It's not easy
Shape is a new Windows CAD program from Bricsys that is meant for 3D modeling. Its inspiration was SketchUp (from Trimble) and its purpose is to do conceptual design for input to BricsCAD BIM software. However, for students, casual users, and architects doing pre-design, it stands alone.
A BricsCAD drawing opened in Shape
It is free, and it reads DWG files, as well as starting new models from scratch. But it does not read BIM data from existing BricsCAD BIM files. Download it from https://www.bricsys.com/en-intl/shape/
One reader wrote:
I have down loaded Bricsys Shape and given it a brief trial. It seems to be well thought out and has some interesting features. However, if it is to be a serious rival to SketchUp it will need to have the capability to add dimensions. And it's a pity that you have to keep hitting the Enter key after every action, a la AutoCAD.
- P.H.
Hitting Enter
Shape is a stripped down version of BricsCAD, and so the command-line interface is the same. So, yah, press Enter. In fact, you can press Ctrl+9 to expand the command line to the usual five-line height, and then you can customize it further by right-clicking the command line and choosing Options.
Dimensioning
Placing dimensions is possible with a workaround, but it is awkward. In short, you draw an aligned dimension (DimAli) or other dimension in BricsCAD, and then copy and paste it into the Shape drawing.
Some tips:
- Start the drawing in BricsCAD with the same units as Shape (metric or Imperial), otherwise the dimension ends up tiny in Shape -- or too large.
Dimension drawn in BricsCAD being copied to the Clipboard
- It helps to draw the dimension in BricsCAD as similar as to how it will be used in Shape. So, draw it upside down for bottom edges, sideways for sides, and so on.
- When you paste the dimension in Shape (using Ctrl+V), pick a point as close to the object being dimensioned as possible.
Dimension pasted into Shape
- Once the dimension is in Shape, drag it by its grips into position, just like you would in other CAD packages. It sometimes helps to put the model in plan view.
Dimension being dragged into position in Shape
- You cannot use this method to dimension vertically.
- Is the dimension accurate? Yes. I used the Measure command to ascertain this:
Measure command confirming accuracy of dimension
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