TurboCAD Pro is an advanced general purpose CAD platform for design, drafting, detailing, and modeling. TurboCAD Pro appeals to numerous professionals and others interested in power mechanical and architectural design capabilities at an attractive and affordable price.

TurboCAD Pro features are extensible by upgrading to the Platinum Edition as well as by adding any of a number of plug-ins. In addition, there is an SDK for those wishing to extend its functionality in a custom manner.

TurboCAD Pro includes all the basic drawing and modification tools needed to draw nearly anything you can imagine. TurboCAD Pro's powerful tools for 2D or 3D design include 2D parametric constraints, 3D solid and surface modeling, robust photorealistic rendering ray tracing, lighting and materials, and extensive CAD and graphics file interoperability.TurboCAD Pro advances productivity with tools that allow for design, modification, presentation, and documentation in an integrated fashion. And because we know that most people use a number of tools or collaborate with others frequently, TurboCAD Pro is designed to provide excellent workflow to and from other applications

Open, insert, or embed up to 35 file formats and export up to 28, including .DWG, .DXF, .SKP (Google™ SketchUp™), .3DM (Rhinoceros®), .3DS (Autodesk® 3ds Max®), IGES, STEP, .OBJ, COLLADA (.DAE – export); vector formats including .EPS and .SVG; raster formats including .BMP, .GIF, .JPG, .PNG, .TIF, and more

 TurboCAD Pro reads and writes .DWG and .DXF files from R14 through 2010 including AutoCAD® Architecture extensions. This broad range of support helps to maintain your intellectual property investment by supporting older files, models, and parts. It also makes it easy to access parts from vendors or posted on model exchange sites like the Google 3D Warehouse.
 

Click here to view file formats

Click Here to see the NEW features in each version

 2D Drafting and Detailing capabilities

An important aspect of any CAD tool is its 2D drafting and detailing capabilities. With the majority of all CAD projects ending in 2D drawings, the ability to create or open a 3D design and rapidly and effectively create those 2D drawings is of critical importance.
TurboCAD Pro excels in its 2D capabilities. The ability to explode viewports makes it easy to create flat 2D vector drawings from any view of the model. The Drafting Palette creates associative views, sections, and detailed views with a single click – even from an Xref. These object views can be dimensioned and annotated rapidly.
Different visual styles allow for materials, fills, even transparent fills and gradients to be used to add effects and visual clarity. Lines and custom line styles allow for color or width by layer. Polyline segments may have differing starting and ending line widths.

But it all begins with fundamental drawing tools. And in that regard TurboCAD Pro is rich. There are:

• 14 basic line tools including irregular polygons, perpendicular, parallel, and tangent lines
• 8 double line tools (but there are also self-healing architectural wall tools)
  
• 8 multiline tools including polyline and polygon tools
• 11 circle tools including 3 methods for drawing ellipses
• 13 arc tools including tangencies, point fitting methods, and 3 elliptical arcs
  
• 5 point tools from dots to crosses and even stars
  
• 6 curve tools including Bezier, freehand sketch, and convert to curve
• index colour and true color support
  
• custom brush style editor for combining colors, gradients, hatches, and transparency

 TurboCAD also includes drawing aides. These include:

• 13 basic object snaps with controllable Osnap priority including parametric Divide By segment snaps
  
• extended ortho and apparent intersection for geometric aids
  
• a fully parametric grid
• easily parameterized ortho angular system
  
• 9 types of construction line geometry

There are many more tools to aid in the drafting and detailing functions, among them all the capabilities for quickly and easily creating views and viewports of any size and shape. There are extensive paper space and printing capabilities. Marker and Schedule tools, leaders, multi-leaders, dimension tools, and symbols content. See additional information on the next several pages with Drafting Palette, Parametric Constraints, Annotation, and Symbols.

Drafting Palette

The Drafting Palette is one of the most powerful features for advanced drafting and detailing in TurboCAD Pro.
It works with solid or surface models, turning 3D designs into associative 2D manufacturing or construction drawings, even when working on an Xref. This means your sectional views and elevations in Layout (Paper Space) will update automatically as the model changes.

For mechanical design this means parts and assemblies can have all standard views, 2D or 3D sections, and detailed views chosen by selection; or created as a derivative of an existing view.

Dimensions for solid model objects are associative too so they update automatically and scale correctly in Paper Space; and geometry is recognized so that individual parts may be separately hatched or include different line weights and color.
The solid model engine works with SAT objects in AutoCAD .DWG files, objects created with any 3D ACIS® Modeler, or saved in IGES or STEP format.
For architectural design, a 3D model from SketchUp (.SKP), Rhinoceros® (.3dm), AutoCAD Architecture (.DWG), or other application may be used to create elevations, floorplans, sections, even detailed views, all of which are associative to changes in the model.
With every section, each element may be hatched, colored, or have its line weight and style adjusted as needed, with separate controls for visible and hidden line.

A significant productivity enhancement was made with version 17: Drafting Palette items may be locked, essentially caching them until unlocked. This allows modeling to continue at speed – particularly important with larger models that have numerous sections, elevations, and views. Each section may be regenerated individually or all simultaneously

There are more than 15 file formats for 3D models supported by TurboCAD Pro that may be opened directly, imported, or included via Xref that the Drafting Palette will recognize.
This makes TurboCAD Pro a fabulous drafting and detailing companion to numerous other 3D design applications if your work involves collaboration with others using diverse software.

 What is NEW in V17

Improved speed & productivity.

Fast ROI from immediate productivity gains. Improved tools with better usability, and new GPU-accelerated wireframe renders.
Fast GPU-Accelerated wireframe rendering.

• Render up to 60 times faster! The speed increases in wireframe are dramatically better (requires a supported GPU-based graphics card).
• Smoother zooming, panning, and orbiting. We've included technology from Redway3D® that provides a GPU-accelerated 2D and wireframe display mode (Redsdk). Your your larger files will pan and scroll smoothly. Zooming in and out is dramatically faster on larger files.
  
• Build bigger models. With the speed increases offered by the GPU-accelerated wireframe mode, TurboCAD Pro 17 now supports working with larger models than previous versions

 Improved tools and better stability.

• Many improvements to existing features. We listened to our customers and have focused as much on making existing functionality work better as we did on adding new powerful features.
  
• Easier, and more powerful layer management. Design Director simplifies layer management, and new layer filter support (.DWG compatible) lets you manage large, complex drawings with ease.
• Fewer clicks than before. Double-click on text, or M-text to enter edit mode. Edit blocks and groups in place.
• Less setup to do. New and improved templates set tool default values to more commonly used settings. Paper spaces can be copied with all settings from one drawing to another.
  
• Easily create 2D vector drawings from 3D models. Viewports can be exploded creating flat 2D views. 
•  Floor plans design is faster than ever before. The improved wall tool allows definition of intelligent relationships between walls to link or not link, clean or remain separate, in any combination.

Special Symbols:

TurboCAD Pro also includes a several special symbols used in certain types of annotation that help in communicating with manufacturers. They include the Weld Symbol, Surface Roughness Symbol, Geometric Tolerance Symbol, and Adhesive Symbol. Technically the Weld Symbol, Surface Roughness Symbol, and Geometric Tolerance Symbol are among the Special Tools section, but the output are parametric, editable symbols. The Adhesive Symbol is a parametric part (.PPM, see Parametric Parts Manager) and is therefore also an editable parametric 2D symbol.
The Weld Symbol communicates finish, contour, depth of chamfer root penetration, groove angle and more. The Geometric Tolerance Symbol provides iformation about allowable deviations of form, profile, orientation, location, and runout of a feature. The Surface Roughness symbol communicates the type of roughness, the minimum and maximum heights, waviness, and more.
The Adhesive Symbol is a fully parametric part that may be adjusted through the Selection Info Palette. It includes dozens of parameters for the Surface Preparation, Application Method, Cure Method, Adhesive Physical Form, and Adhesive Technology Family.

3D models

TurboCAD® Pro supports both surface and solid models. Solid modeling and includes tools built on the 3D ACIS® Modeler (ACIS) from Spatial. It is the same engine used in 350 applications with more than 1.5 million seats worldwide, so you know you will have a standard format for interoperability.
TurboCAD Pro now uses v20 of ACIS for realistic, complex 3D object creation. This latest update is faster and more reliable than ever.
Information for objects include data crucial for engineers, such as Volume, Moment of Inertia, Center of Gravity, Surface Area, and more.
Solid modeling editing and modification tools include:

• Several Rail, Sweep, and Revolve functions
• Facet and Edge modifiers
• Extrusions and Lofts of Compound Profiles
• Face-To-Face Lofting and Branch Lofting & Sectioning, Slicing, and Boolean operations
  

TurboCAD Pro supports Profile Editing, whereby a 2D profile, once created, can be used to drive the creation of a 3D object. In this way the shape of the 3D object may continue to be driven by the 2D object which may itself be driven by Constraints and Driving Dimensions through the Calculator Palette.
TurobCAD Pro also maintains a history by enabling the Part Tree. With this feature you may return to any procedural step in your design and make modifications without losing subsequent work. Think of it as a bit like a selective UNDO.

Rendering

TurboCAD Pro provides several render modes in which to work, or present your designs. New to TurboCAD Pro 17 is technology from Redway3D® providing a wireframe render mode that utilizes the power of supported on-board GPU or graphics boards. (Most boards and GPUs should be supported, see system requirements for more information.) This Redsdk render mode provides up to 60x speed improvements on CPU-based rendering when panning, zooming, and orbiting. It also provides smoother movement. It is most noticeable on larger models, whether 2D or 3D as long as they are viewed in wireframe mode.

Render modes available include:

• Wireframe, GDI
  
• Wireframe, Redsdk — GPU accelerated
  
• Hidden Line — for clean views and annotation
• Draft — a preview mode for photorealistic rendering
  
• Advanced — photorealistic with lighting and materials
  
• Quality — best quality photorealistic rendering

Some of the effects may also be combined, such as adding Hidden Line renders to a Photorealistic Rendering. It is a simple change of render options.TurboCAD Pro includes the Lightworks v7.9 rendering engine from Lightwork Design. Because TurboCAD Pro pre-calculates the rendered geometry (all tessellation calculations are performed as you model), Photorealistic Rendering is significantly accelerated compared to similar ray-traced renderers.

Photorealistic rendering

TurboCAD® Pro provides extensive support for photorealistic rendering. After adding lighting, luminances, materials and their finishes, there are several standard render modes. Draft, Quality, and Advanced.
TurboCAD includes a Render Styles Manager with preset configurations for many types of renders and includes a quick method for setting depth of field, for example, or overall luminance properties based on weather conditions including Clear Sky, Cloudy, Hazy, Overcast, Twilight Clear, Twilight Hazy, Night Full Moon, and many others.
When performing a quality render TurboCAD has the advantage of being able to precalculate many variables in order to more quickly render than typical for ray tracing. The advanced render mode includes controls for dozens of settings should you choose to use them. It is a fully-featured rendering application built directly into TurboCAD.
TurboCAD photorealistic rendering is based on the LightWorks engine from Lightwork Design, long a leader in photorealistic rendering. The rendering includes advanced ray-traced biased rendering techniques.
Among the many features available:

• Ambient Occlusion
• Global Illumination
  
• Final Gathering
• Alpha-channel transparency support
• Volumetrics, including fog, ground fog, dust, and more
• Parametric Cloud environments
• HDR image or basic raster image background environments
• Depth of Field
• Render lines, hidden lines
• Flat, Gouraud, Phong, Flat OpenGL, Smooth OpenGL, Raytrace Preview, Raytrace Full, and Radiosity render modes
  
• Render to file, up to 16,000 x 16,000 pixels

TurboCAD Pro includes a Render Styles Manager with preset configurations for many types of renders, including artistic styles and photorealistic styles. The artistic styles are called Sketch Renders. Among the Sketch Styles are:

• Cartoon
• Colour Wash
  
• Colour Contour
  
• Gray Contour
• Hatch
• Hand Drawn
  
• Ink Print
  
• Lines and Color Fill
  
• Lines and Shadow
  
• Mosaic
  
• Oil Painting
• Soft Pencil
• Stipple

 External References (Xrefs)

All of the file formats that may be opened and imported, with the exception of bitmap images, may be used as an external reference (Xref). More than 15 of the 3D formats that may be used as an Xref also work with the Drafting Palette. This combination means that the model may be designed in one application, and the views, sections, elevations, and floorplans will be updated when the original model is changed. The designer may continue to work in SketchUp, AutoCAD, or SolidWorks®, for example, while the drafting continues in TurboCAD.

In version 17 Xref support has gone further than before, with complete control over layers in the Xref, even when controlled through the new Layer Filter function in the Design Director palette. Support for binding an Xref in the document has been added, so that the geometry is converted into a block within the drawing. Once an Xref has been bound it may then be exploded to create simple geometry.
Another new feature is support for the drawing variable $VIZRETAIN which defines how changes will be applied when the Xref is reloaded. Drawings can be saved with Xrefs in .TCW, .2CD, or .DWG format, with those Xref properties maintained – although the .DWG will recognize only another .DWG as an Xref if opened in an application other than TurboCAD or DoubleCAD.
The addition of an XClip command make working with external references much more fruitfull. Simply define the boundaries of the region to define the portion of the Xref to incorporate in the drawing.

Parametric Drawing

Parametric drawing provides precision and productivity. You have greater control to enforce design intent, and may very quickly modify a design by using geometric and dimensional constraints. The Calculator Palette allows you to set values to driving dimensions, including formulaic relationships between objects, and using any of the functions shown in the image at right.

Rapid Revision Productivity

Often referred to as variational sketching, a constraints system allows you to enjoy greater control and productivity, empowering your creativity. You will get more done, create part families faster, incorporate red-line changes more quickly, and have the flexibility to evaluate different designs with ease. This last point is important in 2D design work: look at what-if scenarios the way you would update a spreadsheet. See the movement of linkages simply by changing a driving dimension

Geometric Constraints

Geometric constraints determine the relationship of two pieces of geometry with each other. TurboCAD® Pro supports the following geometric constraints:

• point to point coincident
• point to line coincident
• parallel
• perpendicular
• tangential
• concentric
• symmetrical
• horizontal
• vertical

Dimensional Constraints

Dimensional constraints determine the size of geometric entities. TurboCAD Pro supports the following dimensional constraints:

• equal radius
• equal length
• equal distance
• distance
• length
• angle
  

Proven TechnologyThis valuable TurboCAD Pro feature includes the D-Cubed™ 2D Dimensional Constraint Manager (2D DCM) from Siemens PLM Software — This is the same trusted engine used by far more expensive design platforms such as AutoCAD® 2010, Autodesk Inventor®; by Dassault Systems for CATIA and SolidWorks®; by Siemens PLM Software for Solid Edge; and by think3® for thinkdesign.