Metal Studio

This build contains several improvements regarding recapitulation and increase of overall program stability and several fixes regarding problems with AutoCAD's command "purge". Since this Build, Metal Studio exists in a new editions, called A13 - compatible with AutoCAD 2013, 2014 and AutoCADs of the same generation.

This version is free of charge for existing users of program Metal Studio. New version is marked as "A10" and it is available in 32 and 64-bit releases.

This build contains several changes including the generator of optimized cutting plan. Except this, new features are enabling arc bended plates and assigning arbitrary gap in beam to beam splice connection. Beside those new features, this version contains significant number of other improvements, optimizations and corrections.

This build contains significant number of changes, including implementation of four automatized wizards for making compound elements-connections.

This is the complete list of new features in this version:

• compound element (wizard) : Lateral connection of I shaped beams
• compound element (wizard) : Column to beam connection
• compound element (wizard) : Beam to beam splice
• compound element (wizard) : Column base
• connection copying
• bended plate
• assigning one color for whole assembly overriding entities colors
• export of report in RTF format
• automatic installation of Sentinel HASP drivers

This build contains signifficant number of changes, improvements and bugfixes.

This is the complete list of new features in this version:

• 3D import of geometry from Tower
• Unfolding of pipes - displaying inner and outter envelope in workshop drawing
• Arbitrary represent of girder
• Web stiffeners
• Elevation labels
• Tables in report - alowed column grouping
• Enabled option in command for 2D section pursuit for copying and rotation of material instances.
• Trim and extend commands could use contour lines of Metal Studio's entities as borders.
• Introduced option for segmented draw of weld in longitudinal view
• Automatic calculation of hidden lines in command of 2D section pursuit and 2D cuttof
• Added option for defining arrow angle in label pointers
• Introduced option for defining and using arbitrary cross sections
• Displaying tooltip under the mouse cursor, showing label content.
• Improved procedure for applying the arbitrary hole in entities
• Added 8 new linetypes with 2x and 5x increased spacing
• Added 'assembly short description' which could be added in position mark
• Improvements in Database of shapes - added functionality for merging databases and renaming shapes families
• Added option for displaying the weight increase value in report of shapes and plates specification
• Added functionality for defining and using GOST (Russian standard) shapes. The Database of GOST shapes is included in this Build but it is not automatically added to existing database.

This build contains signifficant number of changes, including 8 new commands and 21 new features or improvements in existing ones. Except those functional changes, this version contains signifficant number of bug fixes reported and detected in previous version.

This is the complete list of changes in this version:

New Commands (8):

1. Command for entity aligning - this command allows spatial aligning girders or plates relative to another girders or plates.

2. Bolt labels - added new type of labels for labeling bolts and drills and added feature for defining and using labeling styles for it.

3. Arbitrary label - new type of label which can contain arbitrary content.

4. Generating mutual recapitulation and specification from multiple drawings - multi-recapitulation

5. Command for breaking and dividing a girder at the specified point .

6. Command for modifying a plate contour - adding and removing nodes at plate contour

7. Database of bolts lenghts - lengths of bolts will be automatically assigned according to thickness of connecting entitities and available set of lengths defined in database of bolts lengths. The set of bolt lengths can be defined by user.

8. Command for defining a weld in cross section.

New features and changes in functionality of existing commands (21):

1. Added option for automatic Layer assignment to entities. Setting this option is performed through "Functionality" dialog, branch "Layers".

2. Automatic prenumeration of positions. There is an option for assigning equal numbers to equal position belonging to different assembly. Also, there is an option for setting the priority of criterria for sorting and numbering. Automatic prenumeration is available through function "Sort' in "Database of girders and plates" dialog.

3. New and existing girder in cross section now can be defined as material instance too, not just as view in cross section.

4. Adjusting of bolts equipment - added option for defining flat and/or tappered washers at the head and option for defining the safety nut. This option is available through the dialog for defining and editing series of bolts.

5. New types of profiles added - C, Omega, Z (with equal and unequal flanges), Sigma andO.

6. The description field in workshop drawing now is able to contain the same elements as girder/plate labels, including the symbol of cross section.

7. Added new type of fillet weld - "whole length"

8. Added option in dialog for position sorting - for deleting totally empty positions which do not contain any instance and with additional quantity set to zero. Along to this new option, the option for deleting positions not included in specification (n=0) remains the same.

9. Added option for setting arbitrary scale factor in commands for cross-section pursue and 2D cutout

10. Added new visibility filters in "Visibility" dialog - "girders", "plan view of girders", "plates" and "plan view of plates".

11. Added automatic detection and separation in positions of girders due to difference caused by mirroring transformation. Certain types of cross sections exposed to certain types of ends forming may cause the situation that instances from the same position are not equal. The program offers the automatic separation and creation of new position prior to report creation.

12. Added option in "Plate forming" for converting segments from linear to arc and vice-verse.

13. For 'welded' cros sectioned girders allowed option for decomposition to flat panels (I - section (welded), T - section, Open section i Box section). Actually, new girders are made from simple rectangular cross sections.

14. Allowed change of geometry by grip points for material rectangular shaped plates visible cross section.

15. Placing an existing plate is improved by adding new referent points at the middle of segments and at the middle of bounding box segments.

16. In Entity layout dialog added option for adjusting the angle for rotation symbol of bolts in order to obtain the desired look.

17. Improved creation of solid for arc girder in order to speed up the process of drawing in 2D and 3D.

18. In Database of positions dialog all positions with sub positions are tagged with '*" sign at the position number. Sub positions are positions with same geometry and different scheme of bolts drilling. Individual entities in database dialog will be presented with own drilling scheme.

19. In specification and recapitulation report added option for increasing the size of symbols of cross sections and for their fill or no fill way of drawing.

Implemented several new features - the most important are:

• allowed placing report to drawing
• allowed setting of scale-factor due cross section pursue and 2D cutout.
• allowed adding or removing additional pointers in labels.
• allowed grip point based modification of rectangle shaped plates visible in cross section.
• in 2D cutout included girders and plates visible in cross section
• the data about bolt length included in report (specification).
• for plates visible in cross section implemented shrink (decreasing of width) necessary for embedding on inclined planes.
• in command for cross section pursue added option for aligning resulting picture to X or Y axis (available when pressing CTRL button)
• dialog for defining drawing parameters got preview
• new type of label - "arbitrary label" Except those new features, this version contains several improvements, optimizations and corrections.

The first commercial version is Build 1020. Program Metal Studio is a brand new program, and serves to create professional drawings of steel structures. To learn more about the basic capabilities, from the Downloads page you can download a free functional demo program.