Delcam’s new PowerSHAPE offers easier surface modelling

The development focus for the new version, PowerSHAPE 7, has been to recapture the simplicity offered by the software when it was first introduced in 1999. PowerSHAPE 7 sees the whole interface re-organised to place commands in a more logical structure and so make it easier both for new users to learn and faster for existing users to operate. The other key innovation in PowerSHAPE 7 is Smart Surfacing. Like other surface modellers, PowerSHAPE has always provided a number of alternative methods for constructing a surface from a given set of lines, arcs or points. The user has had to choose between a number of solutions to pick the result that is most appropriate for the particular design. With Smart Surfacing, the choice of method is made automatically by the software to give the best possible surface. If the user is unhappy with the automatic selection, or is simply curious to see other options, he can scroll through the alternative solutions. Perhaps the most impressive thing about Smart Surfacing is that the software’s selection is updated automatically as extra information is added to the design. As any additional lines or points are inserted into the model, PowerSHAPE will review the chosen surfacing method and regenerate the surface if an alternative solution has become more appropriate.