TopSolid'Design CAD
User Interface
Icons
In TopSolid 7.14 a number of new, clearer standard icons are foreseen. This is the case, among others, for the Part and Assembly files. However, you can switch back to the old icons by selecting Tools > Options > General
Home page
In order to beter manage very high resolution 4K monitors, a number of addtional settings were added to the TOPSOLID 7.14 interface.
- there are now 6 different sizes available for the icons of the last opened documents
- you can now modify the size of the New Document, Recent Projects and Help areas
- for a better visibility, the icon size can be modified in Tools > Options > General > Size
- TopSolid will automatically adapt de size of the file icons in the results list of a search document, to the resolution
Styles
Copying styles is now possible between files, which makes it easier to retrieve a style from one document to another.
In the contextual commands menu of styles you can now find Copy / Paste. You can do this for one style, but you can also copy all styles from one document to another by performing a copy/paste on the styles folder.
Sketch
Profile Origin and Orientation
TopSolid 7.14 makes it possible to modify the direction and origin of a profile in a sketch. You can find this through 2D Sketch > Operations > Profile Origin and Orientation.
This is mostly useful when creating surfaces or when creating a contour on curve in the CAM module.
There are 3 modes:
1. All profiles:
allows you to modify the orientation of all profiles in the sketch
2. List of profiles:
allows you to modify the orientation of the selected profiles in the sketch
3. One profile:
allows you to modify the origin and orientation of 1 profile in the sketch. To modify the origin you can select a specific point, the midpoint of a segment or a point on a specific percentage of the length of a segment. Relative to this point you can give an extra offset if desired.
3D contour wizard
The new 3D Sketch > Contour Wizard command allows you to generate a 3D Sketch based on the edges of a shape. At an intersection where different options are possible, you can manually choose the desired direction. The command proposes different options, like for example tangential, meaning that, automatically, the tangential direction is selected
Offset
It is now possible to create in 1 step an offset curve with variable offsets. The 2D Sketch > Operations > Offset command is extended with a Special Segments section. This allows you to make exceptions on the generally established offset. You can indicate the start and end segment between which a different offset is desired. This can be activated with a right mouse click on the designated segment or on the line in the dialog box.
Shape
Constrained block
It is now possible to create a shape with the constrained block command (What’s New pg 10).
Drillings
The Drilling command now has a new option: Lightweight. Thanks to the Leightweight option the hole is not actually drawn but only proposed with a circle. TopSolid recognizes it as a drilling operation so the necessary information can be used in the CAM modules. This only works when the Create MF (Manufacturing Features) in the home tab is activated. There are also advantages for the CAD users. The generation of a multitude of holes is now extremely fast, with time savings of about 50%. A draft document provides a correct front view. On the intersection, the drilling will not be visible because the hole was not actually drilled.
Repeated Boolean
The new Shape > Repeated Boolean command makes it possible to carry out, in a single operation, a union or substraction Boolean operation between a shape and the shapes resulting from a repetition.
Offset
With the renewed Shape > Offset command, now allowing to select Special Faces with a different offset, you can now more easily create more complex “offset-shapes”. Different faces can be individually indicated or through an automatic selection based on color, edge path, etc.
Selection by edge path/color
TopSolid 7.14 simplifies the selection of faces through the Faces Along Edge Paths option that was added to all commands asking for a face selection.
Surface
Tangent surfaces
The new Surface > Tangent Surfaces command allows you to quickly and easily create an extra surface that is tangential to a surface of the piece. This is mostly useful for CAM users to select such surfaces as additional, to be modified surfaces, in order to ensure that the milling operation continues on this just created tangent surface.
Marking
TopSolid 7.14 makes it possible to identify pieces by marking with the new Surface > Marking command. You can either assign the value of a property in automatic mode or manually mark a sketch on a face. Combined with the new functions for Manufacturing and Mounting indexes, this allows a very fast and easy identification and marking of all pieces.
Sheet Metal
Flange
TopSolid 7.14 brings an extension to the flange command. The new Tangent thickness below edge option positions the flange tangent to the defined edge.
Analyze Sheet Metal
The Analyze Sheet Metal command now has a Bends section to display the list of bends and their information.
Assembly
In-place editing
You can now disable the “Edit in-place” command with a double click (What's New pg 17).
It is now easier to perform operations in an assembly with the new Modeling > Pocket command. It allows you to perform a pocket in a single operation on different parts. An Automatic detection option allows you to quickly select the parts in contact with the pocket sketch.
Local parts
You can convert regular parts to local parts with the new Modeling > Local Parts command (What's New p13).
Local assemblies
It is now easier to bring structure in your assemblies with the new Modeling > Local Assembly command. It allows you to make new local assemblies from other local assemblies of parts with the objective to have a better structure in the bill of material.
Workspaces
The new Workspaces manager document allows you to break down a project or big assembly in different areas, defined by a “trimm volume”. This makes it possible to distribute the work among several users. Based on these areas, TopSolid 7.14 creates a group of documents with an assembly per area as well as another assembly containing the reassembly of all areas. This concept greatly improves collaborative work as well as the management of large-scale projects that require splitting into batches or sub-assemblies.
Bill of Materials
Comparing parts
TopSolid 7.14 adds the Compare parts geometry option to the Assembly > Bill of Material command. This option compares the topology of parts and makes it possible to differentiate between parts having the same properties but different machinings. If we take for example 2 identical bars with different drillings, the BOM will generate 2 separate rows which gives a more correct bill.
Assembly only mode
The new Assembly Only mode allows you to list only the sub-assemblies contained in the assembly.
Manufacturing and mounting indexes
With TopSolid 7.14 it is now a lot easier and faster to make a unique identification of pieces, for manufacturing as well as for mounting. The two new Bill of Material > Manufacturing Index and Bill of Material > Mounting Index commands are available in a BOM file. Manufacturing Index is only available in Flat mode, Mounting Index is only available in Multilevel mode. The Bill of Material > Manufacturing Index is intended to identify the parts in order to machine them, while the Mounting Index is for mounting. In other words, you can see which piece is used in which sub-assembly.
Construction
Block Envelope
This completely new way of placing components allows you to use a volume as driver (Construction > Block Envelopes). The component will align with the volume.
Tools
Representations
From TopSolid 7.14 it is possible to add one or more entities to one or more representations in one step. This function is available in the contextual menu on the selection -> Others > Add to Representations.
Fill pattern
The new Construction > Patterns > Fill Pattern command allows you to define a pattern by filling in a section with a profile as much as possible.
Parts operation
It is now possible to define, using Tools > Options, what TopSolid has to do in case of modifications in entered components. There is a separate setting for modifications on one piece (Operation on part) and modifications on a repetition (Operation on part list). You could now define that when trimming repetitive parts, the pieces will be derived instead of modified to local parts.
Drafting: Projection of 2D entities
With the Tools > Drafting > Detailings command in a 3D document, you can now define extra entities such as sketches, points, dimensions, etc.. from a piece or assembly. These entities can be retrieved in the assembly through the Others > Inherit Detailing Elements contextual menu. The objective is that these entities should be easily retrieved and projected into a drafting.
Drafting: Schematic projection
The Tools > Drafting > In Place Schematic command allows you to define a sketch that can then be projected in a view on the draft if asked in the view (with Advanced > Schematics Projection of the view).
Drafting
Interrupted view
TopSolid 7.14 presents a number of improvements to the interrupted views. You can now interrupt a view several times in the same operation. In addition you can also add them at any time afterwards by modifying the existing interruption. The speed for the calculation of views has been improved.
Display priority
When parts are superimposed on each other in a view or a cut, you can now choose, using the View > Display Priority command which one should be on the foreground.
Dimensioning
It is now possible in the dimensioning commands to use the Midpoint option, so it doesn’t have to be created first.
Drilling Note
The calculation of the number of repetitions has been modified. You can now choose between the Repetition number parameter that indicates how many holes exist in that repetition. The new Identical drillings count parameter indicates how many of these same holes exist on the complete part.
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