What features would you like to see added to a future version of DataCAD?
#80915 by dhs
Mon May 16, 2022 2:14 pm
Thanks Mark,

I do much of the work on my DataCAD macros during winter when it is too cold for my outdoor activities, and I have actually done a little work on new features in the macro on a few cold days in the last month or so. The next update to the Extrude Macro should contain twist logic, but I have a few other new functions in mind for following versions.

Also, anybody interested in DCAL coding may be interested to know that I recently made the source code of the Extrude macro publicly available (see the Macro Source page on my web site for a link to my GIT repository at BitBucket).

Regards,
David H.
#81038 by brucecallahan
Fri Jun 24, 2022 2:13 pm
My apologies for joining this late. I'm unclear as to what this macro does that is different from the original. I think someone noted incorrectly that the Sweep macro would not extrude in a circular pattern. This must not have been the case because I recall probably 20 years ago modelling a helix parking ramp using Sweep, basically extruding in a circular path with a rise so creating a helix. I'm sorry to learn some of these macros may have become buggy. I haven't used DataCad much in the last 10 years or so but I thought that the 3D modelling capability and the O2C export capability were among DataCad's most impressive features.
#81039 by dhs
Fri Jun 24, 2022 3:41 pm
Hello Bruce,

You are correct that many of the things that my Extrude macro does can be done just as well with Bill D'Amico's 3D Power Tools Sweep functionality. Indeed there are some things that Bill's Sweep functions did that have not (yet) been coded in my Extrude macro (this includes 'twist' functionality which will be included in a new version of Extrude likely to be released in the next couple of weeks).

If you have a copy of Bill's 3D Power Tools and it does what you need then obviously there is no need to learn a new macro such as Extrude. I am not an expert on Bill's macro but (apart from a more modern interface) some of the main differences I am aware of are summarised below:

Defining the Section Profile. I believe that in Bill's macro the section profile could only be defined using a polygon entity limited to 36 sides. The Extrude macro allows different entity types to be used to define the profile, even allowing a profile to be built up using multiple entities. It also supports polygons with more than 36 sides (which were introduced in DataCAD 14 and can crash older macros such as 3D Power Tools that were written prior to that).

Extrude also allows you to save a Section Profile as a symbol so that you can use it in multiple drawings without the need to redefine it each time. Even without saving, you can recall the most recent previously used profile in a drawing without the need to redefine it. These are features not available in Bill's macro.

Defining the Sweep Path. You are quite correct that Bill's macro allows you to define curved or circular paths. I am not certain about his macro, but I think it allows the path to be defined with 2d lines, circles and arcs as well as polylines (although note that when 3D Power Tools was written polylines where strictly 2D entities - his macro will give incorrect results if the polyline is not in the X-Y plane). Extrude macro not only allows for using a wider variety of entities to define the path (including supporting a lot of 3D entity types), but also allows you to trace a path without the need to use existing entities to define it.

Taper. Bill's macro allows you to apply a linear taper to the section as it moves along the sweep path, and allows you to select different tapers for the X and Y axis. The Extrude macro allows you to define non-linear and repeating tapers (called 'enlargement' in my macro), but the initial version does not allow different enlargements to be defined for each axis. I expect to be releasing a new version of Extrude in the next couple of weeks that allows you to specify that the enlargement is applied to one axis only (either X or Y), but it still doesn't offer quite the flexibility here (in terms of a linear taper) that Bill's macro does (I don't see the need for it, but if you do need it you would be better using Bill's macro).

Twist. Bill's macro allows you to twist the profile as it moves along the sweep path. This option is not offered in the current release of Extrude, although it will be available in the next version (with options to specify the twist in a couple of different ways). The next version has already had extensive testing and I expect to be releasing it in the next couple of weeks.

Ongoing Development. Bill's macro was written many years ago and I believe that he has no intention of ever updating it (I haven't spoken to him specifically about this macro, but I previously contacted him about his Blocker macro and gained the impression that he had no interest in further developing any of his DataCAD products). The Extrude macro is written using the latest tools and is fully compatible with the latest versions of DataCAD. I do intend to continue to develop it into the future (there is a new release just about ready to go, and I have more ideas for future development).

I hope the above is useful to you. There is a short (9 1/2 minute) [url]video on YouTube that demonstrates the Extrude Macro[/url].

Regards,
David H.

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