Major new version of Ironcad CAD software

Ironcad and Leonardo, its exclusive UK distributor, come together at Solid Modelling 2001 for the UK launch of IronCAD 4.0, a major new version of the world's most innovative CAD software package.

Ironcad and Leonardo, its exclusive UK distributor, come together at Solid Modelling 2001 for the UK launch of Ironcad 4.0, a major new version of the world's most innovative CAD software package.

With more than 50 enhancements, Ironcad 4.0 makes engineering design even easier and more intuitive, turning on its face the conventional approach to CAD modelling, which forces engineers and designers to conform to the rules imposed by the software rather than allowing the software to act as a true design tool.

The new enhancements mean that designing with Ironcad is more intuitive and even faster than before.

They include significantly improved 3D performance as a result of new "levels of fetail" visualisation along with design automation features and a large number of functions for sheet metal designers.

X-NC Limited will also be on the stand, giving the UK launch of a major new CNC software product, Excalibur CNC.

The three companies will be showing how the combination of Ironcad and Excalibur CNC make an unbeatable combination for anyone considering CAM.

The winner of Computer Graphics World's Innovation Award in both 1998 and 1999, Ironcad differs from other CAD software packages because of its unified modelling engine - it is the world's first and only system to incorporate multiple solid modelling kernels.

This technology places Ironcad as a forerunner in the race toward seamless interoperability, or "hyper-operability".

Other features such as drag and drop solid modelling, design flow architecture, visual product development and the unique, patented triball mean that Ironcad users can concentrate on the creation of their designs, so the design process is dramatically faster.

Moreover, all modelling and assembly is done in a single environment, so manufactured parts are far more likely to fit together without any design modification.

Enhancements with Ironcad 4.0 include significant improvements in both 2D and 3D modelling, and a wide range of new features for sheet metal designers.

The creation of 2D drawing views is very much faster, especially with respect to multiple views and views for models with many linked files in the 2D drawings.

In addition, new profile performance enhancement allows users to create and modify large sketches faster, especially when the user zooms in to work on an area.

3D design enhancements include a new "level of detail" option for large-scale 3D assembly development, with rotation, zoom and other camera tools while in the Parasolid kernel.

Many of the new features of Ironcad 4.0 will benefit sheet metal designers.

They include new automatic constraints to ensure proper attachment when dragging and dropping punch, form and bend features, and a new option located on the DWG/DXF export dialogue that allows the user to specify placement of sheet metal form, punch, and sheet stock features on separate layers in a drawing to facilitate manufacturing.

New tools have been introduced to allow the creation and unfolding of sheet metal parts from extruded edges that are connected tangentially.

New curved stock and add curved stock sheet metal shapes have been added to the sheet metal catalogue to support the creation of curved sheet metal.

Other new sheet metal features include user-selectable unfold orientation, user selectable punch positioning and a new option that allows the user to trim sheet metal parts in the folded state.

A major advantage of Ironcad is its hyper-operability, which allows engineers to exchange and make use of CAD data throughout the design process, as well as enabling experienced users and novices to share parts or assemblies in Ironcad.

Ironcad actually allows the engineer to utilise and modify imported data as though it were created natively.

With Ironcad 4.0, the hyper-operability lead has been extended by the addition of a new option for import/export of Catia part files.

Sold and supported in the UK by X-NC, Excalibur CNC builds on the tried and tested strengths of XCAD and XCAM and sets a new standard for advanced CAM software that is not only affordable but also remarkably simple to use.

As a 'preferred' CAM partner of Leonardo, X-NC will be showing how the combination of Ironcad and Excalibur CNC make an unbeatable combination for UK mould, tool and die makers, jewellers, prototyping engineers - in fact anyone considering CAM.

"With its dual kernel and wealth of native translators including Pro/Engineer and Catia, Ironcad really does make an attractive proposition for UK toolmakers who want to work with CAD data from more than one source", says Richard Nolan, managing director of X-NC Limited.

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