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Cadalyst Labs Review: TurboCAD Professional v12
1 Jul, 2006 By: Steven S. RossMature 2D and 3D package gives the mechanical crowd and architects good value
Another year brings another fine upgrade for the TurboCAD franchise, which recently was purchased by IMSI/Design (see details). The big news is for the Professional version (figure 1). The stripped-down Deluxe version has the same interface changes, but only minor improvements in functionality, mainly in 2D and 3D text editing. As with earlier versions, TurboCAD is responsive enough, even on a slow laptop, to encourage playing around, sketching and trying various changes. On a system with a 1.6GHz processor and 1MB of RAM, it handles like your pencil. On a system with an 800MHz processor and 512MB of RAM, it's hardly sluggish. The Deluxe version and some features of Professional supposedly will run in Windows 98, but I couldn't find a machine to test it.
 Figure 1. TurboCAD v12 uses LightWorks v7.5 rendering for more realistic and easier visualizations. |
The interface change alone is worth the upgrade for either version. It has more shortcut icons at your fingertips and more context-sensitive menus. Viewed on a 1280x1024 screen, the icon-to-workspace balance is near perfection. But even on a 1024x768 screen, the view isn't crowded. If users don't like the new look, they can easily customize it.
 Figure 2. One of TurboCAD v12 s dialog boxes for modifying the interface and file locations. |
One option is to use the familiar v11 interface—just go to the UI Themes menu in Tools for a two-click change (see figures 2 and 3 for more nuanced interface modifications).
 Figure 3. A customization screen for menus and palettes. |
In the Professional version, the beauty is more than skin-deep. For solid modeling, the ACIS version was bumped up to 15 from 14. That change means users get better deformation controls and better NURBS (nonuniform rational B-splines) in TurboCAD Professional. The software even has a Deform under Pressure Load command (figure 4).
 Figure 4. A quick rendering of a 3D assembly. Note the facet selected just below the Render menu and highlighted in green. It can be deformed by applying pressure or by stretching. |
LightWorks rendering (v7.5), which includes ray-tracing, is still part of both versions, and TurboCAD supports LightWorks' LWA format. To complement this, users get access to LightWorks archive materials on the LightWorks Web site in the form of files created by specific brand-name materials suppliers for more realistic and, frankly, easier visualizations.
 Figure 5. TurboCAD v12 s materials editor. |
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AutoCAD Tips!
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