IRONCADª is a cost-effective, full-featured detail design production tool that utilizes a new Creative Design approach that delivers a level of design freedom unmatched in the industry today. IRONCAD is the tool of choice for design engineers when deadlines are tight and a high degree of unanticipated change is to be expected. It provides a fresh alternative to today’s history based parametric systems utilizing a radical new drag and drop 3D environment that delivers unmatched ease-of-use, and superior productivity.

The IronCAD Difference can be experienced through:

3D Part and Assembly Design

• Drag-and-drop solid modeling, the first true 3D design environment for solid modeling, dramatically enhances productivity for new and experienced users alike.
• Solid model creation tools include Extrude, Spin, Loft (with face tangent control), Sweep, Shell, Split, Mirror, Pattern (linear and circular) constant and variable radius Blend, Chamfer, Taper (draft), 3D text, and Boolean add/subtract/difference.
• The Rich 2D profile creation environment includes SmartCursor, the DCM™ constraint manager, dimensional parametric relationships, associative edge projection, plus icon-based highlighting of geometry "snapped to" and constrained status.
• Drag-and-drop assembly features that can cut across multiple parts in an assembly with the option to move the cut of the assembly feature into the geometry of the standalone part.
• IRONCAD's efficient catalog-based design environment provides unprecedented design creation speed. Users drag-and-drop to and from standard and custom catalogs of 3D features (IntelliShapes®), parts, assemblies, custom tools, profiles, colors, textures, animations, and more.
• Catalogs are user-definable for custom IntelliShapes, standard parts, vendor-supplied models, surface finishes, animations, and more.
• On-screen "handles" enable dynamic, intuitive manipulation of feature size, profile shape, and individual face positions.
• SmartSnap®, a dynamic 3D constraint solver, provides precise positioning and alignment while graphically dragging features and faces. Users "snap to" edges, faces, vertices, holes and center points by simply pressing the shift key.
• IntelliShape definitions include behaviour as well as geometry. For example, features, parts and assemblies know how to stay on the surface and perpendicular to a part as they are drug or "cruised" over any surface, flat or curved.
• Dynamic implied constraints and handles enable flexible 2D-profile modifications.
• The patented TriBall®, a remarkably intuitive graphical tool, provides precise positioning of any objects by translation, rotation, or any complex 3D transformation.
• 3D SmartDimensions® can be dropped on any feature, part or assembly, at any time, and used for dimension driven modifications. SmartDimensions can be locked to create dynamic 3D constraints.
• Dynamic Mate and Align tools facilitate fast and logical positioning of features, parts and assemblies with the option of maintaining constraints that can be locked and unlocked at any time.
• Pervasive right-mouse-button support further expands power to provide direct numerical input, access to object properties, as well as advanced features and options.
• Includes graphical interference checking and mass property analysis capabilities.

IRONCAD utilizes a new creative design approach to solid modeling that supports the entire design process, from concept, through detail design, to pre/post production changes. This gives you freedom to make unanticipated changes at any time during the design process:

• A unique, innovative and synergistic integration of feature-based (IntelliShape) and non-history-based technology provide power, flexibility and predictability.
  • IntelliShape modeling provides dynamic 3D manipulation in addition to traditional constraints and parametric relationships that capture design intent, for unparalleled concept development with a smooth transition to detail design.
  • Direct Face Modeling provides direct, predictable modification of faces using Move, Taper, Match, Offset, Change Radius, and Delete Face commands. Modifications are not limited by creation history, so changing design intent does not require rebuilding the model.
• Casual users can design fast and effectively without concerning themselves with constraints, parametrics and feature trees. Power users can use all of these and more to create highly intelligent models.
• SmartUpdate™ eliminates unpredictability arising from complex order dependencies when making model changes.
• IntelliShapes include support for powerful modeling functions at the feature level such as shelling, draft, capping, blending and chamfering.
• IRONCAD's object-oriented architecture makes user interaction intuitive and consistent. Parts, assemblies, features, faces, lights, cameras, and more are manipulated with the same set of simple tools.
• Parts and features are easy to locate without requiring complicated, cumbersome construction or datum planes.
• Any selected set of features can be combined "on-the-fly" to simplify the model, increase performance, or better represent the designer's intent. Combined features remain editable with Direct Face Modeling.
• Auto feature recognition can be used to automatically create IntelliShape design intent.
• Full assembly capability is seamlessly integrated into IRONCAD's drag-and-drop environment with no distinction between part and assembly modes or documents. Parts and assemblies can be saved in one file, separate files, or in any combination.
• Extensive Undo and redo capability with a user configurable number of steps.

Surfacing

IRONCAD has powerful surface creation tools to allow you to create many types of geometry. Surface models can be converted to solids.

• Choose from these surface creation types:
  • Mesh, Loft, Ruled, Spin, Edge, Sweep, Fillet, Extend
• Create surfaces from imported IGES wireframe data.
• Create surfaces from any model created in IRONCAD
• Create surfaces from any imported 3D solid model

Sheet Metal

• Drag-and-drop sheet metal part creation capabilities include:
  • Conical sheet metal stock
  • Drag-and-drop catalog of stock, bends, lips, seams, hems, punches, stamps, fillets and chamfers.
  • Customizable parameterized punch and stamp IntelliShapes that conform to industry standards.
  • Integrated and customizable tool database to capture stock and tool parameters of specific fabrication shops.
  • New handles, optimized for sheet metal modification, to control bend size, angle, position, radius, and relief, as well as a toggle handle to select punches and stamps from the tool database.
  • Automated flat pattern generation in both solid and 2D drawing formats.

2D Drawings

• Allows associative 2D multi-sheet layout drawings from parts and assemblies. Orthogonal, isometric, detail, section, broken and auxiliary views are supported. Full annotation includes SmartDimensions, GD&T, text notes, centerlines and reference geometry supporting ANSI, ISO and JIS standards.
• Fully associated Bill of Materials support includes customizable part and assembly attributes, customizable BOM table templates, automatic item bubble creation, and export to tab delimited or Microsoft® Excel files.
• Fully associated hole tables can be created and managed on the drawing.
• Drawings may be changed by editing dimensions on the drawing or 3D model.
• Automatic notification when drawings are out of sync with the associated 3D models.

Rendering and Visualization

• SmartRender® automatically manipulates rendering style, from photo-realistic to wireframe, to maximize realism and interactive performance, using any video card.
• Fully integrated, real-time, texture, decal and bump maps can be used to represent design details such as threads and grills, without inflating modeling time or data size, with or without graphics acceleration.
• Fast graphical preview of modeling operations helps understand the results of design changes before performing time-consuming operations.
• Provides rich visual feedback, including highlighting of linked features and constraint dependencies.
• Photo-realistic images can be created with ray tracing, shadows, texture/bump/decal mapping and anti-aliasing. Any number of directional, point or spotlights can be created; special effects include fogs and gels.
• SmartMotions™ provide sophisticated key-frame animation capabilities including graphical editing of 3D animation paths and exporting of fully rendering GIF and AVI files.
  • Many Codecs for Animation Export – IRONCAD animations can be compressed using a variety of codecs or exported in a full-frame mode.
• Rich OpenGL support includes features like overlay planes and dynamic texture mapping.
• Fully integrated, real-time rendering engine that supports the latest OpenGL and Direct3D drivers. This rendering engine supports fast graphical preview of modeling operations that helps you understand the results of design changes before performing time-consuming operations. Rich visual feedback, including highlighting of linked features and constraint dependencies is also included.
• Photo-realistic images can be produced using the Advanced Rendering Engine which supports:
  • Raytracing – Raytracing algorithms deliver improved shadow effects in realistic renderings. Users can control the depth of ray bounces. Higher numbers mean more detail and better visuals. However, this greatly reduces performance.
  • Global Illumination –Global Illumination (GI) delivers enhanced realism by processing direct and indirect light sources before generating output. Direct lighting sources are actual lights or luminous objects while indirect sources can be surfaces that reflect or otherwise redirect emissions from a direct light source.
  • Radiosity Support – Radiosity algorithms are part of GI and allow environments to more accurately depict real-word environments by blending color between objects as well as producing a “glow” effect with lights.
  • Caustics – A caustic is the pattern emitted by light photons traveling through a curved surface or object. Surfaces that are transparent or reflective (like a mirror, glass or water) have the ability to create caustics. Caustics are part of GI, and help to better emulate real-word lighting situations.
  • HDRI Environments - High Dynamic Range Imaging (HDRI) photographs are images that capture a detailed range of lighting, from direct sunlight to deep shadows. Modeling scenes using HDRI environments do not require additional lighting. They instead use information provided by the photograph to accurately place the 3D model in the HDRI environment. Because of this, the HDRI image will become part of the rendering process, creating reflections in metallic parts or distortions when the image is viewed through transparent glass or plastic. Reflections from HRDI images are much brighter and more defined than those created by textures, resulting in added realism.
  • Area Lights – Area lights produce light from a rectangular area. These lights only generate soft shadows and require additional rendering time. However, shadows produced from this type of light are of higher quality than those produced by other lighting types.
  • Soft Shadow Support - Soft shadows exist in the space between a shadow and its surrounding environment. It is the gradual lessening of a shadow until there is no loss of light at all. Soft shadows add more realism to an environment, but require additional rendering time. Soft shadows are supported on Area, Spot, Point and Direct light sources. Included in this list are surfaces that emit light produced from radiosity effects or through GI.
  • Glow and Volumetric Lights – Both Spot and Point lights now support a glow effect. Because it is not volumetric, the glow passes through objects, producing a highlighting effect for certain lights. Spot lights, however, have an additional option for volumetric lighting to simulate a real spotlight as it passes through a fog to generate a glowing effect. This can produce additional realism in specific rendering situations.
  • Emission Light Sources – Any surface in IRONCAD can be set to emit light. This effect is created with meshed lighting surfacing using a series of lights.
  • Depth of Field – Depth of Field (DOF) is the range of focus objects receive in front of or behind a particular point. Defining this focal point can help bring attention to a particular part of the rendering by simulating this real-world photographic effect.
  • Specular and Diffuse Control – Light reflects differently on different surface types. Some materials, like plastics and metals, can be identified by observing its reflection or absorption of light. Settings for an object’s specular and diffuse properties allow users to control how an object reacts to light, allowing for more realistic rendering output.
  • Transparency – Objects in IRONCAD are able to simulate transparency, especially in areas of color fading as transparency increases.
  • Transparent Shadow Support – This enables shadows passing through transparent objects to react more naturally. Instead of casting shadows as if the transparent object was not present, the transparency is factored in and fades the shadow to simulate a real-world effect.
  • Blended Alpha-Masking Textures – Blended Alpha masks allow for different levels of transparency based on a percentage number. Images used in textures now support this ability.
  • Fresnel Reflection – A Fresnel Reflection is a transparent object’s ability to both reflect and refract light. Incorporating algorithms using Fresnel’s equation allows IRONCAD to deliver more accurate portrayal of transparent items like prisms, which can distort the appearance of objects viewed through it.
  • 2D and 3D Procedural Shaders – Shaders are textures assigned to an object but computed mathematically. More sophisticated than conventional textures, shaders eliminate pixilation by calculating themselves based on an objects dimension, generating detailed results not achievable with textures.
  • Material Library – IRONCAD has a pre-defined set of materials available in its catalog system to be used as a foundation for users to create their own unique materials.
  • Multi-Thread Render to Window Support – This allows users to continue working in the 3D environment while scenes render in a separate window. It’s possible for multiple renderings to execute simultaneously. A system with dual-processor capability is necessary to realize this features full potential.
  • Scan Line and Pixel Preview – Preview options like scan line and spiral mode enables users to watch renderings come together piece by piece. This allows them to cancel renderings that deliver unexpected or inadequate results without having to wait for a finished image.
  • Realistic Preview During Modifications – When editing SmartPaint properties in IRONCAD, users can now preview the affect of setting changes on a sample object viewable in the dialog box. This preview happens in real-time.
  • Lights Suppression State – Suppressed lights in IRONCAD’s scene browser will display an icon depicting their state (suppressed lights appear as a grayed-out icon). This iron style is similar to other objects when suppressed in IRONCAD.
  • Multi-Select Toggling – Multiple lights and shadows in the IRONCAD scene can be selected and turned on or off simultaneously.
  • Enhanced Image Export Support and Size – IRONCAD now supports larger export sizes for images, allowing for large-format printouts. Export times increase with the size of the image.
  • Rendering Toolbar – This toolbar allows users to change rendering options from the 3D environment. Options include a toggle between wireframe, color wireframe, facet representation and shaded view. It’s also possible to enable different types of edge views or access realistic rendering options all from the same toolbar.
  • Advanced Camera Toolbar – This toolbar helps users setup the camera for realistic rendering. Pan, tilt, yaw,roll, Z-up direction, arc and perspective are some common options that can be set.

Integrated Tools

Drag-and-drop variable-driven tools quickly create fasteners, holes, patterns, bearings, gears, hot/cold rolled steel shapes, helixes and exploded assemblies. These tools can be customized and new ones created using Visual Basic.

Configurations

IRONCAD supports multiple configurations for a design. These configurations can be applied to parts, assemblies and drawings. Create multiple variations of your designs all within one document.

Data Import and Export

IRONCAD has the most complete set of data translators to allow both faceted and solid geometry to interchange with all leading systems:

• 3D CAD import and export filters for IGES, ACIS®, Parasolid®, STEP, CATIA® V4 and V5, INOVATE and Pro/Engineer®, Granite
• Export out streaming HOOPS and PDF data to use in web pages and viewers
• Other supported 3D, 2D and image data formats include: 3DS, AVI, BMP, COB, DXF, DWG, EPS, GIF, JPEG, Kodak Photo CD, OBI, POV, PCX, PNG, TGA, TIFF, Visual Basic, WMF, STL, VRML, SCN, RAW, PRJ.
• Polygonal formats can be converted to solid with planar and curved surface fitting and then modified as any other solid data.
• Automatic feature recognition can identify and create features on imported data. Supported feature types include blends, face-based IntelliShapes, extrude IntelliShapes with
  profile reconstruction and draft recognition.

Help

IRONCAD has a context sensitive help system that allows you information on any topic at the touch of a button. Our fully integrated HTML based training demos ensure that you have all you need to get the most our the product at your fingertips. Support customers also have access to our exclusive online customer community where you may interact with other customers to share ideas.

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System Requirements

• Microsoft Windows® XP Professional or Windows 2000 Pro
• Pentium II® 450 MHz or faster CPU. 2.0 GHz processor recommended.
• 256 MB RAM minimum - 512 MB or more preferred
• IRONCAD works with display adapters that produce 16 or 24-bit color. OpenGL graphics accelerator with minimum 64MB memory recommended. 128MB graphics memory or more recommended for best performance.
• CD-ROM drive
• Typical install 255 MB of hard disk space

Click here to download the IRONCAD datasheet in PDF format.