TurboCAD 16.0
28 August 2009
Process type: Design
Al Dean looks at TurboCAD, a stalwart in the world of 2D CAD, and wonders if the implementation of new technology adds real value to those looking to design in 3D?
| Product | TurboCAD 16.0 |
|---|---|
| Company name | IMSI |
| Price | from £895 |
The benefits of working in a 3D environment are well documented and established. So, why are we taking a look at TurboCAD? The answer is that despite all of that lovely 3D action, sometimes you need a more simple tool to sketch out ideas and to edit legacy drawings. This is exactly the space in which TurboCAD has been operating for many years. What’s intriguing is that the developers have incorporated the ACIS 3D modelling kernel and the LightWorks rendering engine, meaning that alongside the wealth of 2D design tools, TurboCAD has been upgraded to 3D. So let’s take a look at where it might fit into your processes and workflow.
TurboCAD is very capable at creating 2D engineering drawings or editing existing, legacy data from a variety of formats
IN USE
TurboCAD’s user interface harks back to the good old days of 2D CAD. The majority of the screen is taken up with the drawing area, while the periphery features a range of pull down menus, a vast array of toolbars and, to the right hand side, a tab panel that provides access to commands, options, and libraries of standard parts, blocks, rendering materials and environments.
As with all 2D-focussed systems on the market today, creating the drawings, whether for production or just to get some ideas down on paper, is a lengthy process. While TurboCAD has a full range of geometry types, from the usual array of lines, circles, arcs and splines (and now pushing into the creation of 3D geometry), what’s missing, in comparison with many of the sketching tools within mainstream 3D modelling systems, are things like inferred constraints and relationships which make life much easier. That said, grids and snapping tools are available once templates are set-up correctly giving you a helping hand. The Professional Mechanical version is also supplied with a limited range of 2D and 3D fasteners, such as nuts, bolts, other hardware and a few standard engineering forms, such as beam sections. These are dragged/dropped from the right hand panels and reused as and when required.
Data Import
When it comes to importing 3D geometry, the system has a good range of options, from 2D standards such as IGES and DXF, plus other native formats, such as DWG. In terms of 3D file import, it supports IGES, STEP, STL ACIS, 3DS, SketchUp, and OBJ.
Importing a 3D file into TurboCAD’s model space initially gives you a wireframe representation of the part, but a quick rotate of the model and hitting one of the rendering options shows that you indeed have a full 3D part. This can be worked with to some extent to set-up work planes onto which to add dimensions and such.
The integration of the LightWorks rendering engine means that if you don’t have rendering technology in house, you can have access to it through TurboCAD
Working in 3D
TurboCAD’s 3D functionality is much more atuned to the world of architectural design. While the promotional material and web-site shows that the system is being used for mechanical design, I found anything other than basic part design quite hard to do. In terms of 3D functionality, if you compare the system to other products on the market at the same price point (I’m thinking specifically Alibre, SpaceClaim, and IronCAD’s Inovate), the tools really don’t stack up in terms of being able to dive in and generate 3D product designs. You may be able to create the same 3D geometry, but the process is likely to be lengthy and inefficient. And when it comes to making design changes, it can be hard work.
Cost
TurboCAD Professional costs £895. If you then want the add-ons for mechanical design, you basically add sixty quid, topping out at £955. If you want the architectural add-ons as well, then TurboCAD Platinum, (with both add-ons) sees that price rise to £995 per license.
Conclusion
Where does TurboCAD fit into the product development process? The system offers a good, solid alternative to other 2D CAD applications, giving you a full range of detailing tools for creating new drawings from scratch or editing legacy work. But when it comes to 3D, designing from scratch or editing 3D data, even with the introduction of ACIS, it doesn’t quite cut it as a workhorse 3D design tool. As a result, TurboCAD is best applied to its original purpose of creating and editing 2D drawings, and for occasional 3D work, possibly for presentations using its LightWorks rendering engine.
