VTube 4.5 Build 1994 - November 6, 2026

What's New in VTube

New: Autobuild Parametrics Window (VTube-STEP)

• The Autobuild from Imported Model button now opens the new Autobuild Parametrics window. The window stays open next to the viewport, so you can run Autobuild more than once.
• Clear and replace existing parametric tubes: when checked, the tubes in the assembly list are removed and the new tubes take their place. When not checked, the new tubes are added to the end of the assembly list.
• Extract tubes and add them from...
  • All models in the viewport: every model is used.
  • Selected models in the viewport: only the models you selected in the viewport are used.
• Don't import identical tubes: a tube is not imported if every point is within the value you set of a tube already in the assembly or another tube being imported. The default value is 0.010" (0.254 mm).
• Click Start Autobuild to build the tubes. The Help button explains each setting.
• The settings are saved and come back the next time you open the window.
• To take a build back, use Undo on the toolbar.

New: Automatically Remove Identical Tubes in Batch STEP Import (VTube-STEP)

• Batch STEP import has the same Don't import identical tubes option and value.

New: Autobuild Shorts Assembly Tubes Point Count Size

• Autobuild now lists the tube with the most points first in the assembly.
• Part numbers and cutting tube names are numbered in order with no gaps.
• Cope tubes are now named Cutting Tube 1, Cutting Tube 2, and so on.

New: Round Slots and Holes Can Be Cutting Tubes

• Holes and cuts in a single selected model are now joined to their tube, so they become cutting tubes the same way they do when the model has several solids.
• A round slot (a slot with full round ends) becomes one rectangular cutting tube with round ends. The slot is cut in the tube.

New: Model Smoothness can be controlled in Viewport

• The Model Smoothness setting now changes how smooth the model surfaces look in the viewport. A value of 0 gives a smooth surface.
• Model Smoothness is now shown in the Model Work window, and in System Options under Graphics Setup.
• The range is now -4 to 4.

New: Now Drag and Drop Project Files in VTube-LASER

• You can now drag a VTube project file (.vtp or .vts) and drop it on the VTube-LASER window to open it.

Refresh: All Language Files are Updated

• English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Chinese, and Japanese are updated. 

VTube 4.5 Build 1993 - November 5, 2026

What's New in VTube

New: Tubes Can Act as Cutting Tubes for Target Tubes in an Assembly

• Any tube in an assembly can now be a target tube: a tube that is cut by other tubes in the assembly, the way a branch tube cuts a hole in a main tube.
• The assembly list has a new Cut column. Click it to open the new Target Tube Cut Setup window:
  • Cutting active: when checked, the tubes checked in the list cut this tube. When not checked, the list is kept but the tube is not cut.
  • Cut this tube with: check each tube that cuts this tube.
• The Cut column shows On: and the cutting tube numbers when cutting is active, Off: and the numbers when it is not, and nothing when the tube has no cutting tubes.
• While a cutting tube cuts an active target tube, the cutting tube is not shown. Only the holes it cuts are shown, unless it is the tube you are working on.
• Cut All - Off and Cut All with Cutting Tubes - ON in the menus of the assembly list and the viewport switch every target tube at once.
• Changes show at the next Redraw (F2), so you can set up several tubes before the cuts are made.
• VTube-STEP cuts both the bent and the unbent tube. VTube-LASER cuts the master model.
• Cuts in bends of the unbent tube can take some time. A progress window shows while the cuts are made, and its Escape button stops them.
• The Help button in the window explains how it works.

New: Autobuild Automatically Imports Coped Tube Ends

• Autobuild now finds tube ends that are coped (cut to fit against another tube) in STEP models.
• The coped end is built out to the long point of the cope.
• Each cope becomes its own straight assembly tube, named Cope Tube 1, Cope Tube 2, and so on, placed after the coped tube.
• The coped tube is set up as a target tube with its cope tubes in its cut list and cutting on, so the cope shows on the tube.
• This works with the Autobuild button and with batch STEP import.

New: Plane, Circle and Round Slot - Probe Measure Setup (VTube-LASER)

• The Plane, Circle and Round Slot ball probe measures each have a new Measure Setup window, like the Flange Measure Setup. Open it from the new Setup tab next to the Measure tab, or from the setup gear in the measure window.
• At Completion of Probing: load the Point Cloud Control to review the points and build the shape yourself, or build the shape automatically. The probe points are cleared when the automatic build succeeds.
• Check Show the Space Object Control to see the new shape when it is built.
• Link to Straight Number sets the tube straight the shape is linked to.
• The measure windows show the current setup while you measure.
• The setups are saved in the project file.

New: Automatic Ball Probe Compensation from the Probe Shank IJK (VTube-LASER)

• The Flange, Plane, Circle and Round Slot ball probe measures no longer need an extra point to show the probe direction.
• Every probed point is now a surface point. The IJK of the first point in each step tells which side the ball probe was on, so the ball radius is taken off on the correct side.
• Each guided step needs one point fewer. Plane, Circle and Round Slot steps need 3 points.
• If a step's points have no IJK, the build stops with a message.
• Metronor and Nikon arms now send the probe IJK with each point.

New: Help in the Ball Probe Windows (VTube-LASER)

• The Construct Tube, Flange, Plane, Circle and Round Slot ball probe windows have a new Help button under the setup gear. The Construct Tube help covers Leapfrog and Backup Mode.
• The Flange Measure Setup and Construct Tube Setup windows have a Help button, and their settings now scroll when the window is small.

New: Logging Tab in the Point Cloud Control (VTube-LASER)

• The Plane, Circle and Round Slot tabs of the Point Cloud Control have a new Logging tab. The builds show their log there instead of opening the log window.

New: Language Files and Report Templates Update Automatically

• When VTube starts, it now checks the language file and the report templates in the configuration folder against the ones installed with VTube.
• When the installed copy is newer, it replaces the configuration copy. Report templates that are missing from the configuration folder are copied in.
• Any file that a user edits yourself (newer than the installed copy) is kept.

New: File Version 0239

• Project files are now saved as file version 0239. This version saves the target tube cut setups and the Plane, Circle and Round Slot measure setups.

What's Fixed in VTube

Fixed: Centerline Points on Assembly Tubes

• Centerline points were shown only on the current assembly tube. They now show on every displayed assembly tube in VTube-STEP and VTube-LASER.

Fixed: Point Cloud Control Settings (VTube-LASER)

• The Flip the Normal Direction check box on the Plane tab had no effect on the Plane builds. It now works.
• On the Circle and Round Slot builds, the plane offset now follows a flipped normal, as it does for planes.
• The offset check boxes and values now keep their saved settings and match across the Plane, Circle and Round Slot tabs.

Fixed: Ball Probe Windows (VTube-LASER)

• The Plane ball probe window showed "Details Message" in place of the step details. It now shows the details.
• In the Construct Tube Setup, the Snap End B list no longer offers the Space Object that End A snaps to.

VTube 4.5 Build 1992 - November 3, 2026

What's New in VTube

New: Autobuild Imports Coils (VTube-STEP)

• Autobuild now builds coils from STEP models automatically.
• A coil is built the way prints usually show it: 90 degree bends next to each other at the coil radius, with the same small rotation between them.
• The coil is solved to end on the straight after it. The first bend, the last bend, and the rotation before the last bend take up any difference.
• A coil made of several surface patches is built as one coil.

New: Autobuild Imports Free-Form Tube Shapes (VTube-STEP)

• Autobuild now builds tube sections that are not bends of one radius, such as splines and coils that are not true helices.
• Autobuild follows the centerline of the section with arcs that meet tangent to each other. Each arc becomes a bend with its own radius.
• The arcs stay within the free-form centerline tolerance of the model's centerline (0.5 mm by default). Very small arcs are made into straights.
• No free-form bend turns more than the free-form maximum bend angle (135 degrees by default). A larger bend is made into two bends next to each other.
• Bends of one radius in the model are not changed and keep their angle.
• Models whose tube surfaces are split lengthwise into two halves are now supported.

New: Free-Form Sections Settings (VTube-STEP)

• System Options > Math Setup has a new Free-Form Sections tab with two settings:
  • Free-Form Centerline Tolerance: how close the arcs stay to the centerline. A smaller value gives more bends. The value is shown in the current length units.
  • Free-Form Maximum Bend Angle: the largest angle of one bend made from a free-form section.
• These settings are saved on the computer, not in project files.

New: Show Real-Time Probe Model in the Viewport (VTube-LASER)

• The viewport control menu has a new Show Probe Model check box that shows the probe model in the VTube-LASER viewport.

New: Path Manager Search Improved

• The search function has been improved significantly.
• The found row is shown in bold with a bright green frame.
• When no path matches, a notice shows at the top of the list for a few seconds.
• Press Enter again to find the next match. The search wraps to the top of the list.

What's Fixed in VTube

Fixed: Autobuild of Nearly Straight Bends

• A bend of only a few degrees could be read as a straight, which made the Autobuild fail. It is now built as a bend.

Fixed: Flange Measure with a Ball Probe (VTube-LASER)

• Stopping a flange measure now asks whether to delete the points collected so far.
• The flange measure window no longer opens when the arm is not connected.
• When the End 1 plane cannot be built, a message now says why.
• The End 1 plane could fail on thin flange faces. This is fixed.

Fixed: Construct Tube Prompts for Diameter or Radius When Either Are Zero (VTube-LASER)

• When the tube diameter or Radius 1 is zero, Construct Tube now asks whether to open Part Setup to enter it.

Fixed: DRO Window Position Moved to the Top of the VTube-LASER Window

• The DRO window now opens at the top of the VTube-LASER window in order to give better clearance to the buttons on top of the viewport.

VTube 4.5 Build 1991 - November 2, 2026

What's New in VTube

New: Default Tolerances Window

• The Default Tolerance cell in Part Setup now opens the new Default Tolerances window in both VTube-STEP and VTube-LASER. Click the cell, or select it and press Enter.
   
• All of the default tolerances are now in one grid, grouped by type:
  • Lengths: XYZ intersection points, tangent points (envelope), end length + and -, bender length (DBB), A-B length + and -, radius, bend profile envelope, bend profile in-plane, and bend profile perpendicular.
  • Angles: end angle, rotation, and bend angle.
  • Percentages: bend profile ovality, bend profile out-of-round, and out-of-round.
     
• Each group has a Set All row. Type one value there to fill every value in that group.
   
• The GDT Position OD row shows twice the tangent value.
   
• Changes are saved when you click OK. Cancel discards them.
   
• Check Also apply to the existing tolerances in this project to copy the new defaults over the tolerances already in the project. Leave it unchecked to use the new defaults only for new points, ends, and bends.
   
• The Default Tolerance cell in Part Setup now shows a summary of the defaults, for example "All 0.039" when the length defaults match.
   
• The Help button in the window explains how it works.
   
• The default tolerances are saved in the project file, so each project can have its own defaults.
   
• The question "The DEFAULT TOLERANCE just changed. Do you want to copy the new tolerance to the tolerances for every straight in this tube?" is no longer shown. Use the check box in the Default Tolerances window instead.

New: A-B Length Default Tolerances

• A-B length now has its own + and - default tolerances in the Default Tolerances window. Before, it used the tangent default tolerance.

New: File Version 0237

• Project files now save the A-B length default tolerances.

What's Fixed in VTube

Fixed: Tube Elongation Percentage Changed the Default Tolerance

• Changing the Tube Elongation Percentage in Part Setup also changed the default tolerance to the same number. This is fixed in VTube-STEP and VTube-LASER.

Fixed: Default End Angle and Bend Profile Tolerances

• When points or bends are added, or a model is imported, the end angle tolerances and the radius and bend profile tolerances of new bends now use the default tolerances. Before, they were set to fixed values.

Fixed: Default Tolerances for New XYZ and Tangent Points

• New XYZ intersection points now use the XYZ default tolerance. Before, they used the tangent default tolerance.
   
• New tangent points could be given 1 mm instead of the default tolerance. They now always use the default tolerance.

Fixed: Copying Default Bender Length, Rotation and Bend Angle Tolerances (VTube-LASER)

• Copying the default DBB, rotation or bend angle tolerance to the project could skip bends or cause an error. It now updates every bend.