The Features...

IntelliCAD 2001 Bundling and Integration

TubeCAD is now bundled with IntelliCAD 2001. It is redesigned to better integrate with IntelliCAD and AutoCAD through a single ICAD or ACAD command. See the IntelliCAD page for more information.

New Interface

TubeCAD now uses an updated user interface with VGA-only resolution graphics for drawing layouts with twice as many commands in the menus. See the TubeCAD screen image to view the new interface.

DXFCE Is Now Included

The DXF Centerline Extractor is now a standard feature within TubeCAD. The ability to extract centerline data from your customer’s drawing files is more critical than ever. The Centerline Extractor not only extracts centerline data, but also removes existing error in the data through error-averaging algorithms.

SGFILE Module Is Now Included

The SupraGauge File module is now a standard feature within TubeCAD. This module allows you to browse, load, and save SupraGauge files even across networks. The SupraGauge format is also used by Adaptive IMC bender controls, so direct access to them is available if they are on your company's computer network.

New ELFILE Module

The Eaton Leonard File module works just like the SGFILE module, but allows you to manage Eaton Leonard style FIF files. This means that you can work with files that are compatible with EL Vector measuring centers and EL CNC benders.

AuxViews Are Now Dynamic

This means that they automatically reposition themselves whenever data in any of their parent views changes. This even includes while unbending.

New Multiple Tubes In The Same Layout

Multiple tubes can now be drawn in the same layout by referencing other layout files. The real power of this new feature is the fact that TubeCAD automatically projects the secondary tubes with the primary tube.

Have you ever asked the question “At what angle do these two tubes intersect looking down this straight section”? That’s no problem for TubeCAD -- This feature allows you to find the answer in a hurry.

Much Enhanced OD Outline Entity

Have you ever wanted to know if a tube leg was moving in or out of the layout surface (the XY plane) without having to perform time-consuming hidden-line removals with ODMESHES in other CAD programs like AutoCAD?

Now you can -- TubeCAD now removes the part of the OD Outline Tangent Circle that is on the side of the tube that you cannot see. Also, when a leg is moving perpendicular to the screen, TubeCAD draws the arc in the right place so you can see which part of the leg is on top without looking at other views. See the TubeCAD views image for an example of the new outline.

New Smart Centerline Point Labels

Not only does the OD Outline draw perpendicular legs correctly, but the Point Labels indicate which endpoint of the tube leg is on top. For example, instead of seeing the label “4” superimposing the label “3”, this version now draws the label “4 over 3”.

New Rotation Views

These are a new entity in TubeCAD that many of you have been asking for. The Rotation View Array operates just like the True Bend Array, except that it shows the rotation angles in separate views in orderly rows and columns.

Don’t worry if you still like to use the left or right Rotation Clock -- TubeCAD can still do that, too.

Smarter True Bend Views

Individual True Bend views now automatically flip in the X axis when the preceding leg to the bend is moving behind the plane of the layout. This puts the preceding leg above the plane for less chance of interference during inspection.

Another True Bend enhancement is that they now show the direction of the vector of the preceding leg relative to the true bend. Several fabricators have asked for this feature in various forms as a method of a quick double-check of the previous bend’s orientation relative to the current true bend.

More True Bend Extension Lines

Some of you have been adding Parallel Extension Lines on the true bends by hand in your general CAD systems. TubeCAD now does that for you automatically. Not only can you set the length of the Extension Lines, but their datums can be set to start at either the tangent points or the ends and intersection points. TubeCAD can also draw Perpendicular Extension Lines at the intersection points of the True Bends.

New File Dialog Menus

TubeCAD now uses File Dialog Menus in place of the older command line prompts for both Loading and Saving files. Browsing a floppy disk, hard disk, or even network drive, is now easier than ever from within TubeCAD.

New General Specifications Menu

This new menu now has more than twice as many programmable values than older versions of the TubeCAD General Tube Data menu. New value fields like Customer, Date, Part Number, Print Reference, and Material Notes, are now included.

New Named End-Offset Capability

You can now create a custom list of thousands of named offsets (like "flare45-375") and associate offset distances with them. TubeCAD lets you quickly search the list and places the correct end-offset values in TubeCAD once a named match is found.

New Auto Arrange

TubeCAD can now even arrange your layout for you -- automatically, so that none of the entities overlap.

New Unit Conversion

TubeCAD now allows you to convert the distance values for a current layout to the opposite unit (Inches or Millimeters). This command converts nearly every distance value in the database (even text sizes, point sizes, Outline ODs, etc.).

New Topical Help System

The new help system is designed to be extremely simple to operate with an interface structure that makes reading text on the screen easier. Improved tutorial topics are added to guide you, step by step, through any process in TubeCAD. It is even possible to send the help topics to your printer (or even to a file) so that you can have the help text next to you as you move through other parts of TubeCAD.

Automatic Quick Text

If TubeCAD senses that you have zoomed the viewport so that text will be readable -- then it draws the full text automatically. When you zoom back out, it draws lines called “Quick Text” to speed up the redraw.

Faster Redraws

Previous versions redraw entities to the viewport even if they are off the screen.

This version of TubeCAD is smarter: It will only redraw the data if it is in the visible viewport. This results in much faster redraws, especially when zooming in.

Enhanced TubeCAD Interface Menu

The TubeCAD Interface Menu now autoloads DXF data to these general CAD packages:
• CADKEY 7 for DOS
• DraftChoice Plus
• ProtoCAD 3D
• (FastCAD, EasyCAD, and AutoCAD were already supported)

New Chart Styles

The new LaserVision style chart is added. (“LaserVision” is a trademark of Eaton Leonard Corporation.) The new Dakota style chart shows Stop distance values starting from both ends of the tube, along with fabrication sequence data. The new CoordDecAltU chart style shows the coordinates and bend radii in both Inch and Millimeter units.

Requires Less Memory

TubeCAD has all these new features and yet is optimized to use 50,000 fewer bytes of memory in the first 640K of RAM .

Now Runs Under Windows NT

While TubeCAD is still a DOS program, it has been adjusted and tested to run under Windows 3.1, Windows 95, and Windows NT.

New Header Label

A label called the "header label" was added to TubeCAD. The data in the label is extracted from the first 5 items in the General Tube Specification menu, and is placed in the layout as a separate chart style.

New Tangent Distance and Arc Length Calculators

Two new menus are added that allow you to calculate tangent distances and arc lengths by entering the bend angle and centerline radius of any bend.

New CoordDecAltU Chart Style

A new chart (and report) style allows TubeCAD to report the XYZ coordinates and bend radii in both millimeters and inches simultaneously.

New Unit Flag

A new Unit flag now displays in the upper right corner of the TubeCAD graphics screens. This helps operators know what unit they are working with without moving to a sub-menu.

Blanking of ODmesh Entities

TubeCAD now allows blanking of ODmesh entities so that portions of the ODmesh can be switched OFF while other portions are left on.

Intersection Point Labels Can Be Edited

TubeCAD now allows the point labels at the intersections of all full tube views (primary and auxiliary) to be edited to values other than integers.

New Blockup Labels (as of TubeCAD 5.8 Revision Q2)

Will it take a month or two to get your regular gauge from the gauge builder? Then switch the new blockup labels on in any TubeCAD view to make a full-scale layout an instant gauge. Blockup labels show the distances from the bottom of each straight down to a base plane. See the blockup labels page for details and descriptive images.

New Network Compatibility (as of TubeCAD 5.8 Revision Q2)

The new Network hardware key allows a single key to be attached to your server to control the licensing of your TubeCAD.

For example, with a single TubeCAD network key, you can give multiple users access to a single license of TubeCAD. In this example, if a user is logged into TubeCAD at a workstation, then no other user will have access to TubeCAD until he logs out. As soon as he logs out of TubeCAD, any other user on the network will have access to TubeCAD.

The hardware key is pre-programmed with the number of licenses your company has purchased. The number of licenses is practically unlimited.

U.S.A. Upgrade Prices

TubeCAD 5.8 Revision Qx Users: Upgrade Online Immediately For Free!
Download the revision Q5.1 upgrade software now. (File Size: 8,092KB, This upgrade only works for customers who already have 5.8 revision Q, Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4, or Q5. IntelliCAD is not included in the online upgrade.)

Upgrade from any prior revision of 5.8	$150 per revision level ($300 minimum and $750 maximum)
Upgrade from 5.7	$750.00
Upgrade from 5.6	$1000.00
Upgrade from 5.5	$1250.00
Upgrade from 5.1	$1500.00
Upgrade from 5.0	$1750.00
Upgrade from pre-5.0	$2000.00
For a single TubeCAD Network Key	Licenses + $450.00 per key*

*The new Network hardware key allows a single key to be attached to your server to control the licensing of your TubeCAD. In order to use a network key, it is important to upgrade to a version of TubeCAD that allows networking (5.8 Q2 and higher). The new key will be exchanged for any of your single-workstation network keys that it replaces.