Communicate in 3D

One often overlooked use for Acrobat 3D is to create Virtual Training Manuals. Acrobat 3D-based virtual training enables manufacturing companies to combine their existing 3D CAD and PLM data with their operating and procedural manuals to produce interactive 3D simulations (Virtual Manuals).

We have a few examples in the gallery (e.g. how to assemble a wheel brake). But I think the potential for using existing CAD data to create virtual training manuals is enormous.

Acrobat 3D Toolkit lets you create basic exploded views and animations. These can be scripted to be controlled by Javascripts and text or graphic buttons in Acrobat 3D or Acrobat Professional. So you can create interactive demonstrations of how to assemble/disassemble a product,or how to perform basic maintenance on a products, etc. And of course because you are using PDF, you can combine the 3D simulations with complete text instructions and even the schematics or traditional maintenance manuals. As PDF they can be distributed on CD or over the web.

Just what can you do with virtual manuals and why would a manufacturing company be interested? Let’s explore several ideas:

• Repurposing 3D CAD data for interactive training manuals means customers receive improved support and documentation If someone can learn how to assemble, clean, or adjust a product without having to place a phone call to tech support, then you have achieved a significant operating cost savings. Customer self sufficiency reduces the need for direct support. Paper manuals help, but they can’t be rotated or manipulated so that the user can see what is going on from their own viewpoint.
• A maintenance operator can use an Acrobat 3D interactive document to repeatedly go through the steps to perform tasks in simulated environment prior to manipulating real equipment. A 3D simulation (assembling, repair, maintenance, etc.) can easily explain technical instructions that are difficult to articulate in words. For example, a task described as “carefully insert” may actually translate to a sequence of movements that insert an ink cartridge into a small opening and requiring a small tilt at the end. A 3D PDF virtual training manual can show these steps that would otherwise be difficult to explain in words.
• Animated 3D PDFs that show assembly or disassembly are easy to create! You use the CAD data you already own. You create basic animations using keyframes in Acrobat 3D Toolkit, you can add buttons and Javascript control in Acrobat 3D. Try doing this with any other 3D authoring system and then combining it all together in a document that can be read on any platform.
• 3D PDF Virtual Training Manuals can be delivered on-demand to the workplace anywhere in the world via the internet. While this is also true of text PDFs, text manuals have to be translated and available in the specific language of the receiver (i.e. Japanese, French, English, Korean). 3D PDFs on the other hand, have the advantage of being visual and thus understandable any where is the world.

With training being an enormous cost center in a company, 3D PDF Virtual Training Manuals can go a long way to improving the bottom line.

If you’ve looked at Acrobat 3D at all, you know it is unbelivably cool. But how do you learn how to use it? It is definitely a sophisticated product for the professional CAD and Industrial Design user.

We have a bunch of tutorials posted on the Acrobat 3D Users site which can help.

Recently however, three new Flash tutorials have appeared which go a long way to getting you going. The tutorials cover the basics of the interface and creating technical illustrations, how to optimize CAD files, and importantly, the basics for animation for virtual training.

Normally I don’t have the patience to set through Adobe tutorials - too much marketing trying to convince me about the business proposition. But these three tutorials are focused and are actually content rich.

Check them out:

1. How to access the many features available in the Acrobat 3D Toolkit and set up the right environment to simulate your technical illustration process
2. How to optimize CAD file imports for maximum performance, use polygon reduction, and edit and create materials.
3. How to create exploded views or keyframe-based animations for assembly and disassembly instructions

Combine this with the Acrobat 3D 30-day trial, and 3D PDF becomes very accessible.

I receive Google Alert emails on a variety of topics. Whenever Google finds new news or announcements about topics that interest me, I receive an email. Lately I’ve noticed the quantity of Google Alert emails has risen significantly.

What’s the reason for the jump? It seems there is a fast growing number of companies announcing 3D PDF support in their products (existing or future) and many firms are using Acrobat 3D to produce content for public distribution. 3D PDF seems to be the format that everyone wants to support.

Here’s just a sampling of the news I have received:

Lots of Adobe-related news written up in various CAD and Manfucturing web site: Adobe is focused on the professional CAD market. Acrobat 3D Toolkit gives you enormous levels of control over professional 3D models - it geared for professional who are familiar with high end CAD tools. Acrobat 3D 8 (at least according to the rumor mills) will even better handle this market including adding in support for PMI, export to STEP, the PRC format, and faster rendering for large assemblies.

News from other CAD companies: With the exception of a very few number of companies (e.g. Autodesk), CAD companies are starting to incorporate 3D PDF as an export option from their own applications.

Basic consumer 3D modeling packages (like Strata3D) are simply looking for a universal way to let people share their creations - no special viewers required.

Marketing product companies like Kaon are using 3D PDF to present product information. Or companies with a serious product are rendering to 3D PDF for virtual prototypes (e.g. DiMora)

Everyday consumers are using 3D PDFs to show off anything they do in 3D (such as Make Magazine and their potato shooting spud gun).

3D PDF is obviously fulfilling several needs - from the sharing of professional data for collaboration, to the simple conveying of 3D information in a format that is universally accessible. What is most interesting is the rate at which companies are rushing to support 3D PDF. Looks like there is a bit of a pent up demand for this kind of solution! I expect my Google Alerts will continue to increase in number as more companies support or use 3D PDFs.

It has almost become accepted common knowledge that marketing departments should be able to take advantage of engineering data for sales and promotion. The same CAD data that was used to develop a car, can be repurposed as 2D renderings for the sales brochure.

But what about using that engineering data to gauge interest in a product before it is even manufactured?

Boeing did something like this for their 767 commercial aircraft. Potential customers (airlines), could evaluate the 767 using photorealistic renderings before the plane was even built. This provided a combination of market research and sales promotion. It was considered a stroke of genius back in its day.

But can we take this a step further: what about using the actual 3D, not converted to static renderings for brochures, but as an interactive 3D models. Could you use an interactive 3D PDF as a way to evaluate customer enthusiasm for a product or even get a feel for specific features that a customer might want - all before the product is even built?

The idea of using 3D virtual prototypes to test market a product is not new. What is new however is that 3D PDF makes it possible and easy for a very large audience to evaluate the “concept” product. No limited test groups with just the right 3D viewer software running on the right PC platform. The Acrobat reader is free and ubiquitous. So your sample audience can be anyone on the internet in markets anywhere in the world (i.e. a large and diverse sample size). Moreover, with Acrobat 3D tools and simple Javascripts, you can build a sophisticated prototype evaluation interactive 3D without hiring a team of programmers.

What got me thinking about this is our latest case study on the very cool DiMora Natalia SLS 2 sportscar.

DiMora Motorcar is creating the world’s first hand-built, $2 million, sixteen-cylinder production automobile: the Natalia SLS 2 sport luxury sedan. DeMora decided to use their professional engineering drawings, converted to a photorealistic Acrobat 3D PDF, to showcase the world’s most luxurious, expensive, and technologically-advanced sportscar. In addition to creating market awareness, they are using the 3D PDF to gauge enthusiasm and interest in the car. They are test marketing the product using a 3D PDF!

DiMora is actually going a bit further and using consumers to help them in the final design and feature set of the car. They are taking advantage of crowd sourcing - the trend that allows customers to help design the products they buy.

Where DiMora stands out, and where Acrobat 3D can really make an amazing impact is with consumers or companies pre-evaluating new products and designs using 3D PDFs.

• The evaluations are using the actual 3D engineering data so they are as close to real as possible. This makes a big difference in terms of the validity factor.
• PDF makes the “concept” model available to anyone with a computer (and a 3D accelerated graphics board). This gives 3D almost the equivalent ubiquity as printed material.
• Acrobat 3D and related 3D PDF creation tools, make it possible to create sophisticated interfaces without significant programming skill (this is in contrast to 3D technologies like VRML)
• With form capabilities in Acrobat Reader 8, you have a built-in feedback mechanism
• You could even do Acrobat 8 Connect sessions for live feedback or simply use the built in commenting features
• And don’t forget the impact on market awareness. An interactive 3D PDF is simply cool and compelling. It is just a matter of time before some clever company gets the idea of distributing 3D PDFs on inexpensive USB flash drives. Instead of receiving your Mini Cooper promotional box with brochures and Mini paper cut outs, you will get a basic (and reusable) Flash drive with a 3D PDF of a Mini Cooper which you can “test drive”.

The possibilities on this are rather endless.