Somerset Press Release
TurboCAD v14 Professional
November 2007
Compatibility and Simplicity
Compatibility and ease of use are the two cornerstones of this package. TurboCAD Professional reads and supports 30 file formats including the latest DWG and DXF files. Many large Autodesk users save a lot of money by adding TurboCAD to their CAD seats because of its excellent compatibility with AutoCAD. Drawings can be saved to PDF and therefore either printed or sent as an attachment. Local Authorities use TurboCAD to convert incoming PDFs to JPG to scale from for planning applications.
TurboCAD is completely icon led; no clumsy command lines to type in and therefore not a difficult package to learn as your pallet is visible. The intuitive side of the package provides you with just the tools visible for the job in hand and with the ability to customise your interface you create the pallet you need, thereby minimising unnecessary clutter. Although relatively simple to start designing with, there is a high degree of sophistication for the advanced user, making it more exciting the more you learn. This makes it the ideal CAD package for everyone from the amateur to the professional.
Broad User Base and advanced features
The user base is extremely wide. Architects, surveyors and builders will find creating or editing 2D plans faster and easier than more expensive competitors, while at the same time enabling 3D renders just a mouse click away. Complex 3D shapes can be created from 2D plans or created directly in 3D. Users can work in 2D or 3D without leaving rendered mode and walkthrough in perspective takes only a short time to master. Brick patens are infinitely variable, with many you can even dictate the way they are laid. The roof tool is simple to use but very effective allowing the editing of facets. Re-scaling of plans, as well as showing alternative units of measurement is straightforward.
TurboCAD 14 Professional has also introduced a variety of parametric stairs and stair rails to add to its library of existing doors and windows; all you do is specify material and stair dimension and with three clicks you have created the stairs. The new 'Terrain Tool' enables you to place a building on a hillside or an uneven surface that you can create from scratch or by importing Triangular Irregular Network (TIN) data from standard file formats.
For the planner, interior designer, fitter or engineer there are a whole host of symbols, both 2D and 3D that can be edited and used over and over again to make creating 3D rendered realisations of designs simple and fast by snapping objects together to create realistic presentations. By changing the origin, or reference point, of objects to a corner even the most complex of shapes becomes possible; it's as easy as using Lego and there are a whole host of tools to help you out and save time. The 'Shell Tool' combined with a new 'Flange Tool', an improved 'Bend Tool' and a new 'Branch Lofting Tool' are all easy and fun to play around with, and as the principals of their operation are all the same, once you have understood the workings of one, the rest just fall into place.
Simple, fast rendering
The final icing on the cake for any design is the rendering. Any material can be assigned to surfaces. As well as the bricks mentioned before, there is a wide range of stock materials available from wood, metals, stones and glass to softer types such as textiles. All can be edited to suite your purpose. Wood grains, for example, can be opened up; grain angle changed and so on. Importing you own photographs to act as a backdrop to a design takes less than a minute enabling outside designs to be viewed in-situ and there is a collection of lights to place at will to give your design that extra sense of realism.
In conclusion, TurboCAD is an accessible CAD package that has something for everyone. In terms of price it punches far above its weight. Its ease of use, combined with its compatibility has made it the only sensible choice for the majority of CAD users. There is an array of training materials, both CDs and books, even one specially written for the AutoCAD trained user. It is supported by a help line during office hours whatever version you have and training courses are run each month in Winchester.
For Further Information Contact:
Paul Tracey on 01963 835081
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