Mesh to Solid in Geomagic Design, New Update

CADDIT announces the availability of a new update for Geomagic Design with enhanced mesh to solid functionality and other enhancements. Geomagic Design is a complete but affordable 2D/3D CAD system for mechanical design similar to SolidWorks and Inventor, and  available through the CADDIT.net website in Australia since 2009. Version 16 recently added milestone mesh import and conversion functionality to the already large set of design tools including parametric and direct solid modelling, assembly and sheet metal design, BOM and 2D drafting along with a large collection of third party applications for motion simulation, rendering and CNC machining.

When Geomagic Design 16.0 was first announced, milestone features allowing users to convert mesh triangle models (such as from 3D scanners and printers) into useable CAD models was introduced. This means that we can read a file of discrete triangles such as in STL, OBJ or 3DS and convert these into true NURBS based solids for export as IGES, STEP or SolidWorks CAD models using a proprietary "auto-surfacing" technology. Geomagic Design 16.0.2, recently released, adds Boolean to Mesh, trim solid to 3D mesh, and the ability to "snap" to mesh edges in Sketch mode. This provides the mechanical CAD designer with a true hybrid modelling environment unique to Geomagic Design. The following table summarizes these powerful new capabilities.

Scan to CAD - users can now attach a low-cost Sense scanner directly into Geomagic Design and begin importing 3D scan data without any need for conversion. Simply click "Launch Sense Scanner" from the main menu. The resulting 3D scanner information will be added to the parametric model history tree as "Mesh" type entities.

Convert to Solid - Mesh entities do not need to remain mesh entities anymore. Reverse engineering time is now greatly reduced with the ability to change a mesh into a solid model with just a few mouse clicks. This functionality was originally discussed in the v16 announcement here: http://cadcam3d.blogspot.com.au/2014/06/geomagic-design-3d-cad.html

This works for both mechanical or organic type mesh models. The results of this conversion process for a sample freeform surface model are shown here to the right.

Boolean to Mesh - Solid model Boolean operations are among the oldest in the direct modelling toolbox of CAD software. Shapes are changed by "adding" or "subtracting" the volume or one solid to another. Geomagic Design extends this functionality by allowing users to specify a mesh as the Boolean tool. Solids may also now be trimmed or cut against an imported or scanned mesh entity as shown below.

Version 16.0.2 also introduced the ability to "snap" to a point on a mesh while in the part sketch mode. The To-Next termination condition type for the Extrude Boss and Extrude Cut operations also now supports the selection of a surface or a mesh. Imported meshes can also now be precisely re-located and oriented against the existing model space using the new Locate Mesh function.

Geomagic Design 16.0.2 reveals the forward vision of Geomagic Design as a true parametric hybrid, capable of using both NURBS solids and triangle mesh models together in the mechanical design process. For a free trial of the new version of Geomagic Design visit the CADDIT website at this link:
http://www.caddit.net/3d-cad-software/download-alibre.php

Alibre 2012 Now Released - Overview

Alibre 2012 was released recently on CADDIT Australia. Alibre is an affordable, easy-to-use 3D CAD software for mechanical design of parts, assemblies and design drawings. Files from SolidWorks, Solid Edge, Autodesk Inventor and other mechanical design software can also be used in Alibre. Alibre is best known for its low cost and simplicity: users can easily create complex 3D CAD designs for the fraction of the cost of other systems.

Alibre 2012 offers a completely reworked graphical user interface, with a style similar to other Windows 7 productivity applications. New tools have been added for surfacing, sketching, relations and more. .


Alibre Design introduced in-place editing last release, as an enhancement in 2D drafting. This year, in-place editing toolbars have been introduced for part modelling, notably for sketch creation. In-place editing greatly improves speed-of-interface by reducing mouse travel for each command, and need to manually change toolbars. Alibre Design 2012 also lets you project sketches to other sketches, letting you reuse the work you've already done in new features.

Two major enhancements have been included for surface modelling. Surfaces may now be pasted directly from either MoI (free with Alibre Design Expert) or Rhino CAD. A complete new toolset for surface manipulation includes commands for Split Surface, Trim Surface, Stitch, Convert Solid to Surface, Create Surface from Face, and Delete Face.

2D mechanical drafting enhancements include support for multiple leaders from a single annotation, more flexible hatching, improved drafting geometry constraints and border selection for notations. .

Other general improvements include the placement of InterDesign relations in Alibre Design's feature tree and secondary cuts for sheet metal parts. For a free 30 day trial of the new Alibre 2012 - either as Windows XP 32-bit or Windows 7 64-bit native application - download Alibre 2012 HERE.

CADDIT has been supporting Alibre Design products in Australia since 2008. For more information about Alibre Design in Australia, contact CADDIT.net HERE.

Free Upgrade to T-FLEX Version 12 Offer

CADDIT announced new buyers of T-FLEX CAD (version 11 starting with May 2009) will get their USB license dongles upgraded to use version 12 free of charge upon release. T-FLEX 12 is scheduled to be released later this year, with many new features. At that time users will be offered the option to upgrade free or keep their version 11 installed as-is.

T-FLEX is winning attention of mechanical CAD designers as flexible MCAD with features that rival much more expensive systems. It will import SolidWorks, Solid Edge, Parasolid and many other formats directly, so chances are users can work in T-FLEX with many currently existing designs. Unlike many solid-only CAD systems, T-FLEX commands work equally with sheet surface or solid entities. Integrated BOM, sheet metal, welding, FEA and motion simulation offer designers all the tools needed for complex mechanical assembly.

T-FLEX's intuitive context-sensitive right mouse-click menu and adaptive feature based construction cuts design time while database and spreadsheet connectivity allow 3D models to be driven from business data. Custom part windows allow designers to quickly reuse existing 3D model templates with unlimited variation. Designers have the choice of either parametric or direct editing methodology. T-FLEX is enabling many SMBs with powerful 3D mechanical CAD at 25% or less of equivalent platforms.

Users can download a full version T-FLEX trial HERE. For those with download difficulty, free evaluation DVDs are available from CADDIT to the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other locations. These can be requested HERE. Once installed, users will need to send CADDIT their User Code for a trial password to begin their 30 day experience using T-FLEX. T-FLEX pricing and ordering direct from CADDIT is available online HERE.

VariCAD 2009 CAD for Linux and Windows Includes Parametrics

VariCAD and CADDIT released the first edition of their 2009 Parametric 3D Industrial Design CAD Software for Windows and Linux. VariCAD is practical CAD for mechanical design, structural steel, industrial layout, fit-out concept, sheet metal assembly, machine equipment and jig or check fixture model and detailing. VariCAD 2009 includes several important enhancements, including:

• support for parameters
• support for geometric constraints
• enhanced possibilities for insertion and transformation of solids
• new possibilities for editing shells
• improved work with true type fonts in 2D
• improved STEP file compatibility
• improved DWG file compatibility and more

VariCAD 2009 does not use a full length feature tree as many CAD users may be accustomed. Rather, VariCAD 2009 introduces a unique "parameter table" approach to listing the values associated with model geometry. Users can choose to create specific design parameters for each feature or not. Model features without table parameters can still be modified directly in most cases using direct feature dimensioning.


The documentation includes several new Adobe flash video demonstration tutorials for learning the VariCAD Parametric system. Linux 3D CAD users should especially appreciate these new features on a native VariCAD Linux system. Debian/Ubuntu .deb and RH .rpm distributions will be available for download. For Microsoft Windows VariCAD can be downloaded free for 30 days HERE.