Monday, June 18th, 2018 Posted by Jim Thacker

WTools3D ships LWCAD 2018


WTools3D – aka developer Viktor Veličko – has released LWCAD 2018: the latest version of its popular LightWave modelling plugin, adding new parametric tools for creating windows and railings.

A fixture of many LightWave artists’ toolboxes for a decade, LWCAD provides a complete set of standard CAD modelling tools within the software, including a powerful set of real-time Boolean tools.

The software is also now available for 3ds Max and Cinema 4D, but at the time of posting, neither of the new plugins had been updated to the 2018 release.

New tools for automatically generating windows and railings
New features in LWCAD 2018 include the new Windows panel, which automatically generates windows, complete with user-configurable arrangements of panels; inner and outer framing; cornering; and sills.

It works in 2D plan view or on 3D geometry, and from curves, polygons or NURBS geometry. You can see the workflow in action at the start of the video above.

The update also introduces what Veličko describes as “a complete and comprehensive solution for creating railings”, including new Railing and Edge to Railing tools, shown at 08:30 in the video.

The former automatically generates railings from any curve; the latter from any curve segment, or any edge of polygonal or NURBS geometry. Railings can also now be generated from any stair primitive.

As well as the overall form of a railing, users can customise the arrangment of rails, posts and panels.

The update also introduces a new preset system. Once saved, presets can be shared with other users, and are even backwards-compatible with previous releases of LWCAD.

Other changes include the option to toggle snapping on or off from the Snap panel, and support for the plugin’s Universal Coordinate System (UCS) in the Ruler. You can find the full list via the link below.

Pricing and availability
LWCAD 2018 is available for 64-bit LightWave 9.6+ on Windows 7+ and 64-bit LightWave 10+ on Mac OS X 10.9+. It costs $349.

LWCAD 5.5 for 3ds Max is available for 64-bit 3ds Max 2013+ on Windows 7+ and costs $236; LWCAD 5.5 for Cinema 4D is available for 64-bit Cinema 4D R17+ on Windows 7+ or macOS 10.12+, and costs $177.


Read a full list of features in LWCAD 2018 for LightWave

Visit the LWCAD product website