BricsCAD: Not a Clone, Much More

To many, accustomed to famous names in the field of design software, BricsCAD will sound new; others will have heard of it but, reluctant to make the switch to something unknown, will not have looked into it further.

Yet many discoveries have been made precisely thanks to a “let’s try!”. So let’s get to know this software better, relatively unknown compared to many competitors, but which has existed on the market for 18 years, and which knows how to assert itself thanks to targeted choices both in terms of functionality and services offered.

What are we talking about?

BricsCAD is a powerful CAD platform that combines the intelligence and flexibility of 3D direct modeling with advanced 2D design on Windows, Linux, or Mac, implementing Mechanical Design and BIM (Building Information Modeling), all in a single all-in-one CAD software.

It is a software completely translated into Italian, highly compatible and that communicates easily with other programs thanks to the use of the standard DWG format in all its versions (even BIM!) and compatibility with the IFC format.

All this in a single familiar user interface, 100% compatible with the dwg format, high-performance and stable.

Within BricsCAD, depending on the chosen solution, you have the possibility to work with Point Clouds, manage and model TIN surfaces for the Civil field, design mechanical assemblies and obtain all the project documentation thanks to the BIM method.

BricsCAD is a software bricsys, a global provider of CAD and BIM products, in addition to which it also provides cloud-based Common Data Environment (CDE) products that have become the basis for team collaboration on common projects.

Bricsys was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Ghent, Belgium; over the years, since its foundation, it has had a constant growth expanding its staff up to 200 employees in 8 locations worldwide and a couple of years ago it was acquired entirely by the Hexagon AB group (a world leader in the field of high precision measurement technologies). A profitable partnership that has however allowed the autonomous growth of the company which now aims to compete in the CAD market with the main competitors.

To conclude the presentations, who will you be interacting with? EmiCAD, founded in 2002 and active in the sector of custom application development and supply of cad software. Having become the main partner of Bricsys NV in Italy in 2009, it offers: complete software solutions with specialization in the cad world, the localization of BricsCAD itself, consultancy in the cad/bim sector, training courses and customized assistance.

The functionalities

All the traditional drawing tools and more are at your fingertips in this software. Current CAD users can be comfortable with BricsCAD in less than an hour thanks to the familiar interface that allows them to migrate:

• commands
• menus (.CUI, .CUIX)
• macros/scripts
• Support files (.CTB, .PC3, .LIN, .PAT, .DWT, .SSM)
• Lisp/VBA

Not only that, the developers' goal is to make life as easy as possible for designers.

For this reason, BricsCAD started out with some similarities to its well-known cousin, but soon distinguished itself and made itself unique, while still allowing those who choose to make the switch a smooth and obstacle-free transition, while maintaining full compatibility with the past.
Let's quickly see what we're talking about.

Simplify with Artificial Intelligence

It has been said, therefore, that BricsCAD aims for simplification, but this is not limited to the set of tools or accessibility. The flagship of this software is the use of Artificial Intelligence: in all work environments, a series of tools and operations allow the designer to speed up the workflow by optimizing serial activities and automating “passive” ones.

Artificial Intelligence supports users starting from 2D, through 3D modeling up to Mechanical Design and BIM.

The first example of AI that is already shown in the 2D version is a widget, the Quad. It is essentially a small panel anchored to the cursor that changes depending on the entities selected or simply under the cursor. Not only does it show us the main information of that entity (such as the layer, which we can modify directly), but it also lists the most suitable tools that can be used, then maintaining a chronological memory that optimizes serial operations.

Continuing with the examples, we also find the possibility of using the Parameter both in 2D and 3D; BricsCAD reads dynamic blocks without problems, but cannot produce them (for copyright reasons), however it offers users the opportunity to parameterize their objects giving a lot of freedom. Not only that, with the use of parameters we can optimize our block libraries: not a different chair for each size, but a single object to which to give different dimensions. And if this is not enough for you, know that Artificial Intelligence will do the "dirty work" for you by automatically parameterizing your drawing by reading the geometric intent!

Does this all sound like theory to you? Well, optimization also works with practical tools, such as, to name one, Copy/Move Guided which will allow you to copy (or move) entities in one click and with a single command: if you are usually forced to copy the entities of a door, create the hole by cutting lines and dashes, with these tools the software does everything and you only have to make the copy.

Finally, another tool that many will fall in love with is Blockify which allows (given the source entities) to create a block and search for the same separate entities within the entire drawing and convert them into the same block: imagine how it can optimize your file which will benefit in reading speed, but also from a working point of view, since you will be able to use the automatically created blocks to create bills of materials or similar.

The move to 3D and BIM

If you are thinking of making the leap to 3D (or Mechanical or BIM modeling), BricsCAD is the perfect software because it allows you to have a flow always within the same environment. It is a program all-in-one, which means that you won't have to move files from one place to another, but changes and updates can always be made quickly (thanks, among other things, to the advantage of the Direct modeling).

In the same environment, as already mentioned, you have the possibility to work with Point Clouds, manage and model TIN surfaces for the Civil field, design mechanical assemblies and obtain all the project documentation thanks to the BIM method.

Strong point of BricsCAD is also the flexibility granted to BIM users is: you do not start from walls, floors, beams, but from pure solids then detailed and classified. It is possible to experience the freedom of design through a 3D workflow, not limited by predefined library parts or components. Thanks to direct modeling it is possible to sculpt the volumetric model that remains light and reactive, because it is not overloaded or hyper-constrained.

You can then automate the increase in LOD (Level Of Detail).

AI will convert the conceptual study model into a fully classified BIM thanks to the automatic classification; the use of tools such as Propaga will then allow to further optimize the increase of the LOD: it will be possible to model the details once, and “propagate” them in all the same situations in the BIM model, automatically.

The transition from BIM to project documentation will then be even easier: with high accuracy and a constant Level of Detail throughout the BIM, it is possible to extract, visualize and export exact quantity data and Bills of Materials.

Additionally, automatic generation of sections, elevations, drawing views and sheet layouts allows the creation of associated views: one change in the 3D model, and all drawing views will be automatically regenerated to maintain synchronization.

BricsCAD finally becomes the spokesperson for the exchange between professionals. The working format is the pure and simple .dwg. No closed formats, no communication difficulties, quite the opposite: dialogue is the objective.

This is why everything was focused on the possibility of creating a system that could manage BIM in dwg, and, despite what many thought, it was possible. Not only that, BricsCAD did not struggle to adapt to the use of the IFC format, indeed, it made it substantially native allowing designers, structural engineers, plant engineers and anyone involved in a project to exchange information without data loss or difficulty.

There are many strong points of this software, here we have listed only a few but it will be enough to download the free trial and test it on a real project to understand its true potential.

Put the guesswork aside and take the leap: unleash your design genius with BricsCAD.

Download the BricsCAD Trial 

And if you want more information contact us EmiCAD, Bricsys' main partner in Italy:

EmiCAD
Website: www.emicad.it
Email: commerciale@emicad.it
Tel. 0422-978585