ARTWORKS |
You can now apply artworks to structures. In Package Designer, artworks are combinations of graphical designs paired for the front and rear side of a structure. For the same structure, you can create various front and back graphical design pairs and switch them onto the structure to give it different visual appearance as the case may require. Artworks are versatile combinations, as once various variants have been created for the front and rear sides of a structures, these variants can be paired in multiple combinations.
You can create artworks in either Package Designer or Adobe® Illustrator® and can visualize them in the 3D module and in the Adobe® Illustrator® environment. You can feature artworks also in layout and print presentations.
3D |
3D PDFs can be imported as internal objects Imported 3D PDF models can be used as external 3D objects that can be inserted into folding sequences. NOTE: To qualify for importing, a 3D PDF must be saved as a still scene. This prevents any folding steps from being played back when the 3D object has been inserted into the hosting 3D model.
Tabs Renaming in Inserted 3D External Objects UI You insert external 3D objects into folding sequences by first loading them into a special dialog box, where each external object appears in its own tab, which has the name of the external-object file. If you happen on external objects with curious or unmeaningful names, you can now rename their tabs in the dialog box and give them names that make sense to you. This renaming comes in especially handy if you choose to extract these tabs' names for the purposes of creating design frames and print drawings.
External objects in STEP and IGES file formats You can now import external objects in the STEP and IGES file formats.
INTEGRATION WITH ADOBE® ILLUSTRATOR® |
The plug-in that powers the integration between EngView and Adobe® Illustrator® has been expanded by two new functionalities:
Image scaling tool When you are working on a structure whose artboards have been scaled down to fit the canvas size and then move to apply an image to any of them, Adobe® Illustrator® recognizes the discrepancy between the size of the image and the scaling ratio applied to the artboards. In this case, to ensure that the image is applied precisely in accordance with the scaled-down artboard, you can scale the image down with the same scaling ratio.
Artboard exporting tool With the functionality you can:
Export as 2D PDFs the artboards of the structure you are working on to a directory of your choice.
Open a selected artboard in a separate tab.
DRAFTING |
Bar and QR codes You can now insert bar codes and QR codes to drawings.
Default template parameters Parameter templates now have default parameters, which control frequently used dimensions in resizable designs — for example, height, length, use of layers. Default parameters spare you the need to create the parameters you use most frequently when starting a resizable design project: you just append them to the parameter list by a single click. Learn more about how to add default parameters to parameter templates and how to append them to projects.
Description field for selection types A notes field has been added for the entries of selection types in selection parameters. In the field, brief notes can be typed that explain what the selection type is about.
CAM |
Tool multi-pass count and direction indication You can now follow how many times a tool has passed along tool path sections and in which direction. After you have set the number of times a tool is to pass along a section, you can now make the program visualize these passes and the direction in the CAM drawing.
DESIGN FRAMES AND PRINT PRESENTATIONS |
Checklists for task reporting and technology roadmaps A checklists functionality has been introduced that lets you follow the progress and state of ongoing tasks and offers information related to specific project characteristics — for example, used materials, graphical work variants and production-related instructions. The functionality comes in handy in the creation of technology roadmaps.
Transparent backgrounds in 3D view Backgrounds of 3D views in print presentations can now be made transparent — that is, the background can have the color of the print drawing's graphical area. This allows the represented 3D object to stand out against the background. The functionality comes in handy when the color of the 3D object is the same as that of the graphical area background, the usual case being white.
Formulas for counting and measuring tool positions Formulas have been added for counting the number and coordinates of the positions of creasing tools. The formulas are useful, for example, when sheets are processed on slotting machines (inliners).
Formula extracting selection types "Description" field content A formula — VALDESCR — has been introduced for extracting the content in the "Description" field of selection type entries.
Formulas extracting sheet and board names Formulas have been added that extract the names of the sheet and dieboard used in a project.
Bridges drawings can be placed into print drawings In design frames, predefined areas can now be created for bridges drawings. Then, during the creation of print drawings, the bridges drawings are only associated with the respective predefined area.
SHEET LAYOUT |
Simultaneous placement of parts and production run definition You can now define production run simultaneously with placing layout 1ups (parts) into the graphical area and into the layout array. As you are placing layout 1ups (parts), you receive immediate guidance as to how many parts you can add or remove from the array to have your run produced with the fewest number of sheets.
Automatic edge detection While you are placing layout 1ups (parts) into an array, an automatic detection occurs of the parts' edges. The functionality alerts you about the overlapping of adjacent parts and prevents the part that is being added from overlapping another part. The functionality also detects the borders of the sheet and prevents the part that's being placed from crossing over the sheet border. The functionality takes into account also the use of bleed.
Pattern-conformant part placement While working with layout 1ups (parts), you can use pattern-based suggestions for positioning a part relative to an existing group of parts. The program offers to place the new part into or around the group in accordance with the group's pattern. In this way, parts can be moved around an array without compromizing the pattern. Gaps for the new part are also determined by the used pattern. The functionality works for both placing new parts or repositioning existing parts.
COST ESTIMATOR |
Description field for selection types A notes field has been added for the entries of selection types in cost model selection parameters. In the field, brief notes can be typed that explain what the selection type is about. A formula — VALDESCR — has been introduced for extracting the content of this field.
Saving and accessing custom cost model data You can set a location where the program stores customized parameter values in projects' cost models (check out the Cost Models Data folder property).
OTHER FEATURES |
AI plug-in output visualization enriched with more navigation options A new toolbar with model navigation tools has been added to the PDF visualization template.
Export to layered PDF A drawing can be exported to a layered PDF file with the following options:
The layers created in the CAD project can be exported in corresponding layers in the PDF file.
The objects that share a style in the CAD project can be exported to their own layers.
The CAD project can be exported without any layers in the PDF file.
3D output export Package Designer can now export 3D output to:
The Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) file format.
The Web 3D file format (still scene only). Package Designer can now export 3D models as still scenes to the Web 3D file format, in which exported 3D files can be viewed in web browsers. The export is possible with or without shader-dependent features*: in the Export dialog box, click More to access the shader-dependent options.
The Collada file format: The export is possible with or without shader-dependent features*: in the Export dialog box, click More to access the shader-dependent options.
* Shader-dependent features are effects such as smooth edges along crease lines, imprint effects (embossing and debossing) and varnished surfaces. But if after the file export you want to import the 3D file to computer graphics software — for example, Autodesk 3ds Max (version 16 or later are supported) — select the NOGLSL option.