Release notes | GC-CAD

v0.5.1 October 21, 2026

# GCmaker 0.5.1 - 2026-10-21 (UTC) ### Completed - Fixed newly added miter and other end conditions missing from the design tree. - Linear Nest > Select Parts shows file names so files sharing a part number can be distinguished. - Save Strategy As can replace an existing strategy from an edited toolpath, open its folder, and immediately apply the saved version. New saves refuse duplicate names of the same type; canned replacements require Developer Mode. - Applying an angle plasma strategy preserves the operation's selected Machine Orientation. Picking, preview, animation and supported fixed-setup output follow the loaded part. - Corrected stretched lead and guide lines when previewing plasma toolpaths in a rotated Machine Orientation, including manually added edges without modifiers. ### In progress - Operator verification of the end-condition tree refresh and Select Parts file-name display. - Operator verification of strategy replacement and Save/Replace and Apply. - Operator verification of the loaded-angle preview correction; Bob confirmed orientation preservation. Non-Base rotary plasma, Auto Probe, machine-frame torch poses and native arcs rotated out of XY remain unsupported.

v0.5.0 October 19, 2026

# GCmaker 0.5.0 - 2026-10-19 (UTC) ### Completed - Sketch length dimensions support stacked display units. Entering a measurement such as 16 mm in an inch part shows both units; right-click a dimension and choose Display Units to select its units. Sketch Properties controls default units, decimal places and trailing zeros, with Preferences supplying defaults for new sketches. Feet display as feet and inches. Smart Dimension can place a selected line's length by clicking empty space. - Double-click GCmaker documents in File Explorer to open them in GCmaker, including the copy already running. Installation and updates register the supported document types for the current Windows user. - Plasma Strategies now organizes strategies into user-named categories, with drag-to-reorder/move, category creation and editing, and a category choice when saving a strategy. Rename, Delete and Create User Copy are available through the right-click menu. - Shape Library adds Gear Rack, Cone / Reducer Pattern and Slotted Shim, plus structural cross-section patterns for I-Beam, C-Channel, Angle, rectangular/square tube, Pipe and Polygon Tube. Create Part can use XY, XZ or YZ; Insert into Sketch uses the active sketch plane. - Fixed the Mark Operation Editor crash caused by its source grids receiving unlimited layout height. Plasma operation toolpath columns now leave more space for names, with fixed widths for Type, Suppress and THC. - Apply Strategy restores the arrow-plus picking cursor if the viewport replaces it while selecting another edge. - The Drill operation now has a refresh button beside Tool Settings. Click it to select newly added drills without reopening the operation; refresh preserves current operation settings. - Existing visible marks and text remain visible in very light blue when editing a modeling sketch. Use Project Geometry to capture individual mark edges, points or text strokes as fixed sketch references for hole alignment. Lines, arcs and circles retain their geometry; leaving the sketch restores the source overlays' normal colors. - The Mark editor now remembers Near End / Far End when accepted, and animation uses that saved choice. Far End no longer returns to Near End when the editor reopens. - The Mark panel now labels its selector Marking order and offers Manual order, Start at near end, Start at far end, and Shortest travel. Near/Far follows the editor's lengthwise optimization while keeping complete text items together. From origin outward is replaced by Start at near end, including saved selections. - Animator G-code line numbers remain fully visible in a compact gutter that expands only when longer programs need more digits. - Mark is now the single manufacturing operation for drawn marks and text. Select and order both together in the Mark Operation Editor. Existing Text operations convert to Mark with their selected labels, tool settings and setup references preserved; text remains editable as a design feature. The Mark panel saves space by placing Orientation beside Name and both machine-feed post options on one row. The Mark editor adds double arrows to add/remove all sources, is 120 pixels wider, and places OK/Cancel beside Optimize. New installations default Mark Edge Guard on at 0.3 inches (7.62 mm); saved preferences and existing operations retain their settings. - End Conditions now groups Left, Right and NC1 Driven. Open the NC1 filename to see each original AK once; selecting or editing it controls its cuts at both ends. Manual end conditions remain under Left/Right, and physical-end Normalize/bevel settings still apply to imported geometry. Show Cut Solid beside Simplify hides or shows the gold cutting-solid overlay; the grid has more clearance above it. - Apply Strategy shows numbered first/last edge-and-face steps and any required modifier-edge picks, with current-step highlighting and completion checks. The editor's Geometry Selections lists just these required picks, with matching numbered instructions you can edit and save. The plasma operation's library button is labeled Strategies. - Closed-profile Apply Strategy now shows directions and the saved description. Select one or several cutouts, or all openings on a planar face, before Apply; selecting the same openings again no longer duplicates them. - The plasma operation toolbar replaces the Up/Down arrows and Add Command button with a Command / Move selector and Add. Move adds editable rapid X/Y/Z positioning between toolpaths, with absolute or relative coordinates and the torch off. - Auto Probe now saves one Y location for the operation. Use the larger Choose Y-axis location button, drag the full-width green witness bar along Y using either connected blue arrow, and right-click to return to X/Z settings. The bar runs parallel to X at Z0. A green check confirms selection, and Activate requires a chosen location. Escape or Cancel preserves the previous settings. - Plasma operation Play runs Auto Probe even before cutting toolpaths are added. With toolpaths present, probing runs first. - Fixed Animator G-code errors caused by parentheses in toolpath section descriptions. Generated JD2 section descriptions and comments use `<` and `>` for inner parentheses; saved names and cutting motion are unchanged. - Entire Toolpath Midpoint shortens to halfway along the complete contour, crossing segments as needed. The setting survives reopening and strategy reuse; Selected Segment Midpoint still uses the picked segment. - Apply an open-profile strategy by picking its first and last edges and faces; connecting edges fill automatically regardless of the original edge count. Pick any interior modifier segments from the completed path afterward. Existing saved strategies use this workflow without resaving. - Save as Strategy retains open-profile Trim / Lengthen distances and selected-segment adjustments, including Midpoint, and applies them to newly picked edges with unit conversion. - Feed offers Entire Toolpath or Selected Segment, with a position measured from either end and original-path segment picking. Whole-toolpath feed changes preserve arcs and restore speed at the chosen position. - Height Transition offers Entire Toolpath or Selected Segments, with independent Start/End positions, distances from either end, and original-path segment picking. - Transition tilt offers Entire Toolpath or Selected Segments. Entire Toolpath uses Start/End distances from either end without picking segments. - Tilt Start/End Pick temporarily shows the complete source toolpath so segments hidden by trimming or a tilt transition can be selected. Picking or canceling restores the modified preview. - Intentionally shortening a toolpath no longer turns valid source rows yellow; connection warnings still identify real gaps in the remaining path. - Trim / Lengthen offers Entire Toolpath or Selected Segment independently for Start and End, with a segment field and Pick button. Shorten, Lengthen and Midpoint use the chosen scope; selected lines and arcs can extend beyond their endpoints while preserving the original source rows. - Entire Toolpath Lengthen can be selected at either end, including when the other end is shortened to a selected segment's midpoint. - Invalid projected-edge midpoint requests now report the problem and preserve the previous distance. - The Toolpath Modifiers window is 140 pixels narrower and 80 pixels taller, with compact adjustment controls and a clearer projected-edge heading. - Enter commits a modifier detail field and advances to the next control, following the same order as Tab. ### In progress - Operator confirmation remains open for the new sketch dimension display controls. File Explorer opening needs verification with an installed build; Debug builds passed. - Operator confirmation remains open for strategy categories, the restored Apply Strategy cursor and the new Shape Library generators, structural patterns and plane choices. Bob accepted the strategy editor's matching Apply steps. - Three catalog HSS10X2 sizes (1/8, 3/16 and 1/4 inch) have an invalid corner radius and are refused with an explanation. Correcting the catalog data remains deferred. - Operator confirmation remains open for the Drill panel's tool-list refresh button. - Bob accepted the pale-blue marks/text display while sketching. Operator confirmation remains open for projecting those references for hole alignment. - Operator confirmation remains open for the Mark editor's Far End persistence fix. - Bob accepted the consolidated Mark workflow on the channel example. Confirmation remains open for the compact panel and editor follow-ups; their focused checks and Debug builds passed, including 12 checks for source transfer and editor layout. - The NC1 panel and Simplify presentation are accepted. Operator confirmation remains open for linked AK editing and the new Show Cut Solid control. Focused source, editing, geometry and native-panel checks and the Debug build passed. - Operator confirmation remains open for the latest closed-profile multiple-opening selection, rapid Move entries, Auto Probe location/playback changes, and generated-comment correction. Their focused automated checks and Debug builds have passed. - Whole-operation plasma strategies remain deferred; their controls remain hidden. - Operator acceptance testing continues for the expanded assembly/railing and sketch workflows, and linear nesting auto-tooling and posted-program playback. - Linear auto-tooling does not yet support holes in an angle's vertical leg. Rotary-end corner-offset failures remain under investigation for three of four HSS tube test parts. - Image Trace follow-up testing remains open for stray dots and a pause when finishing large traced sketches. The earlier keyhole-slot Extend report remains unconfirmed. - The earlier missing Apply Strategy preview report did not reproduce in current native-window checks; confirmation in the originally affected workflow remains open.

v0.4.6 October 15, 2026

# GCmaker 0.4.6 - 2026-10-15 (UTC) ### Completed - Added reusable open- and closed-profile plasma toolpath strategies, with Save as Strategy, Copy and Add, editable user copies, thickness-based corner settings and static Apply previews. The supplied angle strategy now consistently prompts for Top first, then Front. - Added Height Transition modifiers and renamed Extra Moves to Start/End Moves. Height corrections continue through end tilts and end moves. - Corrected closed-profile Start Move execution, preserved slot arcs and their direction, and removed redundant automatic parks between consecutive plasma toolpaths. Setup rows now identify each operation and toolpath by name. - Preserved probe touch-off corrections through edge starts and added a 0.5-inch default search allowance under Torch Probe Distance. - Improved open-profile line/arc connections, projected torch orientation and repair of unresolved source edges. Corrected corner-transition timing and endpoint moves. - Toolpath previews draw feed moves on the metal surface. From Start / From End modifiers measure from the adjusted endpoint after Trim/Lengthen. - Separated Rotate Part and Torch Vertical controls for plasma holes. - Added a safe chuck return to work B0 before stationary holes that follow rotating cuts. - Improved marking order and playback, clearance travel between marks, and marker orientation after plasma tilt. Corrected Animator workpiece visibility and collision-warning updates. - Clarified the A, B and C axis labels, added minimum/maximum tilt limits on A and C including negative values, and consolidated duplicate tool-model choices while preserving saved selections. - Expanded sketch editing with grouped imports, nested groups, Align/Distribute, Scale to Size, unit-aware dimensions and shop sizes such as 6-1/2 inches and 3 feet 6 inches. Improved selection and dragging, Fillet/Chamfer size entry and Circular Pattern starting angles. Added text spacing, fit-width and curve-position controls. - Added pipe/cone wrap sketches with seam previews, and Image Trace with adjustable picture placement and automatic tracing into lines and arcs. - Expanded the Shape Library with fabrication and artistic shapes, gears and sprockets, plus sign corner treatments, optional mounting holes and exterior fillets. - Added text placement on planes or faces, moving existing text to another face, mirror controls, and moving selected Mark/Text targets between operations. - Improved NC1 pipe-end and channel import, notch geometry and readable lettering. Added part-wide AK-outline Simplify selection, Suppress All / Unsuppress All per end, and suppressed-cutter previews. Unwrap NC1 displays a developed pipe's flat layout beside the pipe. - Imported STEP pipes with shaped ends become Pipe parts with Imported end conditions. - Added linear-job Process commands, Use Part Tooling, Refresh Part, and Job Setup controls for machine, program origin, Rotate Part and chuck axis. - Expanded assembly creation and editing with shared sketches, linked subassembly insertion, file drops, editable tree properties and clearer selection controls. Added building openings and sketch-driven railings with individual post profiles and connections. - Simplified Home and Sketching menus, added assemblies to Recent Files, and preserved the camera when selecting manufacturing setups. - Added Help > Releases and a link to gc-cad.com. ### In progress - Whole-operation plasma strategies are deferred. Their selector and Use/Save controls are hidden; single-toolpath strategies remain available. - Operator acceptance testing continues for the expanded assembly/railing and sketch workflows, and linear nesting auto-tooling and posted-program playback. - Linear auto-tooling does not yet support holes in an angle's vertical leg. Rotary-end corner-offset failures remain under investigation for three of four HSS tube test parts. - Image Trace follow-up testing remains open for stray dots and a pause when finishing large traced sketches. The earlier keyhole-slot Extend report remains unconfirmed. - The earlier missing Apply Strategy preview report did not reproduce in current native-window checks; confirmation in the originally affected workflow remains open.