Frequently Asked Questions
External Link Management with Multiple Users Accessing Files
Using External Links, the behavior of user collaboration on the file and external files is as follows (without a Data Management System): Example Case: Main.ics is the main scene with an Assembly and two parts under the assembly. Part1.ics and ...
Custom Properties by XML files
Problem description Provide a customizable way for users to auto-populate text fields in the drawing such as to support auto-fill of titleblock and the like. The process should be customizable without the need to write code. Also, it needs to support ...
KeyShot Product Comparison Documents (Between KeyShot HD to Pro for Example)
The attachments below will show the comparison of KeyShot products such as KeyShot HD (Which is our KeyShot that we sell as the base) and KeyShot Pro. We do not sell the base KeyShot product in these documents (that product is sold from KeyShot and ...
How to access Structured Part mode in version 2022?
In IRONCAD 2022, the Structured Part Ribbon was not enabled by default. Use the Customize Ribbon Command to add the Structured Part commands to the Ribbon Bar. Video Attached to show the process.
Customize Fastener Data
You can now edit the the Tools Catalog Fastener data: Go to C:\Program Files\IronCAD\2021\AppData\en-us Unzip the FastenerData.zip file to the folder: C:\Program Files\IronCAD\2021\AppData\en-us\FastenerData Edit the text files inside C:\Program ...
How to keep imported geometry from slowing down your performance.
When you import, you can use the import reference which will reduce the size and speed up performance. Regarding "Import as Reference Geometry" see the attached images. This lighter reference version may improve performance for you. According to ...
Multiphysics for IronCAD 2020 New Meshing Capabilities (MPIC)
Hi Partners, As most of you know, we recently released the latest version of Multiphysics for IronCAD 2020 (https://www.ironcad.com/blog/multiphysics-for-ironcad-2020-released/). In conjunction with this release, we created a tech video to highlight ...
Is it possible to have automatically have sheet labels named from "Sheet1" to "Part name"?
Currently, this is only available by using the Bulk View Creation tool. That will create the label based on the Part Name which is a setting in the Tools/Options/Technical Drawing. Using the tool and selecting the parts to create sheets for, will ...
Is there a function or way to use chain/baseline command and move dimensions so all of them can be moved at the same time?
You can box select the dimensions and move them as a group. Also you can move one dimension then right-click on the dimension and select the Align group command to align the others in the group.
Why is Chain/Baseline Dimensions always Horizontal? How do we get it to vertical?
When using the Chain/Baseline dimension tool and picking point to point, after you click the first two points a dimension will appear and the default is in the Horizontal alignment. Hit Tab at this time to adjust between vertical, horizontal and ...
How do I copy an IntelliShape from one part to another?
Drag and drop the IntelliShape into a Catalog then drag and drop it from the Catalog onto the other part. Miscellaneous graphics problems on systems with “low end” video cards. If you find the graphics performance/interaction unacceptable, try ...
How can I SmartSnap a dimension to the center of an arc or circle?
Hold the Shift key while selecting the arc or circle. This works in Scenes and Drawings.
What do magenta (purple) drawing annotations indicate?
An annotation turns magenta when it is no longer associated with the 3D part. These annotations may need to be re-attached or re-created if necessary. IronCAD prints high-resolution images slowly. When printing resolutions higher than 1280 x 1024, it ...
What video card should I use with IronCAD?
Any VGA card will work but for best performance try a card from one of these model lines: Nvidia Quadro AMD FirePRO Or any card with good OpenGL hardware acceleration I cannot dimension the radius or diameter of an arc or circle. This is a common ...
How to create a radial copy of shapes, parts or assemblies
Select the item to be copied and activate the TriBall. Position only the TriBall to the point that you want to revolve the copy about, click the TriBall 1D handle of the axis to rotate around, when the cursor turns to a hand and arrow right click and ...
How to decrease a large file size
In order to reduce the size of a file, and therefore reduce the resources required to manipulate it in IronCAD, perform the following: go to TOOLS, OPTIONS and click the PARTS tab. De-select the option “exact surface description (Boundary Rep.)” ...
IronCAD Fastener and Custom Holes Tools Unit Settings
Have you ever wondered how to get the IronCAD Addon Tools such as Fastener and Custom Holes to display Metric units by default? The secret is in your Locale! You need to set your Windows Control Panel, Region and Language, Administrative System ...
Adding User Templates to CAXA Draft
1. In CAXA Draft, go to Tools, Options, Path and expand Template Path. 2. Save As your User Template to the folder labeled "User:". 3. Now, when you go to File, New, CAXA Draft, you will see a section of templates under "My Templates".
How to import a compressed STEP file
To import a compressed STEP file format (.stpz). You will need 7-Zip or something like it. Right-click the .stpz file, go to 7-Zip -> Open Archive. The file shows as filename.txt, drag or save it to your desktop Rename it to filename.stp Import ...
How to open Package Builder content in Google Chrome
A Chrome Extension called IE Tab allows you to run the IE engine inside of Chrome: Some instructions: https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/chrome/XfzoEeDojqg The extension: ...
What free utilities are within IronCAD Mechanical
IronCAD Mechanical provides many tools for designers and engineers but some of you may not know that some basic functionality is available in IronCAD Mechanical even without a license. The following will all work even after the trial license has ...
What MultiPhysics fully functional capabilities are for free
MultiPhysics for IronCAD will run fully functional for free with a 2000 node limit even without a license.
Updating IronCAD drawing templates
We have found some cases of users using very old (9-10 year old) IronCAD drawing templates and it causing some problems. We recommend at every major release, open your IronCAD drawing templates (.icd) and use Save As to save to a new template file. ...
How to set the Date format for the ICD Revision Table
You can format the date in the ICD Revision table by going to your Windows Control Panel Region settings and changing the "Short date" setting. You can right-click an existing revision table and go to Edit Table then OK to update it to the new date ...
Selecting overlapping Attachment Points
If you have more than one Attachment Point in the same location (perhaps for varying orientations) it can be nearly impossible to pick a specific one. To overcome this, hold Ctrl-Alt and left-click on the points and a selector popup will appear with ...
How to set multiple parts transparent without changing their colors
If you would like to select a bunch of parts (or all) and set them all transparent without changing their colors or any other SmartPaint settings. Select them all (you can use box select or Ctrl-A for select all) then go to the Property Browser, ...
Don't forget the S Key
The S key is a convenient way to pop up a set of commonly used commands in the context of what you have selected. For example, select a part, press the S key and you get icons for Review, Assemble, Blend, Chamfer, etc. There is a different S key menu ...
How to measure around the perimeter of a part
If you want to measure around the perimeter of a part such as, for example, a Slot shape, you can use the Measurement Command's Curve Measurement option. Start the Measurement command, click Curve Measurement and Shift-Select all the part edges that ...
How to make .ics files as light as possible
If you want to decrease the size of your .ics files you can turn off two setting in Options. Go to Options, Parts, and turn off "Approximate surface description(facets)" and "Exact surface description (boundary rep.)". You have to edit these settings ...
3rd Party Software Support Policy
In order to provide the most effective support to our resellers for the IronCAD 3rd party products such as SimWise, MPIC and KeyShot, we would like to introduce the following improvement to our support process. When you encounter any 3rd party ...
Opening 2D catalogs in a 3D Scene
A common confusion can happen if you open a 2D Catalog while in a 3D Scene. If you do it will open the 2D Catalog in the Scene Catalog Browser. It is a common customer question that comes in, they want to know why they cannot open a specific 2D ...
How to disable the automatic Quick Command (S Key) Menu
Starting with version 2018, the Quick Command (S Key) menu pops up automatically with every click. If you prefer to revert back to the menu only popping up when you press the S Key, invoke the menu and click the top most button labeled Customize. ...
How to slow down an animation
Often times a new animation dropped from the Animation Catalog plays too fast. A common IronCAD question is how to slow down that animation. There are two ways. One, open the SmartMotion Editor from under the Visualization tab, right-click the part ...
Changing the SmartDimension font
It is easy to change the dimension font size for 3D SmartDimensions in Options, General but if you want a different font (for example bolder) you have to edit the Windows Registry. NOTE: Editing the Windows Registry incorrectly can ruin your ability ...
Layer visibility shortcuts in CAXA Draft
If you have many layers in your CAXA Draft drawing and you only want to view one of them, rather than go to all the trouble of one by one turning all the others off. Type in "layiso", press enter and select an item from the layer you want to only ...
Solidify vs. Sew
At first glance, the Solidify and Sew commands appear to do the same thing, convert surfaces to solids. There is a key difference. For the Solidify command, a selected set of surface parts must form a closed volume so that a solid body can be ...
How to rotate text in the ICD Drawing
Many users want to create text at an alternative angle, perhaps vertical (90 degrees). There is no text property to do this so just use the Rotate Curves command to rotate the text.
How to clear duplicate geometry in a sketch
In many cases when you are creating a sketch or especially when importing sketch geometry from DWG or DXF, there are duplicate lines that are exactly in the same position as other lines. These will cause a Shape to fail and can be hard to find. In ...
How to get 2D geometry into an ICD file
There are two ways to bring 2D geometry into a 3D Scene, you can use the Import Reference 2D command or you can Import the file in the 2D Sketch. If you want the 2D geometry to appear in the ICD file along with Views, you will need to use the Import ...
How to set a path for custom templates in CAXA Draft
To set a custom path for CAXA Draft Templates, go to Tools, Options, Path, Template Path, Select the User path, click Modify and select a folder. Then after saving a template or templates to that folder, when you go to New, CAXA Draft and scroll up ...
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