gon function has been revised. The new N-Gon function now also uses the sketching tool.

 


Rectangle with centre point

Sketch > Draw > Rectangle > With centre point

With the new Rectangle with centre point function you draw a rectangle by selecting the centre point and dragging the rectangle. The Sketching Tool is started for this purpose.

 

Point option O for circles and arcs

With the new sketching functions in HiCAD 2021 SP1, the point option O was previously not available on Autopilot if, instead of a point, a line could also be selected, for example a tangent line to a circle. This behaviour has changed when sketching circles and arcs in HiCAD 2022 in the following way:

 

Example:

In the illustrated example, an arc is drawn using the Arc function. For the centre, start and end points of the arc, the point option O is used.

(1) Original sketch, (2) Arc centre point, (3) Arc start point, (4) Arc end point, (5) Outcome with coincidence constraints


Create and process parts

New part from 3-D sketch

As of HiCAD 2022, the algorithm of the New part from 3-D sketch function has been improved. These improvements have weakened the requirements for the 3-D sketch:

If the lines of a 3-D sketch are not sufficient to create a solid, HiCAD will - if possible - automatically insert the missing body edges. In the preview, these edges are visualised in the same colour as the resulting part. The number of lines added and of surfaces created are now displayed in the dialogue.

 

The edges automatically added by HiCAD cannot be influenced. If they do not correspond to the desired result, you must add the missing lines to the sketch.

 

Error messages will only be displayed in the dialogue directly after calling the function if the 3-D sketch does not meet the requirements and it was not possible to create a useful solid, even by adding lines.

 

Chamfer

The dialogue of the Chamfer function has been redesigned - with a wider selection of chamfer elements, improved preview and modification of parameters, extended value input and much more.

 

New and enhanced options: 

 

Fillet

 

Divide along direction

The Divide along direction function has been extended.

This also applies to the Divide along direction function in steel engineering.

 

Divide with sketch

The Divide function has been renamed to Divide with sketch and extended.

 

Limiting angle for shading

In previous HiCAD versions, the Limiting angle for shading function ensured that non-tangential transitions appeared rounded in the shaded view. This function is no longer needed and thus has been removed. This applies to both the drawing properties and the properties of 3-D parts.

 

Number of holes in a hole pattern

When using the Hole pattern function, the dialogue window now directly shows how many holes would be created based on the configured hole pattern. Partially created holes (e.g. holes that are located at the edge of the processed area) will be counted as entire holes here. This value is also displayed in the Feature of the hole pattern.


Dimensioning

Snapping of HCM and parametric dimensions

Thus far, when the cursor was pointing to the dimension figure of an HCM or a parametric dimension, the system preferably snapped the geometry behind it. In HiCAD 2022, this behaviour has changed. As of now, HCM and parametric dimensions are preferred.

Top: before HiCAD 2022; Bottom: since HiCAD 2022

 

Renaming of the function group Surface/Edge

The function group Surface/Edge has been renamed to Symbols and moved within the 3-D Dimensioning + Text ribbon.

A new feature is that the functions

Free weld seam symbol and

Annotate weld seam

are also available here.

 

Grid annotation

As of HiCAD 2022, the functions for Grid annotations can be found under 3-D Dimensioning + Text > Symbols > Grid....


Annotations

New file format

With HiCAD 2022, the internal data format of annotations has changed. During the creation of new annotations (also in drawing derivations and sheet developments), the new format is always used. Visually, there are no differences to the "old" format. When loading a drawing that contains annotations created before HiCAD 2022, the following message appears:



If you click on Yes, the previous annotation tags will automatically be converted to the new format. A message is then displayed, indicating whether or not all annotation tags could be converted, e.g.



In the ISD Configuration Editor, under Compatibility > Annotations > Part annotation, 3-D, you can preset how to proceed when drawings with "old" annotation tags are loaded and whether a message should be output after a conversion.

The conversion of old annotation tags can also be done automatically by setting the Convert part annotations of the drawing when loading? parameter to Yes, without query.

 

Changed context menu

The context menu for part annotations has been changed.


Views

View marking according to arrow method

In practice, it is sometimes advantageous to mark views according to the arrow method. This method allows you to represent the viewing direction of a derived view in the original view by the use of a corresponding symbol and a view marking. In mechanical engineering, for example, the viewing direction is marked by an arrow and in civil engineering by a circle with a triangle, with the view marking in the circle.

With the new View marking according to arrow method function, HiCAD supports this method.

 

Example:

In the illustration, views of a 3-D model have been generated using the 4 standard views (3-D) function.

In the following illustration, the front view, the left side view and the top view have been marked according to the arrow method - with the axonometry as the original view.

The default settings for view markings can be defined under Drawing > Views > Ident > Arrow method in the Configuration Editor.

 

View caption

Previously, captions could only be assigned to sectional and detail views. With the new View caption function, this is now possible for all view types.

The default setting for the position of the caption can be defined under Drawing > Views > Ident in the Configuration Editor.

 

Sectional and detail views - extended dialogues and options

Based on the new functions View marking according to arrow method and View caption, the dialogues for defining and editing Sectional and Detail views have been revised and extended.

Identification of sectional views

Identification of detail views

 

Detail view with exact outline view

 

The default settings for identification in sectional and detail views can be defined under Drawing > Views > Ident > Sections or Drawing > Views > Ident > Details in the Configuration Editor.

 

View selection in the ICN

For various view functions, HiCAD requests the selection of a reference view, for example in order to copy data from this view. As an example, this is the case for the functions List from ref. view and Copy shortening. In these cases, the view could previously only be selected in the graphics window and therefore only in the current area. As of HiCAD 2022, the view selection in the ICN is now also possible in such cases.

In this context, the view functions

Show/unfreeze views, Individual

Hide views, Individual

Freeze views, Individual

have also been adjusted. The view can now be selected either in the graphics window or in the ICN. The entry of a view number is no longer necessary. Furthermore, the function Select view, via list has been removed.

 

Show/Hide elements in view

The dialogue of the Show/Hide elements in view function has changed. The window has been tightened and, instead of checkboxes, the settings can now be selected via different selection boxes.

Hiding edges via the limiting angle is no longer available and, as of HiCAD 2022, you use the new Show/Hide edges function to show/hide any edges of the drawing.

 

Show/Hide edges

The Show/Hide edges function allows you to show or hide any edges of your drawing in the active view or in all selected views. The settings have an effect on the following representations:

If the desired edges are to be shown/hidden in multiple views, select the corresponding views in the ICN before calling the function.

After calling the function, the dialogue window Show/Hide edges will be displayed.

Then, select the desired edges in the drawing. Each selected edge will be included in the list in the dialogue window and visualised in colour in the drawing. If an edge that is contained in the list is selected again, it will be removed from the list. In multi-part sheets, when an edge is selected, the congruent edges of the flange and bend zone are also automatically selected.

When clicking on an entry in the list, the corresponding edge in the drawing will be highlighted in colour.

If multiple views were selected when the function was called, it is possible to specify for each edge contained in the list whether the edge is to be hidden only in the active view or in all selected views.

You can hide the edges presented in the list by clicking OK.

When you call the function again, all hidden edges will be listed in the dialogue window. To show the edges again, simply delete the corresponding list entry.

 

Shaded, without highlighted edges

The new Shaded, without highlighted edges function provides another representation mode for views. This function shades the parts of the active view and displays all visible edges, with the exception of highlighted edges. Highlighted edges are theoretical edges that occur in places where there is no clear edge due to a rounding.

This display mode can be useful for improving the performance while working on large drawings in the model view.

(1) Shaded with edges, (2) Shaded, without highlighted edges, (3) Shaded without edges

 

You can find these functions

 

Sectional views with Steel Engineering plates

As of HiCAD 2022, it is also possible to define for Steel Engineering plates whether or not the coating should be marked in the Sectional view, analogously to Sheet Metal parts. The coating is displayed in the form of an offset edge, the so-called coating line. The settings for the representation of the coating line can be found under Drawing > Annotations > Coating line in sectional view in the Configuration Editor.

The representation of the coating line can also be changed subsequently. To do this, right-click on the coating line in the required view and choose the desired function in the Coating symbol context menu.

In addition, if a sectional view is active, the representation of the coating lines can also be changed via the context menu for Steel Engineering. To do this, right-click on the plate in the sectional view and then select the Coating line function under Properties.


Weld seams and weld symbols


Referencing

Path for referenced parts

The Path for referenced parts function in the Drawing > Extras > Temporary settings menu is no longer available. To change the path for referenced parts, open the settings in HiCAD and adjust the folder for the L: identifier under Directories. Then restart HiCAD to make the changed setting effective. The change is specific to the respective workplace and may additionally have to be carried out at all other workplaces.

 

Internally referenced parts in externally referenced parts

When working with drawings that contain internally referenced parts within externally referenced parts, the behaviour when making changes to internally referenced parts has changed:


Miscellaneous

Projection grid

The Projection grid function in the context menu for processing planes is no longer available.

 

Purchased and factory standard parts

Previously, it was not possible to incorporate assemblies and parts with subordinate parts from the Purchased/Factory standard parts catalogue. As of HiCAD 2022, this is now supported.

This means that, in addition to assemblies, for example, Sheet Metal parts stored in the Purchased/Factory standard parts catalogue can now be incorporated into the drawing using the Purchased/Factory standard parts function. However, it should be noted that these Sheet Metal parts are combined into a solid during installation. This means that the installed part will no longer be considered a Sheet Metal part from the HiCAD point of view!

When saving your own factory standard parts to the Purchased/Factory standard parts catalogue, please note the following:

Why 3-D?