Release Notes

License Key

HOOPS Exchange only requires a new license key if you are currently using a key which was generated for a prior major version. For example, developers upgrading from v7.1 to v7.2 may use the same key, but those upgrading from 7.2 to 2015 need to generate a new key. Please visit the HOOPS Exchange download page if you need to generate a new key. The key is delivered in the file include/A3DSDKLicenseKey.h. Once you have generated a new key, you should copy the file to <EXCHANGE_INSTALL_DIR>/include/.

The expiration date for the generated license key is tied to your contract with Tech Soft 3D. If you have signed a license agreement for HOOPS Exchange, then the license key that is generated will be a perpetual (non-expiring) license key. If you are evaluating HOOPS Exchange, then the license key will expire when your evaluation expires. Evaluation license keys will expire at the end of the evaluation period and are not suitable for production software. Any software that uses an evaluation license key will no longer work after the evaluation period.

HOOPS Exchange releases are not binary compatible with older releases. You must recompile your application when updating to a new version of HOOPS Exchange.


HOOPS Exchange 2015 Service Pack 2

File Reader Enhancements

Format Updates

Format Updated Version
Inventor 2016
CATIA V5-6 R2015 (R25)

Enhancements

Creo

SOLIDWORKS

Inventor

JT

SolidEdge

CATIA

NX

IGES

STEP

Functional Changes

Enhancements


HOOPS Exchange 2015 Service Pack 1

Format Updates

Format Updated Version
SOLIDWORKS 2015
JT 10
Parasolid 27
NX 10

Enhancements

CATIA V5

  • Dimensioning and markup/model links have been improved.
  • Piping elements are now supported.

Creo

  • User simplified representations are now managed.
  • Dimension positioning, markup/geometry links, and management of assembly part visibility by views has been improved.
  • Family tables are now supported.

NX

  • View filtering has been improved.

IFC

  • A new Boolean field, m_bFACETED_BREPAsOneFace has been added to A3DRWParamsIFCData. If this field is true, our reader will merge all facets in a face to a single face, which boosts performance when loading IFC files.

Parasolid Connector

  • Healing can now be enabled or disabled in A3DAsmModelFileTranslateToPkParts. See field A3DRWParamsTranslateToPkPartsData::m_eHealing.
  • New enhancement to ensure Parasolid data remains unmodified when extracted from Parasolid-based formats (NX, SOLIDWORKS, and Solid Edge).
  • An option has been added to allow you to choose between loading "tolerant" or "accurate" entities. See field A3DRWParamsTranslateToPkPartsData::m_eComputeAccurateEdges.

Shattered assemblies

Our shattered assemblies function can now support:

  • NX models that contain reference sets
  • SOLIDWORKS files that contain configurations
  • Creo files that contain family tables

Point cloud projection

  • Instantiated data can now be managed using A3DProjectPointCloudManagerCreateFromRI.
  • Point clouds can now be projected onto tessellated meshes and edges.
  • A new API function is available to project point clouds - A3DProjectPointCloudOnModelFile.
  • Various bug fixes

Functional Changes


HOOPS Exchange 2015 Update 1

Format Updates

Format Updated Version
NX 9.0.2

Enhancements

CATIA V5

  • Improved performance
  • Piping is now supported
  • Several bug fixes such as conversion issues, PMI cross highlighting, hidden objects

SOLIDWORKS

  • Improved performance
  • Configuration management enhancement
  • Several bug fixes

Functional Changes


HOOPS Exchange 2015

Format Updates

Format Updated Version
Autodesk Inventor 2015
Solid Edge ST7
Catia V5-6 2014
Creo Parametric 3.0

Enhancements

Parasolid

A new Parasolid bridge is available which leverages the native Parasolid binaries to provide healing as a part of the export process. The result is a higher quality model. You are also able to export directly to an open Parasolid session. See the Programming Guide section 4.2.1 for details.

SOLIDWORKS

Our SOLIDWORKS reader now supports diffuse textures and views. Improved support for PMI.

IFC reader

Our IFC reader has a new option pertaining to faceted B-rep. Previously, a single face would be generated for each triangle imported as a part of a faceted B-rep structure. Now, the reader will merge collections of faceted triangles into a single entity by default. You can control this behavior by altering the m_bFACETED_BREPAsOneFace member in the A3DRWParamsIFCData structure.

NX9

Our NX reader PMI support is improved.

Creo

Better management of markup data positioning.

JT

Our JT file reader now supports ULP (Ultra-Lightweight Precise) B-rep as well as LODs.

Autodesk Inventor

The Autodesk Inventor reader now supports diffuse textures.

Functional Changes

IFC Improvements

  • GUIDs are now included with the minimal set of attributes when loading IFC files.
  • Performance has been improved.

Parasolid export

When exporting Parasolid models, we now keep the topology as close as possible to the original topology in order to prevent topological artifacts.


HOOPS Exchange - v7.2 Changes

Enhancements

Platform updates

CentOS 6.5 is now supported.

Autodesk Inventor reader can now import B-rep

B-rep may now be imported from Autodesk Inventor files. The functionality is provided in beta status.

Please note that this feature may impact the reading of Inventor files in kA3DReadGeomAndTess mode.

Parasolid Export Improvements

By employing a variety of healing techniques, we've continued to improve the quality of our Parasolid export. In addition, if the source file was Parasolid based (i.e. NX, JT, SOLIDWORKS, or Solid Edge) then we'll make extreme efforts to provide the original Parasolid data when you export to Parasolid.

View and PMI Improvements

There has been continued improvements in our visual PMI support with the main focus being CV5, NX, and Creo.

File Reader Improvements

  • Our Rhino reader now supports external references.
  • Extensive quality improvements have been made to both the Rhino and SAT readers.

Functional changes

STEP importer

Our STEP importer now disables healing by default. Healing can be enabled using the m_bHealOrientations flag.

The STEP importer flag m_bSplitSHELL_BASED_SURFACE_MODEL flag controls whether each logical body is put into a separate B-rep entity. Please note that this flag is set to true by default, thus in order to achieve similar results to HOOPS Exchange 7.1.0, this flag should be set to false.


HOOPS Exchange - v7.1 Changes

Format Updates

Format Updated Version
Siemens PLM NX Software 9.0

Enhancements

Better File Management Handling

A new API (A3DAsmGetFilesPathFromModelFile) has been introduced which allows developers to query the file dependencies of a particular assembly. It also returns a missing file list which is the list of files referenced by the assembly that HOOPS Exchange cannot find.

Parasolid Export Improvements

By employing a variety of healing techniques we've continued to improve the quality of our Parasolid export. In addition, if the source file was Parasolid based (i.e. NX, JT, SOLIDWORKS, or Solid Edge) then we'll make extreme efforts to provide the original Parasolid data when you export to Parasolid.

View and PMI Improvements

There has been continued improvements in our visual PMI support with the main focus being CV5, NX and Creo.

STEP Import Improvements

We now use some of the healing capabilities available in HOOPS Exchange to address common problems with STEP files related to face and edge orientation problems.

JT Export now includes View and PMI Support

In this release we extended our JT exporter so that it also exports any Views or PMI that is included with the model.

IFC Improvements

We implemented some optimizations within our IFC reader which will improve loading time with many IFC files.


HOOPS Exchange - v7.0 Changes

Format Updates

Format Updated Version
Parasolid v26.0
Solid Edge ST6
SOLIDWORKS 2014
STEP AP 242

Enhancements

Physical Properties Calculation

A new set of APIs (A3DCurveLength and A3DComputeFaceArea) have been introduced which allow you to calculate the length of edges and the surface area of faces, in addition to existing features which allow to calculate the surface of parts and the volume and center of gravity of parts.

Exact Sectioning

A new set of APIs (A3DComputePlanarSectionOnModelFile and A3DComputePlanarSectionOnRepresentationItem) allow you to cross section a model. The APIs return the exact curves representing the outline of the section as well as the triangles which will represent the interior of the section.

Compare Functionality

A new set of APIs (A3DCompareFaces, A3DCompareFacesInBrepModels and A3DComputeFaceArea) have been added which allow you to check for geometrical differences between two parts. The APIs not only tell you if two parts differ geometrically but also can provide triangles representing the differences between the two models.

Optimizations to approximation of geometry as analytics

A new API (A3DSimplifyModelFileWithAnalytics) allows you to specify which analytics you want to consider approximating a geometry as. For example, excluding whether you want to approximate a surface as a torus can significantly improve the performance of this function.

Welding and Frame Support in Solid Edge

Our Solid Edge reader will now import Welding and Frame data.

View and PMI Improvements

There has been significant improvements in our visual PMI support with a particular focus on CV5, NX and Creo. In addition to bug fixes we now support exploded views for Creo.

Progress Bar Improvements

Improvements were made to the progress bar so that it will more accurately reflect the progress on an import or export operation.



HOOPS Exchange - v6.10 Changes

Format Updates

Format Updated Version
ACIS Up to v23.0
Autodesk Inventor 2014
CATIA V5 V5-6R2013

Enhancements

Ease of Use Improvements

A new set of APIs have been introduced which make it much easier for developers to initialize HOOPS Exchange, to read in a file and to also export a file. With this API a developer can turn a CATIA V5 file into a Parasolid file with just a couple of lines of code. Please refer to the new sample ImportExport for an example of how to use these APIs.

JT Export of PMI Data

Our JT export will now include any of the PMI data that is included in the model.

Tessellate Text Strings

A new function A3DGlobalFontTextTessellationGet() has been added which allows developers to turn a text string with a font definition into a series of triangles. A common use-case here is a developer using this API to turn PMI text data into triangles for use in their visualization system.

Remove BREP information in PRC/PDF export

Developers can now easily remove the BREP definition prior to export to PRC to PDF. This allows developers to potentially sensitive information independent of the import settings.

Honor NX and Creo Application Settings

Developers can now request that our provided View definition with NX files honors the default application "single click" view activation behavior. While in Creo you can now request that the default PMI coloring is the same as the default setting in the version of Creo which authored the file.



HOOPS Exchange - v6.00 Changes

New Platform Support

PlatformArchitectureOperating SystemCompiler
osx_x64 x64 Mac OS X 10.7 gcc/g++ 4.2.1

New Import Formats

Format Supported Versions
PDF All
Rhino 4, 5

Note, in the current implementation PDF is not supported via the standard read API (i.e. A3DAsmModelFileLoadFromFile()). Instead Developers must first use the function A3DGet3DPDFStreams() to extract the PRC/U3D data from the PDF document and then provide this data to appropriate Exchange or Publish API. An example of using this API is provided in the samples\publish\publishsource\DemoFunctionalities sample.

New Export Formats

Format
JT
VRML

Format Updates

Format Updated Version
Siemens PLM NX Software 8.5

Enhancements

Healing and Model Preparation for B-rep export

To address some issues for Parasolid and ACIS customers we now do significant post-processing of the data prior to exporting it to Parasolid or ACIS. This has particular impact when dealing with data which originated in IGES files.

Special handling for IGES Data

IGES data is now pre-processed to address issues which were previously impacting import success rates. This includes dealing with corrupt files as well as using advanced geometric algorithms to massage the data. These geometric algorithms include fixing B-rep orientation errors, closing open loops, adjusting tolerances, etc. This pre-processing has resulted in a slight increase in import time. Developers can also use the new Sew API (see below) to turn logical sets of surfaces into closed solids.

New Sew API

A new API A3DSewBrep() has been added which will sew a series of sheet bodies. The API will create either a Solid or Sheet body depending on the structure of the provided data. A higher-level function A3DAsmModelFileSew() has also been added which will perform a sew on all appropriate entities in a given model file.

Semantic PMI improvements

Our semantic PMI structures have been enhanced to allow developers to determine the plane that a particular plane/axes associated with a particular datum.

Ignore hidden attribute when exporting to Parasolid

Developers can now request that our Parasolid writer exports all entities regardless of the value of their hidden attribute.



HOOPS Exchange - v5.30 Changes

Format Updates

Format Updated Version
SOLIDWORKS 2013

Enhancements

New Tessellation Controls

Two new parameters have been added for controlling tessellation:

  • m_bUseHeightInsteadOfRatio
    When m_eTessellationLevelOfDetail is set to kA3DTessLODUserDefined and m_bUseHeightInsteadOfRatio is set to TRUE, the tessellation algorithm is controlled by the m_dMaxChordHeight value. m_dMaxChordHeight specifies the maximum distance between a tessellation triangle and the actual surface geometry.
    When m_bUseHeightInsteadOfRatio is set to FALSE, then the tessellation algorithm is controlled by the m_dChordHeightRatio value.
  • m_dMaximalTriangleEdgeLength
    This parameter specifies the maximum edge length of a tessellation triangle. If it is set to 0, then this parameter is not used when calculating the tessellation.

JT PMI

When reading PMI from a JT file, the link between PMI and its associated geometry is now maintained.

Automatic Healing when Exporting to X_T and SAT

Exchange now automatically heals invalid geometry and topology when exporting to the X_T (Parasolid) and SAT (ACIS) formats.



HOOPS Exchange - v5.20 Changes

Format Updates

A number of file formats were updated to support more current software versions. These format updates include:

Format Updated Version
CATIA V5 V5-62012 (R22)
CATIA V6 2013
Solid Edge ST5

B-Rep Enhancements

Global Copy and Adapt B-Rep

A new function has been added to globally adapt geometry and topology to your modelers specific needs. This function provides the capability to programmatically control the following repair behaviors:

For more information, please see the A3DAdaptAndReplaceAllBrepInModelFile function.

Physical Properties

A new function has been added to return the physical properties of a B-Rep model. These properties include:

For more information, please see the A3DComputePhysicalProperties function.

Point in FACE classification

A function has been added to determine whether a point lies inside or outside of a given FACE. For more information, please see the A3DFaceUVPointInside function.

Geometry Simplification

A function has been added for globally simplifying spline curves and surfaces to their analytic form (such as planes, cylinders, spheres, etc.). For more information, please see the A3DSimplifyModelFileCurveAndSurfaceAsAnalytic function.

PMI Enhancements

Semantic PMI

The data structure for returning semantic P}{MI have been enhanced to return the values of the semantic PMI data. This allows applications to easily read the numeric data associated with feature control frames and other PMI. For more information, please see the A3DMDSemanticFeatureControlFrameGet function.

Associative Datum

A new structure has been added that contains direct links between Datum and other associated entities such as other Datum and model geometry. For more information, please see the A3DMDFCFDrawingRowData data structure.

Text Bounding Box

A function has been added to calculate the 2D bounding box (height and length) for a text string. For more information, please see the A3DGlobalFontTextBoxGet function.

Font File Path

A new data member for specifying the font file path has been added to the A3DFontData structure.

Import Enhancements

Reading Files from Memory

A new function has been added to allow PRC data to be read directly from a memory buffer. Please see A3DAsmModelFileLoadFromPrcStream for more details.

IFC Enhancements

An import option has been added for the IFC reader. You can now specify the code page to use when converting 3D text to Unicode. For more information, please see the A3DRSParamsIFCData structure.



HOOPS Exchange - v5.10 Changes

Format Updates

A number of file formats were updated to support more current software versions. These format updates include:

Format Updated Version
Autodesk Inventor 2013
Creo Parametric 2.0

Interface Changes

Editing Functions

Two new functions have been added to enable editing of Product Occurrences and Part Definitions. Please refer to the Programmers Guide for more information on A3DAsmProductOccurrenceEdit and A3DAsmPartDefinitionEdit.

Enhancements

IGES - Sewing Option

A new structure, A3DRWParamsIGESData, has been added to the A3DRWParamsSpecificLoadData structure to control how IGES files are read. This new structure contains a data member, m_bSewBrepModels, that controls whether Exchange will try to sew IGES surface models into a solid model. Please see the Reference Guide for more information on the A3DRWParamsIGESData data structure.

JT Reader

A number of internal improvements have been made to the JT reader. The results of these improvements are general improvements to the stability of the JT reader.



HOOPS Exchange - v5.0 Changes

Format Updates

A number of file formats were updated to support more current software versions. These format updates include:

Format Updated Version
CATIA V5 R21
Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) IFC 2x4
Siemens PLM Software NX NX 8
Solid Edge ST4
SOLIDWORKS 2012

New Formats

ACIS (SAT)

For HOOPS Exchange v5.0, we have added the capability to save PRC data to ACIS SAT files. This interface allows direct exchange of data with applications that support the SAT format (AutoCAD, Inventor, etc.). It also provides ACIS developers with an easy route to integrate HOOPS Exchange by using Exchange to convert CAD files to SAT format and using ACIS to read the generated SAT data.

In order to have maximum compatibility with other applications (including Autodesk applications like AutoCAD and Inventor), the Exchange SAT exporter writes an ACIS 5.0 format file.

Format Version
ACIS (SAT) 5.0

CATIA V5 Drawings (CATDrawing)

CATIA V5 drawing files (CATDrawing) are now supported. Please see the Drawing Model section of the Reference Manual for more information.

Interface Changes

Precise Measurement

A number of functions have been added to enable precise measurement of PRC B-Rep models. These functions include curve and surface simplification as well as high performance point project functions.

PRC Assembly File Management

Two new functions have been added to help manage subcomponents (parts, sub-assemblies) of a PRC assembly file. The first function extracts the filenames (including path) of all the parts and sub-assemblies referenced by a model file. The second function A3DAsmModelFileLoadFromMultiplePrcFile creates an assembly modelfile from multiple PRC files.