Download: this guide as a PDF (for printing or reading offline).

The LightWorks Plug-in adds the LightWorks photorealistic rendering engine to TurboCAD, together with its library of LightWorks materials, luminances (lights) and environments (backgrounds, skies, HDR images).

1. Check you can run it

• TurboCAD 2026 64-bit (2026.1, build 33.0.65.1 or later), Platinum, Professional or Deluxe edition.
• This plug-in is for TurboCAD 2026 only. Earlier TurboCAD versions need their own LightWorks plug-in.
• About 1 GB of free disk space (the material, texture and environment library is large).

2. Install

1. Close TurboCAD. If you installed this plug-in before, uninstall it first in Windows Settings ▸ Apps ▸ Installed apps (your license stays activated).
2. Right-click the installer (LightWorks_TurboCAD_2026_r2.exe) ▸ Run as administrator.
3. Pick the installer language and accept the licence agreement.
4. The installer finds your TurboCAD 2026 folder for you. If you have more than one TurboCAD installed, choose TurboCAD 2026 in the list.
5. Enter your licence key when asked. It is one line of five groups, for example LWPEN-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX. Copy and paste it from your order email. You need to be online for this step.
6. Click Finish. The readme opens; you can close it.

Upgrading from the 2025 plug-in? Your upgrade key works with the current installer, LightWorks_TurboCAD_2026_r2.exe. If an installer you downloaded earlier says the key is invalid, download the installer again from your order link.

3. Turn it on in TurboCAD

1. Start TurboCAD. The plug-in loads automatically. There is no separate program and no desktop icon.
2. Go to View ▸ Camera ▸ Camera Properties. The pages for each rendering mode are listed on the left.
3. Set the render modes to the recommended LightWorks settings:

All LightWorks materials, luminances and environments now appear in the Properties dialogs, the Palettes and the Render Manager.

4. Your first LightWorks render

1. Open a 3D drawing, or draw a simple solid (a box on a slab) in a 3D view.
2. Open the Materials palette with Tools ▸ Palettes ▸ Materials. Set the palette’s render-engine filter to LW to see only LightWorks materials, then drag a material (for example a brick or wood) onto the solid.
3. Lighting and backgrounds are optional. Keep the default lighting, or open Options ▸ Render Manager to pick a LightWorks luminance. For the background, use Options ▸ Environments ▸ Edit drawing environment.
4. Choose View ▸ Visual Styles ▸ Quality Render. The view renders with Raytrace Full.
5. To save the image, choose File ▸ Save As, set Save as type to BMP or JPG, click Setup and tick Use Render. The saved image shows the render on screen.

Large scenes and Raytrace Full can take a while. Use View ▸ Visual Styles ▸ Draft Render while you set up the scene and switch to Quality Render for the final image.

5. If something goes wrong

6. Help

• TurboCAD User Guide, Rendering chapter, and TurboCAD Copilot inside TurboCAD.
• Forum: https://forums.turbocad.com
• Support: [email protected]