We are glad to share the latest release, introducing CATIA and NX improvements as well as a few Web Toolkit and Eyeshot integration updates.
Here are the highlights of CAD Exchanger 3.24.1:
- Import of CATIA Graphical Representation files;
- Support of user-defined properties from NX.
Import of CATIA Graphical Representation
A few releases ago, we added the import of properties from CATIA. This time, our team decided to continue our updates and provide users with .cgr files. They contain lightweight polygonal representations of 3D models for a quick look. These files are optimized for visualization, providing a means to communicate design intent without the need for the entire CATIA model structure.
Import of properties from NX
We have been supporting the NX format for 4 years and are constantly improving it. Since this release, we added import of user-defined properties. Working with NX models, users can attach information to various Scene Graph Elements of the model and topological data by type (bodies, faces, edges). Now, our data model supports all the following: booleans, integers, numbers, strings, and dates.
Web Toolkit enhancements
The main update is API that enables the display of a trihedron (reference coordinate system) directly within the scene. This feature provides valuable contextual information about the model's positioning and determines exactly where the origin is. Moreover, it is possible to custom trihedron and change color, length, thickness, etc.
Since 3.24.1, users can selectively choose individual triangles in triangle sets and polylines in polyline sets in their 3D models. For example, by selecting a particular triangle, it is possible to find out the normal at that location. Isolating specific geometric elements allows users to interact pickier with their 3D models.
Eyeshot updates
Acorn and wireframe bodies are no longer skipped during conversion. Now, they are accurately transformed into Point and Curve entities, respectively. This update allows for a more comprehensive representation of the original model, ensuring that no details are overlooked.
Additionally, sheet bodies are converted to Surface entities rather than B-Rep, further optimizing the conversion process and improving the fidelity of the resulting models. Now, such special cases are not skipped but converted and included in Eyeshot documents as geometric objects.
Format improvements
Just like always, we've made things better by adding improvements and fixing issues in MCAD formats. They include:
- 3D XML and Inventor: fixed a crash in parser;
- DXF: improved handling of measurement units during import;
- DWG: improved import of LineProperties and transformations for drawing models;
- JT: added support of "final" flag on appearance attributes, fixed coloring issues on some models, and improved import for custom properties;
- SOLIDWORKS: improved import of models saved in SOLIDWORKS 2004;
- STEP: added support of PMI annotation properties with key value "semantic text", fixed an issue with splitting of graphical and semantic annotations into different ModelData_PMIData objects, fixed a crash during import on empty models and on models with external references to themselves.
There are some other minor updates in Manufacturing Toolkit and Web Toolkit. To get the full list of the 3.24.1 updates, read the CHANGES.txt file.