This area is for you to come and have a look how to do something. Hopefully these videos will help you understand parts of TurboCAD more. If there are any of videos that you feel may be of use on here, please don’t hestitate to let me know, I will be updating this videos regularly to make sure there is always a new selection to chose from. 

Inserting Doors and Windows

Create parametric doors and windows which are saved within the drawing, making additions later in the design process quick and easy. Overall sizes are imposed via Properties, but all other information via VIEW / Style Manager Pallet. One thing to look out for is that there are three boxes in the Style Manager Pallet and sometimes the lower two can overlap hiding one.

[youtube wFqncTaHIIk]

Symbols

TurboCAD professional comes with many thousands of symbols, both 2D and 3D, all editable. A further 30 million symbols can be bought at half price when purchased with the package. Symbols or any objects used lots of times should be saved as a Block and saved in the Blocks Library not the Symbols Library.

[youtube kIteFhW5K4A]

Meet Two Lines

All the 2D modify tools are quite straight forward. This works differently from the Extend/Shrink Tool and a short ‘play’ will easily make the difference clear. A tip here is that if you want to restrict a straight line to the X or Y plane, hit X or Y on the keyboard before drawing the line. Hitting the keyboard again will release the restriction. The boxes at the bottom right of your screen will show which planes are locked.

[youtube GqA3geE7Np4]

Properties

Selecting any object will activate the Inspector Bar at the bottom of your screen and give you information on the selected object and you can edit the object from here. You can find out more information about the object via VIEW / Selection Information, where again you can edit the object this time in more detail, such as changing its layer. Selecting an object, right clicking and selecting Properties is where you set the objects parameters, for example the distance between Double Lines or Multiline Lines. Note that if you’re drawing a plan and need to include cavity walls, you are best using the Double Line Tool and then the Parallel Double Line tools, as in that way you are able to hatch the inner and outer separately and use the Pick Point Hatch for the cavity. Set the hatch at the same time as setting the separation and then the hatch will be drawn as you draw the lines. Tidy up MODIFY / Meet 2 Lines or Meet 2 Double Lines.

[youtube Z9dgBt6_IRo]

Imprint Tool

Draw a 2D profile on a 3D surface, select the Imprint Tool / select the facet / then the 2D profile. You can now pull the shape in or out, or type an exact size in the inspector bar. I’ve used it drawing indented panels on kitchen cabinets. It’s quicker than using a Boolean Subtract and you also have the advantage of being able to create unusual shapes. There is also a radius that can be added to the top or bottom of the extrude, (Inspector Bar). Does not work with Double Line tool, but will work using the Offset tool.

[youtube tWKbSEwA_ig]

X Refs

Stands for external reference. FORMAT / Create External reference. This will bring another drawing into your Blocks Library. Can be edited.

[youtube ZI9HuIaMlu4]