This is the biggest update to the program since Kubla Cubed 2017 was launched with a lot of new features that many users have requested. The biggest changes are :
A) Support for direct import of triangulations (from CAD or LandXML).
B) Big Improvements to CAD Export and new LandXML export (for potential use in machine control systems).
B) Enhanced visualisations with a 'skirt' around the model and vertical exaggeration slider.
C) Improved export of project data with new spreadsheet export and export of 'user input' data including boundary areas, perimeters etc... (this information is often required by quantity surveyors).
Tip : To calculate an area create a spread element with 0 depth and export user input data to find it's boundary area. The same trick can be done with paths with
Full list of updates below :
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14:00 22/05/2018 - Kubla Cubed Version 4.6
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New Features
+ Added a presentation mode that can be used when presenting Kubla Cubed projects to a group on a big screen or projector.
+ Created a spreadsheet export of user input data and estimation summary.
+ Added a new element 'Triangle Surface' which can be used to add triangulated meshes into the program. Supports Kubla project files as well as .DXF and LandXML files.
+ Added new 'Export to LandXML' option which can be used to export project data into machine control systems and CAD programs when .DXF is not supported. LandXML is widely supported by machine control systems as an import.
+ Added ability to export labelled gridded data in the CAD export. This can be used to analyse the cut\fill details especially by site teams accustomed to working with gridded data plans than CAD files. It also can provide a good way to import surfaces into programs that do not support TIN import.
+ Enhanced the visualisation with a new 'vertical exaggeration' control which allows users to exaggerate the visualisation of their project in the Z-axis. Vertical exaggeration is useful for viewing sites that have fairly minor elevation changes over a large area and is widely used in topography modelling programs.
Improvements
+ Improved behavior of slope when switching between different options ensuring all options have more meaningful starting values.
+ Amended disturbance area calculations to remove areas that had been returned to their original elevations by subsequent elevation adjustments within the same phase.
+ Added 'User Input Data' to the report and the new spreadsheet export. This is useful to validate user inputs and for creating bill of quantity (BOQ) reports. Importantly element boundary areas and perimeters are calculated which can be useful for estimating material and curbing costs using the area and perimeter of strips that have been used to adjust for construction thickness.
+ Included an offset option for the existing element. This can be useful for analysing volumes at different depths.
+ Achieved significant performance improvements in general and especially with projects many construction phases and projects with feature surfaces with automatic outline levels. Average load time improvement across all test files is over 4x faster compared with 4.5 release.
+ Improvements to calculation of automatic outline levels to resolve unrealistic levels in certain unusual scenarios.
+ Added 'back a step' feature into take-off form and element boundary creation. This allows users to correct mistakes by pressing back space if they make a mistake whilst creating (contours, outlines, platforms, strips etc...)
+ Updated triangulation code to only include elevation features within an outline. This aids with clarity and allows for validation to only take place within the outline.
+ Added labels to the generated contours in the CAD export.
+ Added 'skirts' around 3D models to give them a more solid appearance and to give a greater awareness of depth with elevation colours now running down the sides of the model.
Fixes
+ Resolved activation issue caused by the license file being saved into the users roaming profile which could then overwrote the license file with incorrect information on their second device.
+ Fixed issue which was causing the varying levels outline elevations to display as vertical bars '|' in the take-off form.
+ Resolved issue whereby a feature surface boundary would only display the outline of the first island. Also fixed rendering issue where the outline was rendered with many different line segments rather than as a smooth path.
+ Resolved issue with the image exporter that was showing the wrong range in the colour key when 'absolute shading' was selected as an option.
+ Resolved problem with image exporter which was causing the level shading to shade incorrectly as a single colour.
+ Resolved a bug which caused PDF's to fail to load when computers were set to language cultures that use a comma as a decimal point. Swedish users reported this problem.
+ Resolved minor bugs in phases tab control. This included improvements to the selection of tabs. Previously tabs were selected only when you clicked on the text, rather than the tab itself. Also included ensuring that the selected tab was scrolled into view when a file is loaded with one of the later tabs selected.
Please post any feedback below.
