In this month’s Tips & Tricks, Darren Chilton discusses the options available in solidThinking to help you work more efficiently and create better quality images. Click on the image below to watch the video for tips on:
Using global illumination for more realistic lighting
Using ground planes for shadows and reflections
Understanding options in the Shading Manager
Navigating in the Material Library
Using Oversampling Parameter to increase image quality
Last month we were pleased to give you a preview about the upcoming solidThinking 9.0 EvolveTM release. As we get closer to launch, we are very excited to start sharing more details about some of the features, improvements and updates we gave you last month. Check out this instructional video for extended information and a list of more detailed highlights from the release:
Here’s an extended list of features coming soon:
Updated the icons, selection tools and color schemes throughout the application to improve ease of use and provide you with more options to personalize your workflow. Options and themes can be changed by accessing the new “user interface” and “colors” tabs we’ve added to preferences.
Cleaned up the modeling tool panel – panels have a new default docking position and can be docked in the way that is most convenient for the user.
Increased icons and visual flow for model shading properties to provide more shading options, as well as made it easier to differentiate between shading modes. Users can better see how surfaces flow together over seems and edges, and can also select or modify zebra stripes, isoparms and environmental shading options directly within each modeling window. Visualizations can now also be used in work mode.
Gave you complete control over the color and visualization quality of the surface for modeling – can change transparency, shininess, and reflectivity per object.
Global visual quality options right in the visual properties panel – less clicks.
Improved visual quality – decreased visual gaps and cracks in the model/geometry and increased tessellation.
Improved the handling of large models. Larger files load faster and manage more complex data with improved efficiency.
Added “smart delete” for hiding/un-hiding source objects in the construction history when deleting items, saving the user time and clicks.
Added a hot key for curves selection.
Better naming in the world browser for objects according to shapes and tools used to model them – making it easier to navigate through the interface when creating complex scenes and environments.
Added flags to indicate if an object in construction history is broken, allowing the users to repair their models keeping the construction history intact.
Ability to move, rotate or scale objects multiple times – translate tools now stay active across multiple edits to give the user the ability to move, rotate or scale object multiple times without having to reactivate the tools.
Support for the 3D Connexion devices
Users can submit feedback under the help section – by clicking the “submit feedback” button, users are taken to the support section of the solidThinking website to provide real time feedback or requests to solidThinking.
Improved modeling tolerances, which are now more dependable and robust. The user no longer has to manually adjust them.
Added a new Instance Tool, which allows users to copy and recreate objects including their original construction history. The copied objects can be controlled directly from the source, which makes it more convenient to create repetitive parts and components.
Improved the robustness of multiple tools, including Trim, Intersect, Split Surface, Boolean, Make Manifold, Loft, Patch, Blend Surface, and Polymesh tools. Loft and Patch tools can now achieve G2 continuity.
Improved functionality for controlling materials and handling textures including multiple textures on the same surface.
Updated Interactive Rendering, formerly real time + photorealistic rendering, to allow for interactive rendering for selected objects.
Updated the Texture Mapping tool for interactive placement of multiple textures.
Provided new rendering shortcuts for efficiency.
Added Keyshot support – files can be saved in .bip format and opened in Keyshot directly from Evolve.
