Alibre on UserVoice

repeat function for assembly mode

2012-02-04T02:02:13-08:00

Ovidiu suggested:
ProEngineer has a very interesting function in Assembly mode. It is the repeat function. Unlike pattern, it is very useful for example for assembling screws into holes that are not related in any way. You simply select the part, then repeat, then select the references in the same order the first part was assembled. For screws, axes and mate. So for any hole you'll select it's axis and mate under the repeat command there will be a new screw or any part attached.

localized standard part library [updated]

2012-02-03T05:05:50-08:00

Save a standard library of parts on the local machine, instead of using the internet. This would be an ideal use of the vault, with pre-defined organization built in. New parts could be downloaded and added as needed.

kmilos said:

Good idea, but would be nice if it's made available to non-vault users as well.

Allow parts to export as Parasolids (.x_t) for machine shop compatibility. [updated]

2012-02-03T05:04:39-08:00

Some machine shops prefer utilizing the part file in Parasolid format (file extension .x_t) for the CAM software. This is generally common in CAD software and would be very helpful.

kmilos said:

This depends on your license, only Alibre Expert can export Parasolid:

http://www.alibre.com/products/exchange.asp

TEXT THAT AUTOSIZES TO SPOT ON TITLE BLOCK

2012-02-02T06:28:35-08:00

Steven Mayfield suggested:
Text that is automatically populated on the title block should resize to fit in the area assigned for it. Automatically wrapping the text if necessary.

Easy way to change the plane of a sketch in part mode [updated]

2012-02-01T03:38:42-08:00

Easy moving of a sketch (and associated feature if applicable) to another plane (in part mode). The need to erase and redraw wrong positionned sketches could be avoided allowing some timesaving along the design process.

Jaime said:

It is possible to copy and paste one scketch to another plane but then it seems it needs to be relocated using constraints or by moving it...

An easy way to see what parts or features are constrained to (children of) a selected part.

2012-02-01T02:21:56-08:00

Forest suggested:
If you make a change to a sketch or feature in an assembly, there is now way of knowing what features or parts are going to be affected (or have been) by the change.

Easy way to change the plane of a sketch in part mode [updated]

2012-02-01T02:06:22-08:00

Forest said:

I agree 100%, there needs to be a way change the sketch plane. Copy paste just doesnt "cut" it!

When copying an already placed part bring it in with the same orientation as the copied part

2012-01-31T13:34:09-08:00

Rod Mack suggested:
In instances of multiple identical parts usage, many times the parts are used in the same orientation. Rather than bring parts in in the library orientation it would be very convenient to just copy a part that has been "pre oriented" and just install it in another location. An example would be multiple fastners (bolts, dowel pins and PEM nuts).

Delete a pre positioning constraint without having to close constraint tool

2012-01-31T13:25:44-08:00

Rod Mack suggested:
When there is a need to orient, flip or otherwise manipulate parts upon bringing them into an assembly it would be convenient to delete these "pre-positioning" constraints in order to immediatly apply the final assembly constraints. Now you must close the constraint tool bar and then delete these before the parts can be put ion the final position.

mass export multiple files

2012-01-31T06:38:28-08:00

James suggested:
It would be nice if there were an option available to select multiple files that you would like to export to one of the available formats.

Bound area in 2D sketch is shaded

2012-01-29T10:43:27-08:00

Steve Schultz suggested:
In 2D sketch mode, the moment the sketch is properly closed the bound area is immediately shaded. Faster and more intuitive than sketch analysis. Would not replace sketch analysis, but would complement it by giving feedback instantly.

Schematic diagram generation capability.

2012-01-27T11:20:05-08:00

James suggested:
Schematic diagram generation capability.

A link to http://www.matweb.com/ for material properties

2012-01-26T13:46:05-08:00

LaVerne suggested:
This site has downloads for many CAD packages with all the properties needed

Allow body delete that does not remove it from part model - i.e.: geometry is still used for reference

2012-01-26T10:49:28-08:00

AeroMonkeyDork suggested:
One thing that some CAD programs allow is a "Body Delete" that does not remove it as a reference for creating the model. It doesn't show up in the finished part, but the CAD program uses it for construction steps or whatever the user needs it for. This is useful when creating parts that mate to other parts. For instance: I have two parts that have to mate on a curved surface, or they have holes that must line up. It is nice to be able to create one part first, then import that part into the 2nd part as a starting point. You can design the 2nd part using the features of the 1st part, then do a "delete body" on the 1st part (that doesn't throw away all of its reference features and geometry) at the end of the construction steps of the 2nd part. That way the geometry and references of the 1st part don't just "go away", because the 1st part is no longer in the model of the 2nd part. Then, if the 1st part is changed for some reason, all of it's geometry gets updated, and interfaces to the 2nd part get updated too when you reopen the 2nd part. Currently, you'd have to move/change everything manually in the 2nd part if the 1st part changes.

Giroscope view in Drawing mode

2012-01-26T06:26:39-08:00

Emanuele suggested:
When you are in Drawing mode could be useful to rotate the perspective view in arbitrary angles to allow fast detailing mode.

Perspective view in Drawing mode

2012-01-26T06:25:05-08:00

Emanuele suggested:
It would be useful to display views in perspective mode also in the sketch in Drawing mode

Material column in BOM is not the Material Property of the part!

2012-01-26T01:08:04-08:00

Emanuele suggested:
When I create a Bill Of Materials, I expect that in the column "Material" it put the "Material Property" while the column "Material" is void! I think that this is a bug!

official support for AA (Anti-Aliasing) and AF (Anisotropic Filtering) settings [updated]

2012-01-25T17:36:44-08:00

official support for AA (Anti-Aliasing) and AF (Anisotropic Filtering) settings. Would be really nice, currently if I use in my case AMD (FirePro) and force AA and AF, this does not go well especially with hidden/dashed lines in sketches and other glitches showing up. Official built in settings and or allowing the software to function properly for these features is nice. If video games even have these abilities, why cant Pro software? I sure like to see the smooth lines and complex parts or assemblies look a lot better and easier to read/view.

Drutort said:

i guess very few people understand it unless they would see it, then they would want it ;-)

the least I wish that they would fix some of the issues, I dont mind over riding the application, so long as key things like sketch hidden/dashed lines dont disappear

associativity of offset sketchs

2012-01-25T07:58:52-08:00

Copy and Paste every single view in other page or other drawing

2012-01-24T03:10:41-08:00

temada suggested:
in a drawing i'd like copy and paste separately a view with relative quote and notes ....for example a single detail of page 1 in the page 2 or in other new drawing... where i need it. because now i've to open the file and remake the view and the quotes, notes ecc... it's too long..... copy and past and finish

keep constraints in circular or linear array after it's finished

2012-01-22T23:58:05-08:00

Pascal Kamps suggested:
keep constraints in circular or linear array after it's finished, because once it's finished, for example, circles are unconstraind.

Highlight sketch entities

2012-01-22T23:50:23-08:00

Pascal Kamps suggested:
Highlight the corresponding sketch entities (edges) in other views (drawing) while hoovering the mouse cursor above the edge.

Ability to change layer for text on drawing file

2012-01-20T11:55:20-08:00

ChrisD suggested:
Currently I cannot assign text to a layer. It automatically becomes part of the Vissible Layer after DXF export. I need to have Text on a seperate layer for Plasma/Laser import. I hope this get high priority, it should be an industrial std! Thnx!

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2012-01-20T08:45:39-08:00

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VERY LARGE assemblies!

2012-01-20T08:36:14-08:00

Stephen Murray suggested:
I strongly believe that Alibre should be optimised for VERY LARGE assemblies; With Alibre's low price, there would be no reason for anyone to go to Inventor (which allows very large assemblies). It could have Inventor and SolidWorks go the way of the dinosaur!

mass [updated]

2012-01-19T15:16:53-08:00

Be able to set part mass in addition to part density. Currently on parts I create space claims or rough models of I have to go to physical properties and find the modeled volume and then take the part mass to calculate the density which is then entered in design properties. It would be much easier for these types of parts to just be able to set the part mass.

Ryan Ullmann said:

I (and I'm sure many others do) create a space claim model to represent parts in my assemblies that we purchase. For example I modeled up a general representation of a pump earlier which included its general shape, mounting features etc... but not every feature on it. When I throw it in the assembly model if I don't set a density for it it will throw off the mass of the assembly. I know the weight of the pump so it would be easier to set it directly for that part then checking what the volume is that I modeled, calculating a density and then entering that in the design properties so the pump has the right mass in the assembly.

mass [updated]

2012-01-19T14:43:39-08:00

Max Freeman said:

I may be missing something, but how does it make sense to have a part's mass as an editable property? Changes to geometry change the mass of the part; it's not a static value over the course of a design.

mass

2012-01-19T14:30:50-08:00

Ryan Ullmann suggested:
Be able to set part mass in addition to part density. Currently on parts I create space claims or rough models of I have to go to physical properties and find the modeled volume and then take the part mass to calculate the density which is then entered in design properties. It would be much easier for these types of parts to just be able to set the part mass.

more explicit status for the function [updated]

2012-01-13T19:43:39-08:00

I got that often when i make a change and it does not help me to find the problem it is very unclear about what's wrong. if this was easier to understand I maybe won't have to redo completely my sketch and loose time: What does that mean I need to change?? CHANGE_LOST_ENT: attempt to change record marked as deleted

sleepyty said:

Try suppressing the feature. Then Unsuppressing it. The has gotten me out of that stupid jam a couple times today. Not sure what the real issue is, but it seems to get me through it.

wiring harness design

2012-01-13T14:43:11-08:00

Jeff Hull suggested:
It would be nice to add wiring and a customizable library of standard and unique connectors. Unique connectors could be designed around a part template that could be customized, then added to the library for use in a harness design "wizard" pop-up. Wire length would be determined by routing, using selectable fasteners or openings to define wire path. Then be able to lay out the harness in drawings, like flat views of sheet metal. 3-D sketching is really tricky for this, and not very intuitive.

localized standard part library

2012-01-13T14:28:12-08:00

Jeff Hull suggested:
Save a standard library of parts on the local machine, instead of using the internet. This would be an ideal use of the vault, with pre-defined organization built in. New parts could be downloaded and added as needed.

Finite Element Analysis [updated]

2012-01-13T14:16:30-08:00

Include an integrated FEA tool or partner with someone who provides an add-on.

Jeff Hull said:

I originally purchased an Expert license because of the add-on FEA software that came with it. Thanks to Autodesk purchasing that company, all Expert users lost that functionality, as it was locked to the computer it was installed on. Most of those computers have likely gone away.

Better constraint conflict visibility [updated]

2012-01-13T14:05:43-08:00

Currently in the Explorer, a conflicted set of constraints are shown italicized. This is very hard to see. Would be much better if they were shown RED or BOLD Capitalized.

Jeff Hull said:

Instead of highlighting the Explorer, create a pop-up list of constraints that apply to the conflict, and highlight the model as I mouse over the list. Give the user the options to suppress or delete the constraint, or even enter the constraint dialog and redefine it using different numbers or geometry selections.

Assembly explode lines that you can add or edit. Very disappointed with the explode feature in general.

2012-01-13T07:02:19-08:00

FIX ALL THE CURRENT BUGS [updated]

2012-01-13T06:55:14-08:00

FIX ALL THE CURRENT BUGS - Both in code and usability/design

Anonymous said:

This is great. We pay for the software and then do all their r&d work for them while paying for support.

ability to mirror and rotational pattern fillets [updated]

2012-01-13T06:48:33-08:00

Ailbre should be able to mirror about a plane or create a rotational pattern of fillets about an axis. both Solidworks and Inventor can do this. It makes Alibre a non player in the real CAD world in my mind.

Anonymous said:

I agree. I google things all the time that Alibre cant do to find out before calling tech.

Allow parts to export as Parasolids (.x_t) for machine shop compatibility. [updated]

2012-01-12T11:43:59-08:00

Some machine shops prefer utilizing the part file in Parasolid format (file extension .x_t) for the CAM software. This is generally common in CAD software and would be very helpful.

Jason G. said:

Well this is odd. I found out that one of my coworkers can export parts as Parasolids, but a couple of us can't. I have the most recent version of the software; so I guess this looks more like an issue for technical support, more so than a new feature suggestion.

Allow parts to export as Parasolids (.x_t) for machine shop compatibility.

2012-01-11T10:20:32-08:00

Jason G. suggested:
Some machine shops prefer utilizing the part file in Parasolid format (file extension .x_t) for the CAM software. This is generally common in CAD software and would be very helpful.

official support for AA (Anti-Aliasing) and AF (Anisotropic Filtering) settings

2012-01-10T18:11:09-08:00

Drutort suggested:
official support for AA (Anti-Aliasing) and AF (Anisotropic Filtering) settings. Would be really nice, currently if I use in my case AMD (FirePro) and force AA and AF, this does not go well especially with hidden/dashed lines in sketches and other glitches showing up. Official built in settings and or allowing the software to function properly for these features is nice. If video games even have these abilities, why cant Pro software? I sure like to see the smooth lines and complex parts or assemblies look a lot better and easier to read/view.

Generate UV coordnates for textures [updated]

2012-01-10T15:14:10-08:00

Serge said:

KeyShot has a nice option to use UV surface coordinates to map a texture but Alibre cannot output this type of data. We'd like to use it for rendering pre-production parts with laser printed images

Generate UV coordnates for textures

2012-01-10T15:10:51-08:00

Open Office Connect [updated]

2012-01-08T10:07:57-08:00

Your German agents, O-Punkt CAD, developed a quick "Open Office Connect" program for using Open Office Calc, instead of EXCEL, to control dimensions / design parameters. There have been over 2000 downloads of this software, and many comments in the forum (http://forum.alibre.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=12243&p=74089&hilit=openoffice+spreadsheet#p74089) concerning this. Many people don't use EXCEL. The software does not work with current Alibre releases, nor Open Office V3.3. Pls offer this with the next release of Alibre, or as a stand alone. Thanks

Jason B said:

Yes please!! I use Open Office because its awesome and free. Having an Add-In for Open Office supports Alibre's philosphy for providing low cost solutions or access to them.

The most important point is that Open Office is a standard product with Google (they have an import/export function for Open Office). If Google thinks this is a mainstream product then so should CAD programs like our beloved Alibre. :)

Finite Element Analysis

2012-01-05T08:44:14-08:00

Nathan Hoch suggested:
Include an integrated FEA tool or partner with someone who provides an add-on.

a manual for alibre cam that actually explains something

2012-01-04T18:08:19-08:00

Anonymous suggested:
if you hand a good maual more people would buy alibre cam and alibre design.

Import bitmaps & vector art into 3d Model space [updated]

2012-01-04T18:00:48-08:00

Similar in concept to another posting, but more focused on being able to import JPGs, BMPs, PNG, GIFF, etc. into 3D parts & assemblies. Then being able to move, orient, and scale them. The images could then be used to create 3d surfaces or models from align TOP, FRONT, RIGHT views from the bitmap type images. Reference: http://www.the-blueprints.com/tutorials Critical feature for creating models from napkin sketches or other forms of 2D drawings especially when there are not dimensions. Even without dimension you can still create a part that is propertional and can be scaled if needed.

shawn said:

looking at purcahsing alibre but it appears you can not import 2d reference images (jpg, tif, psd etc) into alibre. All my design start at sketches. All surface modellers I have use allow you to do that and so does Solidworks.

Bill of Material. Subassembly in top level Assembly

2012-01-04T15:54:17-08:00

Bent Løkke suggested:
As is now in Alibre you can select in an assembly if this assembly will be inserted as a part in a top level assembly, or if all the parts from this subassembly will be listed in the top level assembly. It would be much better if you could select this option, when you create the bill of material in the top level assembly. Most often you would like to see the subassembly as a part in the top level assembly. But it would be really great, if also was possible to insert a bill of material, where all single parts and qty. were listed.

Dimension Flange Length from Bend Line

2012-01-04T08:58:33-08:00

Sean suggested:
During flange creation, the option could be given to the user to have the flange length be defined by the distance from the bend line (on its part drawing) to the lip of the flange. This would remove some iterative designing when users need to create bend drawings with dimensions to bend lines in even fractions of an inch.

ability to have show dashed bend lines shown in drawing [updated]

2012-01-04T08:44:00-08:00

When doing drawing for fabrication of sheet metal there needs to be bend lines they can go by to accuratly bend the metal. Such as a dashed line or the ability to add a dashed line in the drawing feature. Also need to be able to ad a ceter line and symbol.

Sean said:

This already exists.

Mirror parts in assembly mode [updated]

2012-01-03T11:07:30-08:00

Jason B said:

An absolute must!!

Relative Scaling: dimensioning when importing a dwg or photo

2012-01-02T19:28:27-08:00

Alex Cheek suggested:
Allowing the user to import a file-photo of an object, for example, a 2'8" pipe. Knowing that dimension (2'8") the user can then trace the distance (2'8") and set the scale to draw/measure at that ratio. You would then be able to get actual measurements for all aspects of the object.