NOVATO, CA, USA, May 3, 2021 – IMSI Design, a leading CAD software developer, announced the release of its TurboCAD 2021 line, including Platinum, Professional, Deluxe and Designer versions for Windows desktop PCs.
TurboCAD 2021 includes over thirty new and improved features. “The release of TurboCAD 2021 marks the fourth decade of sales of TurboCAD for Windows,” stated Bob Mayer, President of IMSI Design. “We are proud of this milestone and grateful to the millions of users worldwide who have continued to make TurboCAD one of the leading-selling CAD brands in the world.”
“The 2021 release continues our commitment to making enhancements in the program which address all areas of importance to our customers: We are particularly excited about the performance improvements to rendering and to the handling of large CAD files with the integration of the Open Design Alliance’s Visualize technology,” added Mayer.
To view videos showcasing the product’s new and enhanced features, click here.
Key New and Improved features include:
Usability & Interface
- Interactive Start-up Screen – when launching TurboCAD, the new start-up screen displays recently created files and the ability to open/create new files via its Create tab. In addition, from the Start-up you can learn about TurboCAD basics, including the viewing of new feature videos, via the Learn tab, and get access to the latest information about TurboCAD, via the News tab.
- Block Enhancements – Include mouse wheel support, block resizing options, and Find block option in the Blocks palette. In addition, Blocks can now be directly edited in the TurboCAD drawing, instead of in the Blocks palette.
- Hidden Line Performance Enhancement – A new option “Use Hidden Line Cache” has been added If this is turned on, Paper Space viewport processing (redraw, move, zoom) becomes significantly faster for large drawings.
2D Drafting and Editing
- Xref Enhancements – Include notification of changes to external files in a TurboCAD drawing and a new Load/Unload feature that can significantly improve TurboCAD’s performance…
- Leader Dimension Enhancements – For DWG files.
- Direct Editing of Blocks – Blocks can now be directly edited in the TurboCAD drawing, instead of via the Blocks Palette. The new Best Fit Circle and Line tools allow the user to draw a circle which is best-fitted through 3 or more defined points, or a line through 2 or more points. Points can be extracted from a specified location or a specific object.
- Constraint Animation – Dimension values that drive angles, lengths, and distances within a constraint system can now be animated. Animating these values provides powerful visual feedback to the range of motion issues common in mechanical design problems. The tool extends into 3D motion analysis when the dimension values are part of a 2D constrained sketch that is used to define 3D extruded, sweep, or lathed shapes. Animating the dimension value automatically updates not only the sketch but the dependent 3D part.
- 2D Edit Mode – The new 2D Edit mode makes it much easier to design in 2D by turning off 3D objects, editing and modification tools. At a local menu level, only the 2D Selector is enabled, which then works with the selected object’s Coordinate System. The 2D Edit mode can be turned off by a simple click.
- Drafting Palette Improvements – Users can now define the Scale of Drafting Object through the local menu Properties of the Object. In addition, as with Paper Space View Ports, the Drafting Palette now has an Option to select a Layer Set. The Layer Set can contain both visible and non-visible layers. This enables the user to display only what information is needed in the Drafting Palette Object.
3D Drawing, Modeling, and Editing
- Apply to Pattern – A new local menu option “Apply to Pattern” has been added to the Pattern tools. User can now apply solid operations for all pattern elements simultaneously. This option is available for the following 3D editing and can be applied on the pattern objects simultaneously: Fillet Edges, Chamfer Edges, Face offset, Shell Solid.
- 3D Mapping – Two, 3D mapping tools: Face UV Representation and Surface on Face have been added to TurboCAD. Face UV Representation is used to get a UV representation of the selected ACIS® face as a separate object. Surface on Face is used to get a 3D surface from a selected UV representation, and 2D contour, which lies on the UV representation.
- Imprint Tool Improvement – This tool has been improved such that it can use a block insertion that contains set of 2D contours, as a profile for performing the Imprint. This can be useful for creating holes in Sheet Metal designs. Association between the block insertion and the hole is also supported.
Architectural Improvements
- Architectural Grid – This new tool makes it easy to align other architectural objects in the drawing, such as walls and columns. Users can also import rectangular grids from DWG drawings and can change the properties of the grid and bubble representation, via the Selection Info palette.
- Visualize – 2D/3D versions of TurboCAD now include the ODA’s rendering and lighting technology. Users of Visualize will see greater speed in rendering in Hidden Line and Draft render modes, and Visualize will recognize and import materials from TurboCAD files rendered with LightWorks or RedSDK renders. Ambient Occlusion, Anti-Aliasing and Lighting are also included.
- Multi-Threaded Faceting – Drawings containing ACIS objects can now be rendered more quickly when the multi-threading option is enabled.
Photorealistic Rendering and Visualization
- Visualize – 2D/3D versions of TurboCAD now include the ODA’s rendering and lighting technology. Users of Visualize will see greater speed in rendering in Hidden Line and Draft render modes, and Visualize will recognize and import materials from TurboCAD files rendered with LightWorks® or RedSDK renders. Ambient Occlusion, Anti-Aliasing and Lighting are also included.
- Multi-Threaded Faceting – Drawings containing ACIS objects can now be rendered more quickly when the multi-threading option is enabled.
File Support / Interoperability
- AutoCAD, SketchUp 2021 Compatibility Improvements – TurboCAD 2020 now fully supports import and export of AutoCAD DWG, DXF and DWF, and SketchUp SKP file formats.
- Export Support of Advanced, Mechanical CAD File Formats – TurboCAD 2021 added import supported of these formats and now 2021 builds on this with export support of the leading, professional mechanical CAD products. Including: CATIA, Inventor, NX, Parasolid, ProE, Solid Edge, SolidWorks, and VDA-FS. A new format has also been added, 3DXML
- Progress Meter – A new tool which tracks the import and export progress for certain mechanical CAD formats has been added
- Publish to PDF – This new tool streamlines the publishing of PDF files by combining 2D and 3D export filters into a single tool
Availability and Pricing
TurboCAD Platinum 2021 is now available for $1,499.99 USD for a full, permanent license, ($499.99/year for an annual subscription), TurboCAD Professional for $999.99 ($399.99/year for an annual subscription), TurboCAD Deluxe for $229.99, and TurboCAD Designer for $69.99. For more information, download a 15-day trial, or to upgrade online, please visit www.TurboCAD.com or call IMSI Design at 1.800.833.8082 (+1.415.483.8000).
About IMSI Design
IMSI Design is a global leader in mechanical and architectural CAD (Computer-Aided Design) and a pioneer in mobile solutions for the AEC (Architectural, Engineering, and Construction) industry. With over 16 million products distributed since 1988, IMSI Design products include the award-winning TurboCAD, DesignCAD, TurboFloorPlan, TurboViewer, TurboReview, and TurboSite families of precision design applications for desktop and mobile. For more information, visit www.TurboCAD.com or www.IMSIDesign.com.