What will Acrobat 8 bring to Acrobat 3D?
Adobe has announced Acrobat 3D 8. The obvious big feature that makes all the news is real-time 3D communication using Acrobat Connect, essentially Flash-based screen sharing & conferencing for the masses (based on Macromedia’s Breeze). This will be of benefit to 3D users as much as if not more than for other applications. There is also PDF packages, shared review, conversion of DWG files to PDF without AutoCAD and general performance enhancements.
But there are other features that are specific to Acrobat 3D V8 that are worth more than a footnote in a press release! Here is a quick rundown - the top 4 being the PMI view, export to STEP, smaller files (and thus easier file sharing) and enhanced overall performance:
- View PMI* in the assembly tree
Directly view detailed product manufacturing information (PMI) in the assembly tree while simultaneously viewing the 3D geometry and metadata.*Product manufacturing information is used to convey information such as geometric dimensioning and tolerancing, annotations, dimensions, and other specifications directly on the 3D model. It is imported from CATIA V5, I-DEAS, UGS NX, Pro/ENGINEER and JT formats.
- Export to standard 3D formats such as STEP and IGES
Export precise manufacturing data from PDF files into standard 3D formats, such as STEP, IGES, and Parasolid for use in CAM and CAE applications. - Produce smaller 3D PDF files
Acrobat 3D v8 will publish highly compressed, high-resolution PDF files to accelerate the distribution and exchange of 3D designs. It will include support for TTF’s PRC format, which will dramatically shrink the size of the resulting PDF files (up to 100x smaller than the original CAD file, according to Adobe). The product continues to support the U3D format, and its compression has been improved also (files reportedly up to 3x smaller than produced by the current version). - Open and View PDF documents faster
Improved reading performance allows you to open and view PDF files containing 3D designs more rapidly. - Convert from CAD to PDF more quickly
The enhanced conversion engine accelerates rendering of CAD to PDF. - Faster rendering for large assemblies
Improved rendering performance enables smoother and more rapid interaction with 3D designs, including large assemblies. - Updated support for popular CAD formats
Support for the latest versions of formats for standard CAD applications, such as SolidWorks, CATIA, UGS, and Pro/ENGINEER. - Enhanced navigation tools
Improved navigation tools to more rapidly zoom, pan, rotate, and analyze 3D designs. - All the basic features of Acrobat 8 Professional
Use all the features of Acrobat 8 Professional to create, combine, and control PDF documents for easy, more secure distribution, collaboration, and data collection.
Acrobat 3D v8 remains targeted primarily at MCAD users, with conversion support for SolidWorks, CATIA V4 and V5, UGS NX and Pro/ENGINEER files. However, it can also be used by AEC professionals or 3D modelers who need to communicate and share 3D designs.
