VTube 4.5 Build 1990 - October 30, 2026

What's New in VTube

New: Flange Space Object - Pipe Spool Reverse Engineering and Qualification

• This was added in order to allow for easy pipe spool reverse engineering. 
• Flanges are now a single Flange space object instead of a set of tubes in the assembly. A flange can be measured, qualified and clocked as one part.
• The flange stores the flange diameter, thickness, center hole diameter, bolt circle diameter, bolt hole diameter and bolt hole count. Only the first bolt hole is measured. The other holes are placed from the bolt count.
• A flange sits at the A end or B end of a tube. Its clocking is calculated from the nearest bend plane: bend 1 at the A end, the last bend at the B end.
• Flange results include parallelism, seal face flatness, near-pass, squareness and clocking to the tube.
• Flange values are included in the HTML reports and in pass/fail.
• A normal arrow shows the direction the flange faces.

New: Flanges in Autobuild from Imported Model (VTube-STEP)

• Autobuild now finds flange solids with a bolt circle in STEP models. It leaves them out of the tube and adds a Flange space object at the nearest tube end.
• A message after Autobuild shows how many flanges were added. Weld neck flanges are not supported yet; they are reported and skipped.
• Batch STEP import also adds flanges and builds every tube in the model into the assembly. The results list shows the flange count.
• The Autobuild button is now named Autobuild from Imported Model.

New: Create a Flange from a Selected Solid (VTube-STEP)

• The new “FLANGE: From Selected Solid” window makes a flange space object from any solid you select, including flanges with no bolt holes.
• The window shows a test build of the flange before you create it.
• Options: flip the normal direction, and link the flange to a tube model at the A end or B end.

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

• A new Flange Measure Setup window sets up the whole flange build before you start probing: center hole, bolt holes, bolt count, A or B end, link to a tube model, and build a new flange or insert into an existing one (Nominal or Measured).
• Now, when probing is complete, VTube can create the flange automatically (the default) or open the Point Cloud Control to allow you to build it manually like on older versions.
• The new Import Setup from Existing Flange command fills the setup from a flange that is already in the project.
• The flange build setup is saved in VTube project files.

New: Construct Tube with a Ball Probe (VTube-LASER)

• The Construct process was changed to make reverse-engineering pipe spools with flanges easy.
• Build a tube by probing points along it with a ball probe. The centerline and tube are drawn live as you collect points, with a live probe preview.
• There is no fixed point count. Click Finish when you are done; the last point becomes End B.
• Step back one point, insert a point before the current point, or delete a point.
• End A and End B can snap to a prismatic space object: the end point to its center, and the end straight to its normal. End offsets can be added. This was added to allow users to constrain end lengths to snap to flange or hole ports.
• The Construct Tube with Ball Probe Setup window holds the snaps, end offsets and limits (minimum length between tangents, rotations and bends). You can also import a starting tube from the Measured, Master or Aligned model.
• The setup is saved in the VTube project files.
• In VTube-LASER Measure Process menu, the Construct Tube and Flange probe measure now has Measure and Setup tabs, allowing you to perform setup for Construct Tube without connecting to an arm. . The gear button opens the setup window.

New: Assembly Labels and Hide Labels

• Point labels and end labels now show on every displayed assembly part. (Previous versions only show the point labels in the current tube in the assembly.)
• Parts other than the current tube have gray labels.
• The Assembly Control grid menu has a new Hide Labels column to turn off the labels of each part.

New: Model Selection Highlight in the Assembly and Space Object Controls

• In VTube-STEP or VTube-LASER, clicking a tube in the Assembly Control grid, or a space object in the Space Object Control, briefly shows a pink box around the selected tube or space object. Now you can know which tube of you clicked on in the assembly grid by looking at the viewport. 
• In VTube-STEP Autobuild shows the same box around what it imported both tube and flange.
• When VTube-LASER and VTube-STEP are both open, a selection in the Assembly Control or Space Object Control now updates both windows. (This is useful for multi-display use of VTube.)

New: Space Object Improvements

• Right-click in the space object metrics grids to Copy Nominal to Measured or Copy Measured to Nominal.
• Invert copy selected (reversed IJK) makes a copy of a space object that faces the opposite direction. For example, use this to create a new inverted mate flange to any flange. 
• Transparency can be set in the parameters grid of every prismatic space object.

New: File Version 0236

• The project file version is now 0236. It stores the assembly Hide Labels, the Flange Measure Setup and the Construct Tube setup.

What's Fixed in VTube

Fixed: Unbent Rectangular Tube Lost its Profile Angle

• When every bend of a rectangular tube was unbent, the profile lost its alignment angle. It now keeps the same angle as the bent tube.

Fixed: Cloud Arm Flange Measurement Without a Ball

• The Cloud Arm flange measurement dropped a point when no ball probe was used, and the probe diameter was not always applied. Both are fixed.

Fixed: Space Object Undo and Parameter Edits

• Undo now restores a space object's transparency.
• Editing a cell in the space object parameters grid now changes the selected space object.

Fixed: Mouse Wheel Scrolling Everywhere

• The mouse wheel now scrolls all scroll boxes under the cursor in every window.  Previous versions would not allow for scroll boxes full of button lists to scroll. For example, the VTube-STEP import and export menus now allow for mouse wheel scrolling. 

Fixed: Model Export Window Buttons

• The Model Export window now shows only a single copy button for the window that opened it.
• Copy Model from VTube-LASER or Copy Model from VTube-STEP.

VTube 4.5 Build 1989 - October 23, 2026

What's New in VTube

New: Autobuild for Rectangular and Square Tube

• Autobuild now builds rectangular and square tube from imported STEP models, as well as round tube. It recognizes rectangular tube by itself, so you use the same Autobuild.
   

• The profile is filled in for you: Width 1 and Width 2, corner radius (or square corners), wall thickness, and the profile angle to the first bend.
• Works with bends back to back with no straight between them, tubes that start or end in a bend, and 180° bends and bends over 180° (built as split bends).
• Models with several rectangular tubes, or with round and rectangular tubes together, are built as an Assembly.
• Models exported from VTube come back with End A at the same end.

New: File Name in the STEP and IGES Export Message

• The "This STEP file export will take a moment..." message now shows the file being written, with its full path.

What's Fixed in VTube

Fixed: STEP and IGES Export with Zero-Length Straights

• Tubes with a zero-length straight, such as bends back to back, now export to STEP and IGES.

Fixed: Rectangular Tube Starting with a Bend

• A rectangular tube whose first straight has zero length is now drawn and exported square, not skewed.

Fixed: Autobuild of Round Tube with Split Bends

• Round tubes with split bends, or very short straights between bends, now build correctly.

Fixed: "Null" Point Labels

• Points with no label no longer show a "Null" label in the viewport.

VTube 4.5 Build 1988 - October 21, 2026

What's Fixed in VTube

Fixed: Bend Radius When Importing Alpine and CSM MBF Files

• VTube now reads the centerline radius from the DMD1 row in the [ToolsData] section of Alpine and CSM M4 and M5 MBF files.
• This radius is used for every bend in the part, and it fills Radius 1 in Part Setup.
• Roll bends still use the roll radius from the file.
• This applies to the Import window and to RECALL in the Bender Setup window.

VTube 4.5 Build 1987 - October 20, 2026

What's New in VTube

New: Autobuild Parametrics works on much more complex model types - not just "clean" tubes

• Imported End Forms: imported reduced or expanded ends, cones, flares, and beads are found and written into the End Form Setup (Calculated or Complex) for display in the tube models on the screen.
   
• Imported models with bends with no straight between them: imported bends that run straight into the next bend, and tubes that start or end with a bend, are now automatically imported.
   
• Imported bends of 180° or more: these are compressed to combined bends using the Split Bend feature automatically.
   
• Imported straights with cut ends or notches: straights cut at an angle or with a saddle cut where they met another tube, and straights with notches, are now detected and imported.
   
• Handles more model body combinations: models where every surface is a separate body, and bends split into halves, are now handled automatically.
   
• More intelligent tube diameter set: the tube diameter is now the diameter with the most straight length, so expanded ends and flares no longer change it.
   
• VTube command server changes: Autobuild requests from external programs through the VTube command server are now handled using the new Autobuild Parametrics algorithms.

New: Autobuild Parametrics now imports and separates multiple tubes in an imported model to a VTube assembly of tubes automatically

• When an imported model file holds more than one tube, VTube now automatically detects and separates the tubes using the Autobuild command. Each becomes a tube in the assembly, with -1, -2 … added to the part number.
   
• A model file with one tube builds as in previous versions.

New: “Convert coplanar adjacent bends to Split Bends" popup menu command in the LRA grids

• Any two bends in the same plane with almost no straight between them, up to 0.010" (0.25 mm), become one compressed bend in the LRA data.
   
• For straights that are longer between coplanar bends: VTube asks first before joining the bends, showing the straight's length and the larger radius needed to complete the operation. On Continue, both bends get that larger radius so the straight becomes zero. The XYZ points don't move.
   
• Where to find it: the LRA grid's right-click menu in VTube-STEP and VTube-LASER, and a button in the Split Bend Setup window.
   
• On model import: back-to-back bends of 90° or more in one plane become split bends automatically.

New: "Turn off all Split Bends" command in the popup menus for LRA grids

• Added to the LRA grid's right-click menu in VTube-STEP and VTube-LASER, and to the Split Bend Setup window.

What's Fixed in VTube

Fixed: STEP and IGES export with split bends

• Export no longer fails when the tube has zero-length straights.

Fixed: End forms at both ends of a straight tube

• Both end forms are now drawn. Before, the second one could be left off in some cases.

VTube 4.5 Build 1986 - October 19, 2026

What's New in VTube

New: Tube Bending Simulator in VTube-STEP

• A new Simulator button on the VTube-STEP window opens a 3D simulation of bending the current tube from its LRA data: feed, rotate, clamp close, bend, clamp open, and die and bend arm return.
   
• Controls: Step, Step Back, Play, Pause, and Reset, with Auto Repeat. Keyboard shortcuts (click the viewport first): Right / Left arrow = Step / Step Back, Space = Play / Pause, Esc = Pause, Alt + Left / Right arrow = Orbit.
   
• Choices: theoretical or springback adjusted LRA (springback adjusted bends form to the overbend and spring back as the clamp opens), and right or left hand bending.
   
• Bend head switch during a run: changing the bend hand during a run moves the carriage to the other bend head before the next bend. The tube then turns once, by that bend's rotation plus 180°, as on benders with both a left and a right hand bend arm.
   
• LRA Cycle Control grid: lists the L, R, A, Radius, and Hand of each bend, and highlights the current motion. R Long rotates that rotation the long way around. Hand sets the bend head for each bend: a bend on a different hand than the bend before it switches bend heads first, and its Hand cell is shown in green. Right-click the grid to set all bends, or the selected rows, to right or left hand. R Long and the bend hands are saved in the project file.
   
• Bender Setup window: bend die and clamp sizes, Drop-Away Clamp (with its own bend order), Separate Bend Die Return, Push Out after Last Bend, motion step sizes and play delay, and bender components (boxes or cylinders) that stay fixed or move with the bend arm, clamp die, or tube end B. Bender setup values are stored on each computer, not in the project file.
   
• Simulator Cut Length: sets the length of the tube loaded in the simulated bender. It does not change any other VTube length. The field accepts math, like other number fields. Copy Length From... copies in the Part Setup Cut Length, the Master Tube Length, or the Measured Tube Length. When the field is empty and there is tube data, the Simulator fills in the Master Tube Length. The Simulator Cut Length is saved in the project file.
   
• Too-short warning: if the Simulator Cut Length is shorter than the length needed to bend the tube, the Simulator warns before the first Step or Play of a run. Choose Bend Anyway or Cancel.
   
• Elongation: when elongation is on, each bend draws in less of the straight by its calculated elongation. Tube end B, and the components that follow it, end up farther back, as on a real bender. The too-short warning uses the same elongated length, and split bends are included.
   
• Chuck Depth, Unload, and Pause after the Auto Cycle Complete (Bender Setup window): Chuck Depth (Bend Tools tab, Carriage) moves the components that follow tube end B forward toward the die. It does not shorten the tube. Unload the Tube along X after Bending (Motion tab) moves the bent tube out of the bender by the Unload Distance, as the last motion of the run. Pause after the Auto Cycle Complete (Motion tab) waits before the next tube starts when Auto Repeat is on. The status line shows the pause, with a countdown for pauses over one second. These values are saved with the bender setup and shown in the Bender Simulation Setup Library.
   
• Export: Export to STEP and Export to IGES save the simulator viewport (the tube at its current step, the die, the clamp, and the displayed bender components) to a STEP or IGES file.
   
• Bender Simulation Setup Library: save, use, import, and export named bender setups.
   
• UAC: new Section Control options for entering the Simulator and for changing the Simulator bender setup.

New: VTube Project file version 0232

• Project files now save as file version 0232. To share a project with an older VTube version, use Save As with an older file type.

What's Fixed in VTube

Fixed: Project files saved as an older file version

• Build 1985 saved project files as file version 0228 and showed the "File Version Warning" when saving. Files now save in the current file version.

VTube 4.5 Build 1985 - October 16, 2026

What's New in VTube

New: Manual Elongation Adjustments per Bend

This grid allows users to manually adjust the elongation in each bend, effectively moving the drilled hole locations in unbent tubes slightly.

It also shows the calculated elongation used in the tube.  Manual adjustments work for all elongation formulas.

• The elongation setup window has a new Manual Adjustments tab. It lists every bend of the master tube with its Bend, Angle, Calc Elong, Adjustment, and Final Elong.
   
• Calc Elong is the elongation calculated from the active elongation type (Simple %, Multi %, or Interpolated) at the current bend angle.
   
• Enter a linear distance (inch or millimeter) in the Adjustment column. Values can be positive or negative. VTube adds the adjustment to the calculated elongation and shows the result in Final Elong.
   
• When any adjustment is not zero, VTube uses the Final Elong values everywhere elongation is used: cut length, LRA lengths, unbending, reports, and bender data.
   
• The adjustments are saved in the VTP file.
   
• Right-click the grid and choose Clear Adjustments to set every adjustment back to zero.
   
• The elongation row in Part Setup ends with - w/ Manual Adjustments when any adjustment is not zero.

VTube 4.5 Build 1984 - October 15, 2026

What's New in VTube

New: Add To Library for Interpolated Bend Elongation

• In the Interpolated tab of the elongation window, the new Add To Library button saves the current setup (its name and Angle / Elongation table) to the Interpolated Setup Library.
   

• If the library already has an entry with the same name, VTube asks whether to replace that entry or append a new one.
   
• The result is shown at the bottom of the window.

New: Change the Tube Straight of a Drill Bit Boss

• The Edit Drill Bit Boss Properties window now has a Tube Straight field that shows the straight the boss is assigned to.
   
• Change it and click Apply & Close to move the boss to that straight.

New: Warning when recalling without a Part Number

• If the bender requires a part number match and the Part Number is empty, Recall Bender Setup and Recall Bender to Master now warn before recalling, and you can continue or cancel.
  
   

VTube 4.5 Build 1983 - October 14, 2026

What's New in VTube

New: array_elongation_in_bend report token

• The new array_elongation_in_bend report token reports the elongation length removed from each bend's arc length, for every bend in the part.
   

• It works with the single elongation percentage, multi-elongation percentages, and interpolated bend elongation. The values report 0 when no elongation is set.

What's Fixed in VTube

Fixed: Lengths without elongation on split bends

• Split bends now include both halves when calculating lengths without elongation.
   
• This corrects the calclength..._without_elong report tokens and the calculated Cut Length for parts with split bends.

VTube 4.5 Build 1982 - October 13, 2026

What's New in VTube

New: SAVE Project First button in Clear Project

• When you clear a project that has unsaved changes, the Clear Project window now shows a SAVE Project First button alongside CONTINUE and Stop Clear. This window was added recently, but redesigned to make it's use more clear.  For example, the Save First checkbox was confusing and is removed. The new SAVE Project First button replaces that checkbox because it's meaning is much clearer to users.
   
• Press SAVE Project First to save your work and then clear, or CONTINUE to clear without saving.
  
  
  

  

  
   
• If there are no unsaved changes, only CONTINUE and Stop Clear are shown.
   
   

• This replaces the "save first" checkbox.

What's Fixed in VTube

Fixed: Some STEP files showed nothing after import

• Some STEP files showed an empty viewport in VTube, with no error. STEP models built by devDept Eyeshot components are one example. These files contain the solid model but leave out the part (product) information that VTube's STEP reader looks for.  (The files do not comply with the STEP specification - but VTube can now read them.)
   
• VTube now recognizes these files and repairs a copy automatically during import, so the tube model appears as expected. Your original file is not changed.
   
• If a STEP file still has no solid model that VTube can load (for example, a file with only curves or surfaces), VTube now tells you instead of showing an empty viewport. During STEP batch import, the file is reported as not loaded and the batch continues.

Fixed: Library windows did not show your language

• The End Form Library and Interpolated Bend Elongation Library windows now display in the language you selected for VTube. Before, these two windows stayed in English.

VTube 4.5 Build 1981 - October 12, 2026

What's New in VTube

New: Reference Tube for End Form Setup Library entries

Each End Form Setup Library entry can now remember the tube it was made for. This matters most for Complex End Forms, because a Complex profile is made for one tube diameter.

• The library Values grid has two new rows at the bottom: Reference Tube Diameter (0 = Current Part) and Reference Tube Wall (0 = Current Part).
   
• When an entry has a Reference Tube, the library uses it for the profile sketch, Convert to Complex profile, Calculate transition length using transition angle and the transition length shown for the entry. Before this build, the library always used the tube of the current part.
   
• When the Reference Tube is 0, the library uses the tube of the current part, as before.
   
• The library list shows the reference at the end of the summary, for example Ref 1.000.
   
• The Reference Tube belongs to the library only. A part's own End Forms always use the part's tube.

Add To Library fills in the Reference Tube

• Add To Library in End Form Setup now saves the current part's tube diameter and wall as the entry's Reference Tube, for new entries and for replaced entries.

New: Warning when copying a Complex End Form to a different tube

• When you copy a Complex library entry to an end with Get New Setup from End Form Setup Library, and the entry's Reference Tube Diameter is not the tube diameter of the part, VTube shows both diameters and asks before copying.
   
• Calculated entries are not checked, because they adapt to the tube of the part.

New: Set Missing Reference Tubes from Current Part

• Library entries made before this build have no Reference Tube. In the End Form Setup Library (System Options), right-click the library entries and choose Set Missing Reference Tubes from Current Part.
   
• VTube shows how many entries have no Reference Tube Diameter and the tube of the current part, and asks before changing them. Entries that already have a Reference Tube are not changed.

What's Fixed in VTube

Fixed: End Form Setup Library values grid showed the wrong rows

• After selecting a Complex entry and then a Calculated entry (or the other way around), the Values grid kept the row names of the first entry, so values appeared next to the wrong names. The Values grid now always shows the rows of the selected entry.

VTube 4.5 Build 1980 - October 11, 2026

What's New in VTube

New: Complex End Forms

Each End Form can now be Calculated or Complex.

• Calculated (the default) is the End Form from Build 1979: an End Diameter, a Straight Length and a transition cone back to the tube diameter.
   
• Complex describes the end with your own profile: a list of points, each with a Length from the end face of the tube and the outside Diameter at that length. Use it for flares, beads, and other shapes that a single cone cannot describe.

New: End Form Type in End Form Setup

• The first row of the End A and End B grids is now End Form Type. Choose Calculated or Complex from the list.
   
• With Calculated, the grid shows the same values as before.
   
• With Complex, the grid shows Name, Active, End Form Profile Data, End Wall and Cut Length Adjust Distance.
   
• Each type keeps its own values. Switching from Complex back to Calculated brings back the calculated values, and the other way around.
   
• The End Form Profile Data cell shows a summary such as 6 points, Length 1.500. Click it to open the Complex End Form Editor.

New: Complex End Form Editor

• Each row is one profile point: Length from End and Diameter, in the current linear units. Values can be typed as formulas or fractions, for example 1+1/2.
   
• Add, Insert, Up, Down and Delete manage the points. Undo reverses the last change made in the editor.
   
• Right-click the grid to Paste Points from Clipboard (two columns, Length and Diameter, for example copied from Excel) or to Clear All Points.
   
• A sketch below the grid shows a cut through the tube along its centerline: the end face, the outside profile, the wall and the start of the main tube. The selected point is highlighted.
   
• Click Close to keep the changes. In Part Setup, all the changes made in the editor can be undone in one step.

How the profile is used

• Lengths are measured from the end face of the tube going inward. End B is measured from the End B end face back toward End A.
   
• The tube model starts at the first point. Nothing is drawn between the end face and the first point's length.
   
• VTube joins the points in order with straight lines and revolves them around the tube centerline. Two points with the same diameter make a cylinder, different diameters make a cone, and two points at the same length make a flat shoulder.
   
• A point can have a shorter length than the point before it, so a form can turn back on itself.
   
• The main tube starts at the last point's length. If the last diameter is not the tube diameter, the model shows a step there. Each Complex End Form is made for one tube diameter.
   
• The wall thickness is the End Wall of the End Form, or the tube wall when End Wall is 0.
   
• The whole profile must fit on the end straight. If it does not fit, or the wall is thicker than the profile radius, that end is not drawn.

New: Convert to Complex profile

• Right-click a Calculated End Form grid and choose Convert to Complex profile. The end changes to Complex with profile points that match its calculated shape, ready to edit.
   
• If the end already has profile points, VTube asks before replacing them. The conversion can be undone.
   
• Calculate transition length using transition angle and Convert to Complex profile are only available for Calculated End Forms.
   
• Reset this End Form to default values returns the end to Calculated.

New: Add To Library buttons

• Next to each Get New Setup from End Form Setup Library button there is now an Add To Library button. It saves the current End A or End B setup, including its type and profile points, as a new library entry.
   
• If the library already has an entry with the same name, VTube asks whether to Replace that entry, Append a new entry, or Cancel.
   
• When User Access Control protects System Options, the elevation password is needed to add to the library.

End Form Setup Library

• Library entries can be Calculated or Complex. The Values grid changes rows with the End Form Type, and clicking End Form Profile Data opens the Complex End Form Editor.
   
• Convert to Complex profile is also in the Values grid's right-click menu.
   
• Copying an entry to an end copies its type and profile points.
   
• Library entries do not have a tube of their own. The sketch and conversions use the current part's tube diameter.

Part Setup

• A Complex End Form shows in the A-End Form and B-End Form cells as, for example:
  Reduction, Enabled, Complex, 6 points, Length 1.500
  Length is the farthest point from the end face.

New report tokens

New iteration sections A_END_FORM_PROFILE and B_END_FORM_PROFILE repeat once per profile point of that end. They print nothing when the end is Calculated. Inside them:

Example:

<vtube_iterate section=A_END_FORM_PROFILE>
<tr><td><vtube_val>array_index</vtube_val></td>
<td><vtube_val>array_end_form_complex_profile_distance</vtube_val></td>
<td><vtube_val>array_end_form_complex_profile_od</vtube_val></td></tr>
</vtube_iterate>

New project file version

• Projects saved in this build use a new VTP file version that stores the End Form Type and the profile points. Older builds cannot open these files.
   
• To send a project to a computer running an older build, use Save As and choose an earlier VTP version. Complex End Forms are not saved in earlier versions.
   
• Projects from earlier builds open with their End Forms set to Calculated.

VTube 4.5 Build 1979 - October 10, 2026

What's New in VTube

New: End Forms - reduced or expanded tube ends

Part Setup can now describe a reduced or expanded diameter at End A, End B or both. The tube model shows it as a straight section at the end diameter, then a cone (the transition) that changes back to the main tube diameter. The bent and unbent tube models both show End Forms.

• All End Form lengths are measured from the end face of the tube, going inward. End B is measured from the End B end face back toward End A. They are not measured from the bend tangent points.
   
• End Forms only change the shape of the tube model. They do not change the centerline, the bend data or the Cut Length.

New: A-End Form and B-End Form in Part Setup

• The A-End Diameter and B-End Diameter rows in the Part Setup grid are now A-End Form and B-End Form. They keep their place in the grid.
   
• Click either cell to open the End Form Setup window. The cell can't be typed into. It shows a summary of that end, for example:
  Reduction, Enabled, OD 0.600, Straight 1.500, Angle 45.0, Transition 0.354, Adjust 0.000

New: End Form Setup window

The window has one grid for End A and one for End B. Each grid has these values:

• Name: a name for the end form. It is shown in the Part Setup grid.
   
• Active: turns the end form on or off for that end.
   
• End Diameter: the outside diameter at the end of the tube.
   
• End Wall: the wall thickness at the end. Enter 0 to use the tube wall.
   
• Straight Length: the length of the straight section at the end diameter.
   
• Transition Defined By: choose Angle or Distance from the list.
  • Angle (the default): enter the Transition Angle. VTube calculates the Transition Length from the difference between the tube diameter and the end diameter, and updates it automatically when either diameter changes.
  • Distance: enter the Transition Length directly. It does not change when a diameter changes.
  • The value that is not used is gray and can't be edited.
• Transition Angle: the angle in degrees between the tube centerline and the cone wall. It must be greater than 0 and less than 90. The default is 45.
   
• Transition Length: the length of the cone.
   
• Cut Length Adjust Distance: a distance added to the calculated cut length to give Cut Length Before End Forms (see below). It can be negative. It does not change the tube model.

Values can be typed as formulas or fractions (for example 1+1/2), the same as in Part Setup. Changes can be undone. The M / I button switches between millimeters and inches, and the help button explains each value.

Right-click either grid for these commands:

• Calculate transition length using transition angle: enter an angle. With Angle, it sets the Transition Angle. With Distance, it calculates and sets the Transition Length for the current tube diameter.
   
• Reset this End Form to default values: turns that end off, clears the name and the values, and sets the transition back to Angle at 45 degrees.

New: End Form Setup Library

Save the End Forms you use most and copy them into any part.

• To edit the library: go to System Options > Global Level Lists > Edit End Form Setup Library. Use the Add, Insert, Up, Down and Delete buttons (or right-click the list) to manage the entries, and edit the selected entry in the Values grid. The Values grid has the same values, Angle/Distance choice and right-click commands as End Form Setup. Changes are saved straight away.
   
• Import Library and Export Library share a library between computers. When you import, you can replace the library or add to it.
   
• To use the library: in End Form Setup, click Get New Setup from End Form Setup Library above the End A or End B grid. Select an entry and click TO End Form Setup, or double-click the entry. It is copied to that end and turned on. You can undo it.
   
• For entries set to Angle, the Transition Length shown in the library is calculated with the current part's tube diameter. When the entry is copied to a part, the length is calculated from that part's tube diameter.

New: Cut Length Before End Forms

• A new Cut Length Before End Forms row in Part Setup shows the Cut Length plus the Cut Length Adjust Distance of both End Forms. Use it when the tube is cut to length before the ends are formed.
   
• VTube updates it whenever it calculates the cut length automatically. The Cut Length itself is not changed.
   
• If you have saved your own Part Setup grid order, the new row is added at the bottom of the grid. Use the Part Setup Value Order Control to move it.

New report tokens

• cut_length_before_end_forms: the Cut Length Before End Forms value.
   
• End Form values for each end. Start the token with a_end_form_ for End A or b_end_form_ for End B, for example a_end_form_transition_angle or b_end_form_end_diameter.

New project file version

• Projects saved in Build 1979 use a new VTP file version that stores the End Forms. Older builds can't open these files.
   
• To send a project to a computer running an older build, use Save As and choose an earlier VTP version. End Forms are not saved in earlier versions.

What's Fixed in VTube

Fixed: End length and end angle tolerances edited in Measure Control are kept

• Edits to the end length (+/-) and end angle tolerances in the Measure Control end inspection grid could go back to their old values later, when the part was reloaded. The edited values are now kept.

Fixed: Revolve Components on straights that point along -Z

• A Revolve Component on a straight that points straight along the -Z axis was drawn facing the wrong way. It is now drawn in the correct direction.

VTube 4.5 Build 1978 - October 8, 2026

New report tokens

New Color-coded measured LRA values tokens

• array_lmeas_passfail,
  array_rmeas_passfail,
  array_rmeas_cwpos_passfail and array_ameas_passfail
  
  are now color coded based on the Pass/Fail test and they print the same values as
  
  array_lmeas,
  array_rmeas,
  array_rmeas_cwpos and array_ameas.
   
• Each value is colored by whether that length, rotation or angle is in tolerance, using the same check as the array_LRAdeviation_Loot / Root / Aoot tokens. array_ameas_passfail also accepts an index offset (for example array_ameas_passfail,1), the same as array_ameas.
   
• The original tokens are unchanged, so existing templates print the same as before.

New Overall length after the hypothetical end trim tokens

• tube_length_measured_after_trim, tube_length_delta_after_trim
• ab_length_measured_after_trim, ab_length_delta_after_trim
• AB-LenTrimmedOOT: the out-of-tolerance amount for the AB length after the trim, formatted the same way as AB-LenOOT

New Axis spans tokens

• x-span-delta, y-span-delta, z-span-delta
• x/y/z-span-aligned-after-trim and x/y/z-span-delta-after-trim
• These match the values in the Overall Lengths grid.

New Bender setup plus damped adjustments tokens

• array_lbender_plus_adjustments_damping, array_rbender_plus_adjustments_damping, array_abender_plus_adjustments_damping
• These are used by the Inspection Report with Bender template.

New Space Objects Tokens

• array_SpaceObject_Metrics_Name now works, the same as array_SpaceObject_Metrics_NamesList. The Space Objects report template uses it.

Fixes

• Corrected token spellings: array_aligned_straight_Zintercept_x/y, array_radiusqualification_bendprofile_measure_type and array_radiusqualification_bendprofile_measured_yes_no are now accepted.
  
  The old misspelled names still work, so existing templates don’t need changes.

VTube 4.5 Build 1977 - October 7, 2026

What's New in VTube

New: Clear Project window

Clearing a project now opens a Clear Project window instead of a simple Continue/Stop question. You'll see it when you press Clear Project in the VTube-STEP window or VTube-LASER window to load this new Clear Project window.

The window has these options:

• CHECKBOX: Save the current project changes first.
  If VTube finds unsaved changes, this box is available and checked, and the project is saved before it's cleared. If there are no unsaved changes, the box is grayed out. If the save doesn't finish (for example, you cancel the Save As window), the project is not cleared.
   
• CHECKBOX: Use the selected project clear template.
  Check this box and pick a template from the list to start the new project from that template instead of the standard project default. The list shows the project default files saved in your VTube configuration folder. If you check the box without picking a template, VTube asks you to choose one or uncheck the box.
   
• BUTTON: Clear Project clears the project with the options you picked.
   
• BUTTON: Cancel Clear closes the window and leaves the current project as it is.

What's Fixed in VTube

Fixed: End labels and point labels no longer overlap in the viewports on the tube models

• With both End Labels (F8) and Point Labels (F9) turned on, the labels at each tube end used to sit on top of each other. The End A and End B labels now move out past the point labels so both are readable. This works in the main VTube window and in Measure Control, for the master, measured, best-fit and unbent tubes, and the labels stay apart as you rotate, pan and zoom. With Point Labels off, End Labels appear in their usual place.

VTube 4.5 Build 1976 - October 5, 2026

New features

STEP Model Batch Import

• A new STEP Automatic Import button on the VTube-STEP Import panel opens a batch import window. It converts a list of STEP files into VTube projects in one run.
• Add as many STEP files as you need. You can remove selected files or clear the whole list.
• You can pick a custom project default state to apply to every converted project.
• Convert Now clears to the default state for each file, imports it, runs cylindrical Autobuild and saves <part>.vtp to the destination folder you chose. If a project with that name already exists, it is overwritten. Progress and results show in the window.
• Stop Converting ends the batch after the current file finishes.

Building Bender Channels from STEP Batch Import (VTube-LASER and VTube-LASER Programmer only)

• You can assign each converted project to a bender channel.
• Choose Clear, Insert at top or Append.
• Existing channel assignments are kept, and the channel list grows if more channels are needed.
• Each channel's Bender Project Control button shows a picture of the part and its part number by default.

Bender Project Control channel details

• New panel in System Options > Benders > All Benders: "What to include in Bender Project Control Channel Details." Use it to choose which lines each channel shows and to put them in order with the Up and Down buttons:
  • Part Number
  • Bender Number
  • Last Measure Date/Time, shown as "Measured" plus the date and time, or "Not yet measured"
  • Pass/Fail State
• Part Number and Bender Number are on by default. Your choices are saved with your settings.
• The last measurement date/time and pass/fail result are now recorded automatically for the channel the project was opened from, each time a measurement alignment completes. If you attach a different project to a channel, its measurement details are cleared.

Improvements - System Options

• Maximum bender channels raised from 100 to 9999.
• In earlier builds, saving System Options cut channel lists longer than 100 back down to 100.
• The channel count boxes now use a larger font to fit the bigger numbers to make them easier to read.
• When you change the channel count in System Options, Bender Project Control now updates straight away. (Before, you had to reopen the Benderlink grid or restart VTube.)

Bug fixes

• Project save: with "Always delete imported model before project save" turned on, Save reported success but did not write the project file. Projects now save correctly in this mode.
• Bender Project Control:
  • Lowering the channel count no longer leaves old channel details on screen.
  • A channel added while the list was scrolled is no longer drawn in the wrong place on top of another channel.
  • Channel details no longer repeat each time the window opens, so search no longer finds duplicates.
  • A channel with no project no longer shows the previous project's picture.
  • Clearing a channel's project now shows the correct bender for that channel.

VTube 4.5 Build 1975 - October 1, 2026

1 - UI CHANGES - Added New Edit Buttons to Interpolated Bend Elongation Library

• New grid buttons for Library Entries: Add, Insert, Delete, Up and Down buttons now appear above the Library Entries grid.
• New grid buttons for Data points: the same buttons appear above the Angle / Elongation Data points grid.
• Reorder entries and data points: use Up and Down to move the selected row. The row stays selected after the move, and the library is saved automatically.
• Right-click menus: Move Up and Move Down have been added to the right-click menus of both grids.
• The grid buttons only appear when the library is opened for editing. They are hidden when the library is opened to select an entry for the part setup.

2 - UI CHANGES - Added New Edit Buttons to Valid Tube and Pipe Size Selection Table

• New grid buttons: Add, Insert, Delete, Up and Down buttons now appear above the table.
• Reorder rows: use Up and Down to move the selected row. The row stays selected after the move.
• Right-click menu: Move Up and Move Down have been added to the right-click menu.
• The grid buttons only appear when the table is opened for editing. They are hidden when the table is opened to select a size for the part setup.
• Fixed: the delete confirmation message now refers to the tube and pipe size table. Before, it mentioned the material table by mistake.

3 - UI CHANGES - Added Graphic Images to Edit Buttons in Interpolated Elongation Setup

• Icons have been added to the Add, Insert, Delete, Up, Down and Undo buttons for the interpolated elongation grid.
• An icon has been added to the Get New Setup from Interpolated Setup Library button.

4 - UI FIX in Grid Menu Display Control

• Fixed: Reset to Default can now be cancelled. The default column order only takes effect when you click Apply or OK. Clicking Cancel keeps your previous column layout.

See also Updates for September 2026