BricsCAD V27: Faster drafting, stronger performance, more connected workflows

Octave BricsCAD V27 is here, with a strong focus on CAD users’ day-to-day work. This latest release delivers faster 2D drafting, improved performance on complex drawings, broader support for the data teams work with, and practical updates for mechanical, BIM, and survey workflows.

V27 builds on direct user feedback, with improvements designed to reduce time spent waiting, clicking through repetitive tasks, repairing drawings, and moving data between applications.

Across this release, the focus is on making everyday CAD work faster and easier without requiring users to change how they work.

Faster, more familiar 2D drafting

For general design and drafting, BricsCAD V27 prioritizes performance. Updates to the 2D constraint solver deliver nearly 70% better performance under certain conditions when working with large, constraint-heavy drawings. Drawing Health also receives a significant update. It now runs in the background when a file is opened, identifies potential problems, and can recommend a Smart Repair routine. 

In testing, Drawing Health reduced one sample drawing from more than 10 MB to just over 3 MB by identifying and removing unnecessary or problematic data.

V27 also targets smaller interactions that accumulate over a day of drafting. Quick Dimension now works across more drawing scenarios, including blocks, paper space, and view-based operations. Users can change dimension styles and layers without leaving the command, reducing the number of clicks required to dimension large drawings by up to 75%. 

BricsCAD Pro also expands the types of design data users can work with directly. STEP, IGES, and FBX import are now included in BricsCAD Pro at no additional cost, making it easier to exchange common CAD data with customers, suppliers, and partners without another translation step.

BricsCAD Assist brings help into the workflow

BricsCAD Assist continues to evolve in V27 as an integrated, AI-driven advisor. Instead of pausing to search documentation or leaving the drawing to learn how a command or workflow works, users can ask BricsCAD Assist directly. Throughout V27, that guidance connects users with relevant commands, settings, import options, and next steps, all within the BricsCAD environment. The goal is to make answers easier to find without changing how users design. 

More complete mechanical workflows from design to production

BricsCAD V27 also expands the Mechanical toolset, with improvements to interoperability, sheet metal, and manufacturing documentation. Mechanical CAD translation capabilities are now included in the Mechanical toolset, making it easier to bring supplier and MCAD data into BricsCAD and continue working with them without a separate translation workflow.

Once that data is in BricsCAD, the new Sheet Metal Health panel makes repair more interactive, helping users identify and address model issues directly.

Documentation gets attention, too. Power Dimension can now create common chamfer representations as a single object, including C-note and distance-by-angle options.

Together, these updates create a smoother path from external design data to production-ready drawings and keep the workflow intact.

Faster BIM data exchange and better project context

For BIM teams, BricsCAD V27 focuses on moving project data into BricsCAD more reliably and keeping that information useful once it arrives. IFC import has been reworked for large and complex models, with a staged import process, greater control over how geometry is imported, and improved handling of files with minor errors.

V27 can also use geolocation information contained in IFC data to position models on shared project coordinates automatically, reducing the manual work needed to align incoming project assets.

Support for Autodesk^® Navisworks^® files brings another common coordination workflow directly into BricsCAD. NWD, NWC, and NWF files can be imported, allowing teams to bring coordinated project context into the DWG environment without manually rebuilding it.

Data management becomes easier as well. Property information can now be created or updated in bulk from Excel or CSV files, while BIM and Mechanical blocks inserted from the CAD library retain their description and classification data.

A shorter path from survey data to finished drawings

BricsCAD V27 continues to expand the land surveying capabilities available in BricsCAD Pro, with improvements spanning reality capture, terrain analysis, and final drafting. Large point cloud datasets can now be reduced by up to 80%, making them lighter and easier to work with. Point clouds can also be converted directly to mesh data for use in downstream design and engineering workflows.

For earthworks and terrain workflows, new Section Volumes capabilities help users calculate material quantities directly from survey and design data.

One of the most repetitive parts of the field-to-office workflow receives a significant update. Auto Mapping, introduced for survey points in V26, now extends to linework. Survey codes can automatically generate CAD geometry from field data. In testing, Survey entity mapping tasks that previously took hours were reduced to less than a minute. That means a shorter path from captured data to a ready-to-use drawing.

Built around the way users work

The individual updates in BricsCAD V27 span different tools and industries, with the consistent goal of removing friction from the work users do on a regular basis.

It means faster drawings, fewer repetitive clicks, easier access to the data teams receive from customers and suppliers, more reliable ways to move from design information to finished documentation, and in-context help when users need it.

V27 brings those improvements together in a familiar DWG-based environment, giving teams the flexibility to start with the capabilities they need today and expand into more specialized workflows as their needs evolve.

Octave BricsCAD V27 is available now. Explore what’s new and download the latest release.