What's New in SA 2010-02-15

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Note: This is an online version of the What’s New document for SpatialAnalyzer 2010.02.15.  The primary document can be found in the SpatialAnalyzer Roadmap, which is the new documentation format for SA.  The SA Roadmap can be downloaded from this site.

Graphics Acceleration Improvements

A large amount of the SpatialAnalyzer graphics acceleration architecture has been rewritten to fully take advantage of OpenGL.  This dramatically improves compatibility, boosts performance, and eliminates graphics artifacts reported by some users.

 

We strongly recommend enabling graphics acceleration (User Options > Display > Performance Options > Use Hardware Accelerated Rendering if Available), if not already active. Users who have previously disabled hardware acceleration as a result of incompatibilities in that past can likely re-enable it now without problems.

 

As a result of these changes, most users will see graphical improvements in the following areas:

• Display flickering (such as that experienced in callouts while rotating) is eliminated.
• Target labels now remain visible while panning, rotating, and zooming the view.
• Elimination of redraw issues experienced by some users.

Windows 7 Support

While SpatialAnalyzer ran on Windows 7 prior to this version (depending on graphics hardware), it had not been thoroughly tested or endorsed by New River Kinematics.  With the graphics acceleration improvements and other enhancements made available in this release, both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 7 are now fully supported.  Please note that some instrument manufacturers have not yet released 64-bit drivers for their instruments, and these instruments may not yet be functional on 64-bit operating systems (such as Windows XP-64 or 64-bit versions of Windows 7).  Contact your instrument manufacturer or New River Kinematics for details.

 

NRK's testing has shown a significant speed increase on Windows 7 for many operations (when compared to Windows XP), including loading of large files with many CAD surfaces.  On Windows 7, more system RAM (up to 4 GB) is available for direct use by SA.  (32-bit versions of OS could only allot 3GB or less to SA).

New User Interface Themes

Several new user interface themes are now available for use.  These new interfaces include Visual Studio 2008, MS Office 2007 (Black, Blue, & Silver), and MS Office 2010.  The default interface is now MS Office 2010.

 

 

Force Re-render Of All Surfaces

In the User Options > Display > Surface Rendering Options dialog, a Force Re-render of all surfaces checkbox has been added.  In earlier versions, changing settings in this window (such as the Max Trimmed Edge Angle) would not take effect until a restart if the surfaces had already been shaded.  Checking this option will force SA to recalculate surfaces using the latest settings in the window, so that it is no longer necessary to restart SA for the settings to take effect.

 

User Interface Updates

The user interface is in the midst of getting a fresh new look:

 

 

 

Additional interface components (icons, images, buttons, etc.) will be updated gradually over time.

Construct > Frame > Using Working Frame Orientation > Origin, point on X axis, clock Z along Working Z

The frame construction commands Construct > Frame > 3 Points > Origin, X Axis > Z Rotated Vertical (About X) and Construct > Frame > Using Working Frame Orientation > Pick origin and point to Clock X axis – then tip X axis about Y have been consolidated into one new command, Construct > Frame > Using Working Frame Orientation > Origin, point on X axis, clock Z along Working Z.

 

Note that if you have a custom User Interface profile in use, the new command will not appear in your menus by default.

APEX Import: Multi-configuration CAD files

Support has been added for multi-configuration CAD files.  Previously, multi-configuration files would not import.  When importing these files, the default configuration saved with the file will be used.

APEX Import: CAD Import Logging

A log entry is now added on successful import indicating the file imported, total import time, and stats on the file.

 

New Measurement Plan Command: Make a Collection Instrument Reference List

This Measurement Plan command (found in Construction Operations > Other MP Types > Make a Collection Instrument Reference List) creates an empty Collection Instrument reference list that you can add to using the Add a Collection Instrument to a Ref List command.

New Measurement Plan Command: Add a Collection Instrument to a Ref List

Use this Measurement Plan command (found in Construction Operations > Other MP Types > Add a Collection Instrument to a Ref List) to add an instrument to an existing Collection Instrument Reference List.

New Measurement Plan Command: Move Objects in 6D Using Instrument Updates

This new Measurement Plan command (found in Instrument Operations > Move Objects in 6D Using Instrument Updates) performs the same function as the Edit > Move Objects > Transform in 6D Using Instrument Updates command.  Specify the instrument to use, the objects to move, and the measurement mode.  (Note that this command requires the use of a 6D target).

Ping From Within SA

You can now easily ping TCP/IP instruments directly from within SA using the Ping button, which is visible from within the SA Network Browser and several instrument interfaces.  Pinging an instrument is a convenient method to determine if you are able to communicate with the device.

 

From within the SA network browser, type in the IP address you would like to test, and click Ping.  If the computer can communicate with a device at the specified address, you will receive replies from the device (see above).

 

This replaces the need to run the Ping command separately from the Windows Start bar.

Construct > Points > Layout > In View By Clicking

The new command Construct > Points > Layout > In View By Clicking allows you to click anywhere in the graphical view to construct points.  The points are created in the current view plane at the depth of the current view rotation center.  You can rotate the view while you lay out points to place them in three dimensions.  This is an excellent way to create points in the graphical view for testing, simulation, and other uses.

 

Collimation/Mirror Cube Weighting for Bundle Adjustments

You now have the ability to adjust the weight of collimation and mirror cube shots when performing a Bundle Adjustment using Instrument > Bundle Adjust.  To specify weighting, click the Advanced button in the Bundle Adjust dialog. The weights entered will be applied to the bundle solution.

 

Scale Free Option Added to Instrument > Locate > Measure Nominal Points

When locating an instrument by measuring nominal points, the Instrument > Locate > Measure Nominal Points dialog now has an option to allow free scaling for the fit.

 

This applies a scale factor to the instrument that persists after locating, and allows you to compensate when the temperature of the measurement environment is different than the standard temperature for the nominal data.  Note that the calculated scale factor will be displayed on the right side of the dialog under the Automatic Measurement section.

Construct Points > Intersection > Line and Cylinder

You can now construct points at the intersection of a line and cylinder without converting the cylinder to a surface first.  This command creates points at both cylinder intersections (if applicable), regardless of the direction the line is pointing.

 

Construct Points > Intersection > Line and Sphere

This new command creates points at the intersection of a line and a sphere without requiring that the sphere be converted to a surface first.  Points are created at both intersection points (if applicable), regardless of the direction the line is pointing.

 

Sample Files

The SA install now includes sample files that can be used for training.  Access these files via the Help > Open Sample SA Files menu item.

Semi-Transparent Instruments

Instruments can now be made semi-transparent.  You can view your job from any angle without the instrument obstructing your view of the data.

 

The instrument transparency setting is toggled on and off in the menus via the View > Transparent Instruments checkbox.  The setting is saved with the individual job file.

Support for Ellipse Fit Profiles

You can now create custom Ellipse Fit Profiles via User Options > Analysis > Geometry Fit Profiles.

 

ASCII Export: Maximum Precision & Measurement Details

When exporting points to an ASCII file, you can now choose to export using Maximum Precision.  The ASCII export settings now persist for the entire SA session (until you quit the program).

 

This option will export point coordinates at full internal precision, which is approximately 16 decimals in scientific notation.  This enables more accurate external processing with custom code and minimizes rounding errors.

 

You can also choose to export Measurement Details, which will export the most recent observation's measurement details (metadata) to the text file.  This is convenient for importing data into Excel with measurement details sorted into columns:

 

Excel Direct Connect Compatibility with Microsoft Excel 2007

The Excel Direct Connect feature of Measurement Plans is now compatible with Microsoft Excel 2007 .xlsx files (reading and writing).

Measurement Plans: Create Counter Enhancements

The Measurement Plan command Process Flow Operations > Create Counter now supports Reference and Variable entry methods.

Geometry Fit Profiles: Probing Direction Override - If Available

The Probing Direction Override - If Available setting in geometry fit profiles now defaults to enabled.  The line-of-sight is used as the probing direction for line-of-sight instruments (such as trackers).  This will automatically create geometry with the proper normal direction in the majority of measurement situations (assuming the option is enabled).

 

Object Mirroring

Object Mirroring (Edit > Mirror Objects...) now supports mirroring for all object types, including frames.  Right-handed frames which are mirrored become left-handed and vice-versa.

Spherical and Cylindrical Geometry Triggers

Cylindrical and Spherical Geometry Triggers have been added to the Geometry Trigger acquisition mode in the Laser Tracker and PCMM arm interfaces.  Using this mode will trigger a measurement when the target crosses spherical, cylindrical, or planar (already available) boundaries.  This acquisition mode can be set to trigger at the closest sampled point or to interpolate between the closest measured points on each side of the boundary.

 

RMS Monitor

A window is now available to monitor the RMS for discrete point measurements in the laser tracker interface.  To access this display, select Settings > UI, then choose the Discrete Pt. RMS Monitor button.

 

Note that you can select thresholds for the tolerances, and can also disallow the use of any out-of-tolerance points (applies to Discrete point measurements only).  This monitor is only affected by the RMS value of the measurement samples.  It ignores the (separate) PPM setting in the measurement profile.

Mesh Graphical Entities

A new option has been added to the APEX import dialog (SA Ultimate + Native CAD only): Import all surfaces as Mesh Graphical Entities.  This option allows you to import complex CAD data for visual purposes without incurring the processor and memory overhead of typical, analyzable CAD geometry (such as surfaces).

 

The CAD data will be imported under the Graphical Entities object category, and cannot be used for analysis--it is for visual purposes only.

Other Enhancements and Changes

Refer to the Read Me file for additional enhancements and changes.