NOVATO, CA--(Marketwire - March 9, 2011) - IMSI®/Design, the developer of the #1 best-selling CAD in retail, announced today the release of TurboCAD Pro 18 and TurboCAD Pro Platinum 18.

"TurboCAD Pro 18 may be our strongest release yet," stated Bob Mayer, COO of IMSI/Design. "We've made major improvements in all areas of the application, including dozens of new features and enhancements... scripting... a strong emphasis on reliability... and performance gains that will make everyone smile."

New and enhanced features include:

New High Performance Tools

• GPU Accelerated Drawing Performance in Hidden Line, Draft Rendering, and Wireframe modes. Speeds drawing performance up to 60x faster.
• Multi-Threading Support for both LightWorks® rendering and ACIS® solid modeling operations, taking advantage of multi-core processors so calculations are much faster.
• Database Options. Extract attributes from Blocks & Xrefs.
• Updated LightWorks Engine provides progressive, ray-traced rendering, improving workflow by generating fast estimates of images for early preview of light settings. Anti-aliasing for geometry and materials is also improved.
• Updated D-Cubed™ DCM engine integrated into TurboCAD.
• Multi-Select Drawings Command lets you open multiple drawings in one step.

Smarter, Faster Drafting & Detailing

• PDF Underlay lets user import raster and vector PDFs and use as tracing layers with snaps.
• Purge Tool keeps your drawing clean and optimized by removing unused objects and layers.
• Ray Tool creates rays on the construction line layer to more clearly define your projection line guidelines. Construction lines are also now editable and can be converted in rays.
• Copy In Place Tool works on all 2D and 3D objects.
• Enhanced Layers. Includes improved layers dialog. Plus, improved ability to turn on/off layers per viewport.
• Improved Drafting Palette, Fillet (2D and 3D) Tool, Mirror Tool, Measurement, Text, Stretch Tool, and Trim Tool boost productivity.

More Robust Mechanical Tools

• Graphic On Path Tool lets you place graphics on any given path, useful for laying out profiles for lofts or arranging graphics including lines, splines, circles, arcs, or ACIS edges for solids and surfaces.
• 3D Fillet Tool allows filleting of 3D polylines and works with the sweep and rigid sweep tools.
• Assembly By Axis Modes. Three new modes make assemblies faster. Plus assembly tools now work with Xrefs and insertions.
• Improved Sweep Tools and Simple Extrude Tool add more power to ACIS 3D modeling.
• Pattern Tool applies 3D patterns 'On Polyline', so there are now six tools for the rapid creation of parametric patterns. (Platinum Only.)
• Improved Pattern Tie lets patterns be associative with the object. Also, placement of objects along a curve on the surface will be normal to the surface. (Platinum Only.)
• Updated Bend and Unbend Tools enhance control and precision. (Platinum Only.)
• Improved Imprint Tools enhance precision design. (Platinum Only.)
• Multi-Add Tool lets user select multiple objects to do Boolean additions. (Platinum Only.)

More Productive Architectural Tools

• Dynamic Dimensions for Doors and Windows. Now dynamic dimensions display when doors and windows are inserted, showing the distance to and from the wall ends for easier, precise placement.
• House Wizard automates the preliminary room-by-room design of an entire house and generates a floor plan.
• Roofs and Walls Are More Intelligent. Tops of walls now automatically modify when changing a roof slope. You can also add different materials to various components (top, bottom, fascia, etc.) of a roof.
• Block Attachments to Doors and Windows. Ability to attach block(s) to a Door or Window style. Design styles for these architectural object types are now practically unlimited. (Platinum Only.)

Programming & Interoperability

• Ruby Scripting with console for writing either simple or advanced program scripts for architectural, mechanical, and engineering design automation. Language compatible with Google™ SketchUp™ Ruby scripts.
• Updated File Filters including .DWG/.DXF filter enhancements for better AutoCAD® 2011 file sharing and an improved .SKP filter that now reads/writes up to Google SketchUp v8.
• Network License Support. TurboCAD's Network License Management System allows for license compliance checking on network installations.
• Enhanced Software Development Kit (SDK) with new samples and .NET support.

"We're particularly pleased with the help and feedback that we've gotten from our TurboCAD beta testers," added Mayer. "TurboCAD 18 has been a terrific community effort and we think the hard work and positive results clearly show in this product."

Availability and Pricing

TurboCAD Pro 18 is now available for $1,295.

TurboCAD Pro Platinum 18 is now available for $1,495. (For a limited time, receive the Hatch Pattern Creator plug-in with Pro Platinum 18 purchase, a $125 value. Use it to create repeating patterns that can be used as Brush patterns in your designs.)

For a quick YouTube overview of some of the new features in TurboCAD v18, please visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kJVoYtvLsM.

For more information or to upgrade online, please visit www.TurboCAD.com or call IMSI/Design at 1.800.833.8082 (+1.415.483.8000). 

About IMSI/Design

IMSI/Design is the global leader in retail CAD (Computer Aided Design). With over 15 million products sold since 1988, IMSI/Design products include the award-winning TurboCAD®, DoubleCAD™, DesignCAD™, TurboFLOORPLAN™, and IDX® Renditioner families of precision design applications. Please visit www.IMSIdesign.com for more information.

© 2011 IMSI/Design, LLC. All rights reserved. IMSI and TurboCAD are registered trademarks and/or trademarks of IMSI/Design, LLC. All other identifiable marks are the property of their respective owners.

Contact Information:

CONTACT:
IMSI/Design
Pam Volpe
415.483.8025