BricsCAD: What’s New In V24.2
BricsCAD® V24.2 is here, bringing with it a suite of performance improvements that promise to boost efficiency and stability with new and enhanced features for 2D drafting, 3D modeling, civil, survey, BIM, and mechanical workflows. Tailored for drafters, designers, and fabricators across all industries, the latest version focuses on accelerating the creation of detailed design documentation essential for building, fabricating, and manufacturing processes. With this release, the Bricsys® development team included several new features and improvements to help you accelerate your time to deliverable and provide you with a familiar CAD experience. With the help of the global technical teams at Bricsys®, let's dive in and explore what's new in BricsCAD V24.2!
2D Drafting Enhancements
With V24.2, we've worked to make your drafting and design processes easier. To help your drafting run smoothly, we made improvements to:
Sheet Set Manager: We've improved the Sheet Set Manager so you can preview DST files faster, add new sheets quicker, save model views, and delete viewports that will automatically be removed from the list.
Custom Paper Size Management: It's also now possible to manage custom paper sizes with full support for PMP files.
Nested Purge Access: The PURGE command was enhanced to allow dialog access to the Nested Purge functionality so you can run it from the Purge command or via the Drawing Health Manager.
Hide Objects: BricsCAD's status bar now indicates hidden objects, so you know that items are either hidden or isolated in the drawing, and it's easier and quicker to discover what those are. You can turn this off and on as needed.
Enhanced Drawing Compatibility
One of the key improvements to BricsCAD V24.2 is its enhanced DWG and drawing compatibility. Our focus was on the highest DWG compatibility to ensure that the drawings you create can be opened and edited in other DWG-based CAD tools so you can collaborate effortlessly. You'll find:
Improved Dynamic Blocks: We focused on improving how BricsCAD handles AutoCAD® Dynamic Blocks. Dynamic blocks perform true to form when using the grips to stretch a block, and the same is true when flipping. Stretch accents behave as expected, as well as rotation and mirroring grips. (See Fig. 1)
Figure 1
Complex dynamic blocks like welding symbols are also now more accessible to work with. You can select and change attributes on the screen using the properties panel or drag the blocks. You can also flip welding flags and mirror blocks using the improved grips.
Improved Rotation Parameters: Dynamic Block's rotation attributes remain correctly preserved whilst direction attributes are rotated accordingly.
Improved MLeaders: Mleaders have been improved to behave as expected in BricsCAD and on a round-trip to other CAD software. We upped DWG fidelity by improving how Mleaders behave. When you change an MLeader in BricsCAD, the existing MLeaders will update, and their attributes are preserved. Similarly, if you redefine a block used in an MLeader, the MLeader will have the updated attributes.
Enhanced 2D Drawing Creation Workflow
Understanding the critical nature of 2D drawing creation in the design process, the BricsCAD team dedicated their efforts to refining this aspect in V24.2. The enhancements are designed to reduce the time to deliverable, making the software not only faster but also more reliable. This ensures that users spend more time designing and less time waiting on the software or worrying about potential data loss.
Improved DWG Load Performance: One of the standout features in V24.2 is the enhanced DWG loading capability. For those working with large drawings, the frustration of waiting for all items to load is all too familiar. BricsCAD V24.2 addresses this by implementing Prop Object Limits, significantly speeding up the process. With Prop Object limits, you can set a limit value so when you "Select all", the properties panel lets you know when the limit is reached. Prop Object Limits eliminates the enumeration of selected objects shown in the Properties panel, cutting down on loading time. You can always override the limit or change it. (See Fig. 2)
Figure 2
Enhanced External Reference Workflow: Managing attachments aka external references (XRefs) is now more straightforward. Now, you can detach an Xref with zero references without needing to unload it first, saving you precious time and clicks!
Optimized Display Performance: Users will notice a marked improvement in the display performance of spline-fit polylines and color-mapped point clouds. These enhancements reduce memory usage, leading to a smoother user experience.
Updated PURGE dialog
We updated the PURGE dialogue to allow dialogue access to nested purge functionality either from the standalone command or from the drawing health manager.
BRX API Enhancements
In addition to the core performance improvements, BricsCAD V24.2 introduces enhancements to the BricsCAD BRX API, opening up new possibilities for our Developer Partners to create more efficient and powerful applications for BricsCAD, further expanding its capabilities.
With this release, we worked to ensure product stability, performance, and optimal 2D drawing creation workflows in BricsCAD V24.2 so our users can reach their design deliverables faster and more efficiently than ever before.
Civil Tools in BricsCAD V24.2
Quicker display of color-mapped point clouds: Color-mapped point clouds are now much quicker to display. Users will also notice a marked improvement in the display performance of spline-fit polylines and color-mapped point clouds. These enhancements reduce memory usage, leading to a smoother user experience. You can change color schemes faster and save on memory use - saving you time! (See Fig. 3)
Figure 3
Enhanced GIS Import: We enhanced the GIS import command to allow you to import data from a file-based geodatabase. We also enhanced the user interface and added new dialog boxes to work with point groups and editing TIN surfaces, making these commands easier to learn and faster to use.
Streamlined shape file import: In BricsCAD Pro V24, we have streamlined the import process for shape files. You can select a folder directly and have the software tell you which files you have already loaded. You can import all your data or define a Clipped Polygon within your drawing to display only what you need.
Edit field names and formats: New to V24.2 is the capability to edit field formats and names, so you can ensure that anyone receiving your data can understand each field attribute.
New user-friendly dialogs for point group management: This release includes user-friendly dialogue boxes for point group management. Rather than working solely with the command line, the new dialog lets you create new point groups, add descriptions, and select points you want to include within the group. The dialogue indicates how many points you have chosen. You can also add to or create new point groups using the filter box, which makes it easier and more intuitive. (See Fig. 4)
Figure 4
New TIN surface dialogs: We created new dialogues for working with TIN services, including removing elevations, removing the outer edge, adding brake lines, and removing points per elevation within a TIN surface.
BricsCAD® BIM V24.2
BricsCAD BIM is a flexible and accurate BIM tool for CAD. With the release of BricsCAD BIM V24.2, we wanted to make it easy to go from 2D or scan data to 3D BIM, make it easier to handle IFC, increase the efficiency of scan data, and make this data more insightful.
New BEAM tool: We added a new BEAM tool to the building modeling toolset to make it easier to design your buildings. A dedicated panel displays parameters and lets you choose from a single or polybeam or a shape from your library. You can also specify your materials and set key parameters to place beams with the correct dimensions, spatial location, and other BIM elements. These are available for use with the Bill of Materials.
Enhanced Wall Tool: We enhanced the wall tool based on customer feedback. Now, BricsCAD recognizes walls even if they're at an angle to the X&Y. It also recognizes wall thickness automatically from the point cloud, making it easier to go from scan to 3D model to BIM model.
Enhanced Roof Tool: We added additional functionality to the roof tool in BricsCAD BIM V24 to make it even more useful, and you can now create a roof with polylines using polyline mode. You can adjust thickness, overhand, and angles on the fly and fit roof endings.
New IFC Setting Dialog: We introduced a new IFC dialogue setting dialogue box to make IFC data less confusing and easier to handle. You can also filter which entity types are for import. Choose from predefined profiles for quick and straightforward importing or specific elements like structural or MEP elements.
Point Cloud Color Mapping Classified Data: We established a new data representation that allows you to color map classified data - helping you gain insights and work with point cloud data more quickly. You can also change colors for better visualization.
BricsCAD® Mechanical V24.2
Updated AMPARTREF: In BricsCAD V 24.2, we've updated our AMPARTREF feature. You can now reference existing part references, so you no longer need to recreate them manually. These new part references are associative with the existing parts list.
New BricsCAD®, Block Reference: Now, you can reference an existing BricsCAD block. The metadata in the block automatically transfers to the part reference.
AMBALLOONS made simpler: Creating AM balloons is more straightforward in BricsCAD Mechanical V24 with the AMBALLOON command. It creates balloon annotations fully compatible with the AM BOM database on existing DWG files and blocks created in BricsCAD. You can easily arrange several balloons simultaneously with predefined vertical and horizontal placement or choose custom angle placements.
Improved AMPARTLIST workflow: We improved our AMPARTLIST workflow by adding a dialog box to enable more configuration. Here, you can easily edit part property values. You can now set incremental or fixed values to a range of cells, ensuring accurate item numbering. Layout configuration settings give you complete control of how your parts display. Once you save the changes, you'll see they are automatically reflected in the parts list. (See Fig. 5)
Figure 5
Conclusion
Whether you're a seasoned CAD professional or just getting started, the new and enhanced features in BricsCAD V24.2 are sure to enhance your workflow and accelerate your time to deliverable! Head to the official Bricsys Youtube page and watch Don Strimbu and Lynda Sharkey demonstrate a majority of this in action. And just wait until you see what Bricsys has in store for BricsCAD V25!
More About BricsCAD®
Bricsys® BricsCAD® is professional CAD software without compromise. Accelerate your time to deliverable without compromising on performance, cost, licensing flexibility, and data security. Not ready to buy? Download the free, 30-day trial of BricsCAD® at Bricsys.com. Would you like free lessons? We have that available with Bricsys Learning. Ready to migrate to BricsCAD®? Download the Migration Guide. The latest version of BricsCAD® improves the tools and features users love, as well as new functionality and UI that supercharge productivity. Follow us today on LinkedIn and Youtube.
More About Bricsys®
Bricsys®, part of Hexagon®, is the global technology company that creates the BricsCAD® family of computer-aided design (CAD) products and the Bricsys® 24/7 project collaboration platform. We are relentlessly committed to the success of our customers by offering cost-effective, mission-critical CAD software with industry-leading product support. Learn more at www.Bricsys.com.
Hexagon is a global leader in digital reality solutions. Learn more about Hexagon (Nasdaq Stockholm: HEXA B) at hexagon.com and follow us @HexagonAB.
