Is the blueprint obsolete?
With the ubiquity of 3D CAD and industrial design software, it is the rule rather than the exception that new products are designed and validated in 3D and then only later converted to a 2D blueprint.
Besides simply being more intuitive, 3D makes it possible to quickly and easily perform stress analysis, check interference and tolerances, perform motion simulations, and even tool path generation for milling.
A blueprint is generally still required thought as a simple and inexpensive way to mass distribute dimensions and design tolerance to everyone in the manufacturing chain. It is also considered the “long-term data storage” format required so that a product can be manufactured over the course of the product life cycle. This blueprint remains valid even if the company that makes the 3D CAD software goes out of business. You can always read the blueprint even if you can no longer read the 3D model!
However when the design originates in 3D, a blueprint as the sole or even primary means of communication seems kind of weak. First, software or humans need to convert the 3D to 2D blueprints. This is not a trivial task, and can certainly be the source of manufacturing errors. More importantly, the design intent is often lost. A flat 2D representation gives little clue as to how a 3D product actually works or moves.
It goes without saying that Acrobat 3D can come to the rescue of the 2D Blueprint.
- You can annotate tolerance information needed to manufacture the model, directly on the 3D model. So with Acrobat 3D, your dimension and tolerance information can be built right into the 3D model itself (see this example”)
- PDF is a long term format that will last long beyond any individual CAD software company. So it has the longevity just like a blueprint (just how long are DVDs now supposed to last?)
- You can include the blueprint (the 2D representation) in the same PDF along with the 3D model. So you don’t actually have to abandon the blueprint. You can just make sure that the 3D intent information accompanies the blueprint.
- Unlike a hardcopy blueprint, using Acrobat 3D, you can comment and query directly on the 3D model - in other words, anyone in the manufacturing chain can be enabled to give feedback and obtain clarifications, BEFORE a model actually goes into production
- Blueprints are difficult to understand! They require taking 2D information and in your head, manipulating it into a 3D representation. With annotated CAD models in Acrobat 3D, that “internal” 3D visualization step is now external. Anyone can understand the 3D model and see the critical annotations without actually having impressive mental 3D abilities
- For manufacturing purposes you can export your 3D model in the vendor neutral STEP format and attach this to the PDF (not really a blueprint issue - but one that companies need to consider - always save your data in a format that can live beyond your software vendor.) Also note: STEP export will be included in Acrobat 3D 8.
Obviously the blueprint has not outlived its useful. But a blueprint is just a vehicle for communication. Acrobat 3D is also essentially just a vehicle for communication and collaboration. It can take the best features from a blueprint and make them more accessible and more understandable, all at lower costs and faster.
