What's New in SpinFire Insight

Assign Materials

Assign and save materials to individual parts, sub-assemblies, and assemblies. This gives users the power to calculate the weight of an assembly where each part consist of a separate material.

File Load Toast Notifications

Recieve toast notifications when opening files complete based on configuratable parameters to one’s liking.

Import Surfaces via Context Menu

When using Load Surfaces on Demand, a user can initiate the surface import with a right mouse button menu selection providing users with complete control.

Importer Updates

Dintinguishing UI for Reader and Trial Users

Low Memory Warning

With the Application Setting - Display Memory Warning setting enabled, users are warned when their system memory runs low allowing them to cancel a file load.

Importer Updates

Disable Thumbnail Creation

Save load time by disabling thumbnail creation for the Most Recent Documents list.

JT Support for Load Assembly Tree Only

Save on load time with JT assemblies by utilizing the Load Assembly Tree Only feature.

Importer Updates

Home Page Scripting

The power of scripting is now available on the Home Page.

Visualize Theme

For Visualize users, a Visualize theme is available on the Application Settings page.

Remove Items From Recent Documents

Remove individual documents from the Recent Documents list with a right-mouse click.

Groupings for Recent Documents

The Recent Documents list group items by local files or Centro project locations for those users opening files from a Centro instance.

Importer Updates

Performance Options Renamed

The Performance Mode options were renamed for clarity of effect.

Importer Updates

Share ACT3D File Links on Teams

 Tessellated Export of PMI to STEP

Tessellate PMI when exporting to the STEP file format.

Importer Updates

Model Compare Improvements

Model Compare improved along with additional UI cues such as

• Showing all types available to compare

• Indicating when BRep is unavailable to compare.

APM Collaboration Improvements

With a connection to your organization’s APM-Centro instance,

• View and share comments

• Open a file in APM-Centro from a link

• Share models via Microsoft Teams

Convert Files with 2D and 3D to AutoCAD

Files containing both 2D and 3D models can now be converted to AutoCAD with one operation.

Importer Updates

Scripting Improvements

A number of additional functions and enhancements were added to scripting.

They give scripters the ability to,

• Get a coordinate systems list,

• Show a coordinate system,

• Hide a coordinate system,

• Export the coordinate system's transformation matrix,

• Select items by type,

• Rename a selected assembly.

Windows Select Items in 2D Workspaces

Now use Shift+RMB+drag to select items in 2D with a selection window.

Calibrate 2D Drawings

The 2D Drawing calibration tool returns from SFP 10.x. Calibrate drawing measurements based on a factor or measured distance.

Specify Precise Coordinates for 3D Note Types

Now one can specify a precise points to set the following 3D note types.

• 3D Point Note

• 3D Edge Note

• 3D Note

• 2D Note

• 3D Surface Note

Scripting Improvements

Added scripting functions and improved UI handling allow advanced users to automate more with greater ease.

• Export Points with Names and X,Y, Z location

• Reset the section planes

Actify Centro Connection Improvements

Improvements to your organization’s Centro connection were made to obtain more data.

• Download resource files safely and securely leaving an activity trail for your organization use for tracking.

• Get more resource information such as physical properties, avaiable CAD properties, and more.

Importer Updates

Autodesk Navisworks importer was added to the SpinFire Ultimate line-up. In addition, the following importers were updated for 11.10.0.

Drawing Compare

Compare two 2D models (drawings) with the 2D Drawng Compare feature. Drawing compare shows differences between two 2D models, drawings, or images.

Advanced Selection

Select assemblies, parts, and surfaces by color or attribute performing a number of calcuations on those selected items.

Scripting

Scripting in SpinFire Ultimate provides technical oriented users to write Python scripts to automate tasks and capture information repeatedly.

Convert up to 10 CAD files

SpinFire Ultimate provides users the capabilities to convret up to ten CAD files simultaneously rather than one at a time.

Export to glTF

SpinFire Ultimate provides the ability to export and convert 3D native CAD files to the GL Transmission Format (glTF) format.

3MF Importer 

SpinFire Ultimate provides support for the 3D Manufacturing Format for versions 1, 2, and 3. 

Importer updates 

11.9.2 Updates

11.9.1 Updates

Drawing Compare

Compare two 2D models (drawings) with the 2D Drawng Compare feature. Drawing compar shows differences between two 2D models, drawings, or images.

2D Drawing Transformations

Move, rotate, or scale a 2D drawing with 2D Drawing Transformations.

Advanced Selection

Select assemblies, parts, and surfaces by color or attribute performing a number of calcuations on those selected items.

Scripting

Scripting in SpinFire Ultimate provides technical oriented users to write Python scripts to automate tasks and capture information repeatedly.

Convert up to 10 CAD files

SpinFire Ultimate provides users the capabilities to convret up to ten CAD files simultaneously rather than one at a time.

Export to glTF

SpinFire Ultimate provides the ability to export and convert 3D native CAD files to the GL Transmission Format (glTF) format.

3MF Importer 

SpinFire Ultimate provides support for the 3D Manufacturing Format for versions 1, 2, and 3. 

Importer updates 

11.9.0 Updates

Centro Connection Improvements

Check resources in/out from your organization's Centro repository, view resource history, and update resources. Use drag-and-drop to quickly copy file from Centro or into Centro.

Two Surfaces Angle Measurement

Measure the angle between two selected surfaces with the Two Surfaces Angle measurement found in the toolbar under Angular measurements.

Feature Trees

Import the feature trees from supported native CAD files into the SpinFire Ultimate assembly tree to view steps on how parts were designed. 

Magnifying Glass

Magnifying areas of a 2D or a 3D workspace using the new Magnifying Glass feature.

Print and Export to Image Vectorized Images

Print vectorized images and export vectorized images with SpinFire Ultimate 11.8.0.

Printer Settings Saved

After changing a printer settings in SpinFire Ultimate, the settings are retained and automatically recalled when using the printer again.

New Importer Format Support

Open the following file formats.

• IGES 2D

• STEP-XML

11.8.3 Updates

11.8.2 Updates

11.8.1 Updates

New Export Format Support

Export to the following file formats.

• JT v.10.0

• FBX

• Wavefront OBJ

Improved Performance       

Performance improvements have been made to

• File loading

• Visual model manipulation

• Analysis and calculation performance

Actify continues to evaluate and improve on application performance.

Part Property Charts

Visualize assembly parts, meta data, and physical properties in part properties charts. SpinFire Ultimate provides nine chart types to choose from.

Add the charts and data to your report, presentation, website or spreadsheet to provide your visual analysis.

UI Improvements 

There were a number of changes to the user interface to improve user productivity.

Customized User Layout

Float the toolbars and assembly tree or rearrange their docked positions.

Grouped Importer Options

Importer options are grouped to improve efficiency finding and changing options.

Interlaced Row Colors

Minor updates to improve read-ability such as interlacing the colors on long rows of data.

Display ACT3D file thumbnails in Windows Explorer

ACT3D files will display a thumbnail delivering an instant preview of the file.

New Importers and Importer Updates

New Importers (11.7.0)

• Autodesk 3DS max -> all versions

• Autodesk Revit (x64) -> 2015 to 2019 (3D)

• COLLADA -> all Versions

• FBX -> ASCII 7100 to 7400 and all binary versions

• gITF -> 2.0

• WaveFront OBJ -> all versions

• 2D PDF

New Importer Options

• Add Random Colors import option for STL, ProE, ACIS and STEP files

• Add Smooth option for TIFF

• Add Assemblies Group in importer options

• Hidden Entities import option

• Override PMI Color should be enabled by default

• Import wire frames option for Rhino files

• Rhino Rendered Mode Colors import option

• Line Thickness and Black and White options for PDF

• AutoCAD Model Layout to Paper Space View

• Construction Entities import option

Importer Updates

• 11.7.3

  • Catia v5 → R10 to R30 (V5-6R2020) (2D), Up to V5-6 R2019 (R29) (3D)

  • Parasolid → Up to 32.0

  • Revit → 2015 to 2020 (3D)

  • NX → NX to NX 1899 Series (2D), V11.0 to NX 1899 Series (3D)

• 11.7.2

  • NX → NX to NX 1872 Series (2D), V11.0 to NX 1872 Series (3D)

  • Solid Edge → ST1 to 2020 (2D), V19 - 20, ST - ST10, 2020 (3D)

  • SolidWorks → 2004 to 2020 (2D), From 97 up to 2020 (3D)

• 11.7.1

  • Autodesk AutoCAD → 2.5 to 2019 (2D and 3D)

  • Autodesk Inventor → Up to 2020 (3D)

  • CATIA V5 → R10 to R29 (V5-6R2019) (2D), Up to V5-6 R2019 (R29) (3D)

  • CATIA V6 → R2010x to R2019x (2D) Up to 2018x (3D)

  • Parasolid → Up to 31.1

  • ProE & Creo → 2000i to Creo 6.0 (2D), Pro/Engineer 19.0 to Creo 6.0 (3D)

  • NX → NX to NX 1872 Series (2D), V11.0 to NX 1847 Series (3D)

  • SAT → Up to 2019

  • Solid Edge → ST1 to 2020 (2D), From 97 up to 2019 (3D)

• 11.7.0

  • Autodesk AutoCAD → 2.5 to 2018 (2D and 3D)

  • Autodesk Inventor → Up to 2019 (3D)

  • Catia V5 → R10 to R29 (V5-6R2019) (2D), Up to V5-6 R2018 (R28) (3D)

  • Catia V6 → R2010x to R2018x (2D), Up to 2018x (3D)

  • JT → Up to 10.2

  • Parasolid → Up to 31.0

  • PTC ProE → 2000i to Creo 5.0 (2D), Pro/Engineer 19.0 to Creo 5.0 (3D)

  • SolidEdge → ST1 to ST10, 2019 (2D), V19 - 20, ST - ST10, 2019 (3D)

  • SolidWorks → 2004 to 2019 (2D), From 97 up to 2019 (3D

Custom Attribute to the Assembly Tree

Add an attribute column into the assembly tree explorer. Choose from the list of CAD properties extracted from your CAD files.

Random Color Generator

Enable the new importer option to add random colors to ACIS, Pro/Engineer & Creo Parametric, STEP, and STL files not containing colors.

3D PDF Export Options

Control the permissions when exporting to 3D PDF. Permissions control what Acrobat users can do with the exported file.

Rule-Based Coloring

Find and show parts of a certain material, or greater than a specified weight, or compare surface area using the rule-based coloring. Create completely custom rules to visually analyze and dissect your assemblies.

Command Line Options

A variety of operations provide more control when starting SpinFire Ultimate and loading files from the command line.

Scale 3D Parts

Scale 3D parts and assemblies uniformly or by axis by a specified factor.

Print Preview Improvements

Automatically scale documents to fit the print preview page 

Scale images to fit the print preview page in an instance.

Moving the CAD model image inside Print Preview

Move or nudge previews in any direction to frame your print out just right.

Importer Options Additions

Open .3D Files

Open older .3D SpinFire Professional files that can be opened in SpinFire 10 by providing the path of the SpinFire executable.

Added black and white option for 2D importers

For 2D formats, import drawings in black and white.

Ignore line weight in drawings

For 2D formats, ignore line weight to help make drawing more presentable/readable.

Microsoft Office Integration

Embed ACT3D files, 3D data and measurement information into 2013 or 2016 Office documents (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).

2D Callouts

Use 2D callouts in the 2D work space to make comments on the document.

2D and 3D Grid and Rulers

Enable grid and rulers in 2D and 3D workspaces to view lengths and alignments in an instance.

Shortcut Toolbar

Personalize and use the shortcut toolbar in a 2D or a 3D workspace to find frequently used measurements.

Export to 3MF

Export 3D models to the 3MF file format which can be used for 3D printing.

More 2D Tools

Highlight your 2D documents with rectangle, rounded rectangle, and oval tools.

Standard View Editing

Edit the SpinFire Ultimate standard views as well as adding your own and customizing the view port layouts.

Print Preview Changes

Turn off the background color, notes, dimensions, coordinate systems, annotations, axis triad, navigation cube, grid, labels, scale bar, page header text, and page footer text instantly in the Print Preview window.

Open Centro Catalog Files

Create a connection to your Centro 7 Catalog to view files from projects and favorites available for direct download and editing.

Export 2D & 3D to AutoCAD (DXF) 

Lock ACT3D Opened Files 

Set the Lock ACT3D Files when Opened in the Application Settings to prevent other users from writing to the same file while you are editing it.

Delete Assembly Tree Items

Remove assemblies, sub assemblies, parts, solids, and sets from the assembly tree.

Add Assembly Tree Items

Add new nodes to the assembly tree to create new assemblies and sub assemblies. Once added, existing parts and models can be dragged to define the new assemblies.

Wall thickness by Color

Analyze a part's walls with color mapping based on thickness. Set the analytical range, edit mapping colors, select parts, and save into user defined views.

Curvature Analysis

Utilize the new curvature analysis feature to generate a color mapping based on the positive and negative curvatures of a part.

Print options

Select the printer, printer properties, orientation, and template all from the print preview page.

Align Models

The align tool helps to align parts by points or by arc & points.

Re-Tessellate

Re-tessellate models currently in the active work space without having to reload the model.

Arc Tangent measurements

Measure surface points to a circle tangent angle to measure pressure angles on gear teeth for example with the Surface Point to Point Angle, 

Add Metadata

Add additional metadata on the new External tab of the properties dialog box. Add and save information for each part of an assembly.

2D line tools

2D line tools are available now in 2D work spaces. Create lines, poly lines, curved lines, closed poly lines as well as editing the placement, width, length, style, color, and end caps.

Export Notes and Markups

Use the default format or apply a template to export mark up and notes to .CSV, .XML, . XLS, or .XLSX. 

HPGL Importer

An HPGL files (.hpgl, .hpg, . hpl, .plt, .hg2, hp2, .gl2) can now imported into SpinFire Ultimate.

SpinFire Ultimate v. 11.2.0 adds model compare, draft angle analysis, 3D auto-spin, section profile, 2D stamps plus additional functionality.

Model Compare

Takes two similar parts, analyze, and display what is the same and different through the use of coloring the parts. In addition, a slider control is available to exhibit various states between what was added and what was removed.

Draft Angle Analysis

SpinFire Ultimate reintroduces the Draft Angle Analysis tool, providing users the ability to graphical view draft angles.

Section Profile

Section Profile (known in SpinFire 10 as X Section Plus) provides a means to calculate cross section profiles areas, centroids, and perimeter lengths individual or in combination.

3D Mouse support

Use a 3Dconnexion mouse or Spaceball with SpinFire Ultimate similar to SpinFire 10.

Undo/Redo

Undo and redo actions in SpinFire Ultimate. Undo changing camera actions (rotate, pan, zoom) in 3D and 2D viewers and undo color changes in 3D mode.

More undo actions will be scheduled with future versions.

Offset Sectioning

Section 3D models with an offset or stepped section cut to observe and display different section levels of the model. The type offset section is strictly defined by the user and can be adjusted after the initial configuration.

Calculate Void Volume improvement

When calculating the volume of a 3D void, SpinFire Ultimate now provides better feedback to help the users determine how to find blocking surfaces. Follow the blue, blocking-surfaces hint to locate additional blocking surfaces.

Two Edge Intersection Point Measurement

Find the projected point of intersection of two edges with this new 2D and 3D measurement.

2D Stamps

The SpinFire Ultimate version of 2D Stamps allows you to stamp your reviewed 2D documents, import stamps found in SpinFire 10 .3D files, and edit and add your own stamps.

SpinFire Ultimate v. 11.1.0 improves on v. 11.0.0 by adding new functionality, restoring SpinFire 10 features, and enhancing existing features. Also, SpinFire now supports nine additional languages.

Transform by Handles

Back by popular demand is the ability to transform parts and assemblies by handles. Drag along any axis or rotate to graphically move parts. The Transform dialog box also allows you to undo each of the steps.

Exploded Assembly

The exploded assembly function from SpinFire 10 has been improved with a WYSIWYG slider that allows you to view the exploded transformations in real-time. You can adjust them to your liking and try out each of the different types.

Snapshots

Creating a new snapshot adds the model image as a 2D document directly into the workspace.

Calculate Area, Perimeter, and Centroid of the Section Profile

New sectioning capabilities allow you to calculate the area, perimeter, and centroid of the section profile.

New Language Support

In addition to English (US) and German, nine languages are now supported by SpinFire Ultimate, including Spanish and Portuguese.

Auto Complete Option for Tube Length

In previous versions of SpinFire, tube length measurement required that you select sequential, continuous arcs to determine the length of the tube. For small models this is fine, but for more complicated models this can be extremely tedious. SpinFire Ultimate attempts to auto complete the selection by traversing the tube to the end once the beginning arc has been selected. Manual selection remains available.

Copy an Image to the Clipboard

A new export option is available on the Export Image dialog box: Copy to Clipboard. 

Recent Documents Context Menu 

A right-click an item on the Home page Recent Documents list to reveal a context menu, which allows you to add the file path as a library connection, import the model, convert the model to ACT3D, open a file explorer at the file location, or show the file properties.

Portrait/Landscape toggle in Print Preview

Click the Portrait/Landscape button to quickly toggle between the two layout orientations.

View Thumbnails in the Library

In some cases it's easier to identify a file by an image than by a name. The Library now allows you to view thumbnail images of .3D and .ACT3D files. Use the accompanying slider to size the thumbnails to your liking.

SpinFire Ultimate sports an all new, modern user interface that reflects the many innovations and improvements over previous versions of SpinFire. Streamlined installation, increased performance, and enhanced functional capabilities—including partial loading, smart dimensioning, and easy access to metadata—place SpinFIre Ultimate at the forefront of CAD product visualization tools.

Installation

As a standalone product, SpinFire Ultimate installation is now easier than ever. Importers for all supported file types and many of the plug-ins found in SpinFire Professional are included in one single installation file. See Installation and Configuration for detailed information. 

An All New User Interface

We have reorganized our user interface, placing like functions together to provide a more efficient work environment that will benefit even the most sophisticated SpinFire user.

In addition, you can choose to customize the color and layout of your work area: select a light or dark modern theme or opt for the classic SpinFire Professional look. 

New Features

Partial Loading

Partial Loading enables you to quickly access only specific components rather than having to load the entire assembly. When a component is modified, only that component is updated—instead of the entire assembly—hence considerable processing time is saved.

Smart Dimensioning

Instead of having to utilize a series of dimensioning tools, Smart Dimensioning enables you to simply mouse over geometric entities to retrieve results. This feature effortlessly provides part dimensions—productivity and efficiency will be greatly improved.

See Smart Dimensions for more information.

3D Preview

A 3D previews are included in .ACT3D files, and allow you to zoom and rotate your model within the Open file dialog box.

Navigation Cube

A navigation cube enables you to determine the orientation of the active model with just a glance; you can also rotate the model by clicking on the cube faces.

See Controlling the View for further details.

Boundary Area by Edges

With just a few clicks of the mouse, SpinFire Ultimate can quickly estimate the area of an opening in a 3D model.

Boundary Volume by Surfaces

SpinFire Ultimate can estimate the shape of empty spaces (voids) contained in a 3D model and then calculate the volume of those empty spaces.

See Advanced Measurement for more details about boundary edge and volume measurements.