Communicate in 3D

I’ve got a confession to make. At home my primary work machine is an iMac. And I am very happily running Acrobat 3D 8 Preview using both Bootcamp and Parallels under Win XP.

It is definitely a cool thing. For standard models that don’t absolutely need hardware acceleration for manipulation, performance under Parallels is very good. When I need to do something that mandates hardware acceleration or if I need to use 3D capture to bring in model formats that are not natively supported in Acrobat 3D 8, I switch to BootCamp (This enables me to use the built in OpenGL hardware needed for the 3D Capture application).

Why is this great? Beyond all of the industrial designers, 3D modelers, CAD developers and architects that primarily use a Mac, there are a huge number of technical writers/illustrators that are only Mac users. Since a Mac version of Acrobat 3D 8 has not been announced, the BootCamp or Parallel options makes the 3D PDF creation and editing technology available to an important audience.

As an aside, it also offers Mac users a very powerful CAD translator, letting them bring in almost any CAD or modeling file format and convert it to STEP, IGES, Parasolid or VRML.

I been tooling around in Acrobat 3D 8 Preview, delighting in the import support for all of the major CAD formats (see list below), and the very tiny file sizes of saved documents (60 MB models reduced to less than half MB PDFs). A while ago, I tried out the new IGES export functionality. Of course I didn’t read any documentation, so I fumbled around a bit until I figured out the process. I thought I would share my own confusions along with my “oh - that makes sense” moment.

In my first test, I opened a CATIA v5 model directly into Acrobat 3D 8. Flawless. I then went to the File –> Export menu, but was dismayed to see there was no option to export as IGES or any other 3D format for that matter. I was confused. Did I need to use Acrobat 3D Toolkit for export? That didn’t make sense because then how could a 3D PDF be used for actual production (i.e. CAM and CAE)?

Then I noticed that the listed export options all appeared to be related to the PDF document as a whole and not to the model I had in mind. That was my first “ah-ha” moment. I didn’t want to export the PDF as a whole to IGES (which might contain supporting cost spreadsheets, annotations, etc as well as multiple models). I wanted to export a specific embedded model. (Seems obvious now in hindsight). So again rather than read any documentation, I right clicked on the model itself. Low and behold - an Export option (IGES, STEP, Parasolid and VRML). Flawless.

I did some more experimenting with different ways of converting and importing the same CATIA v5 model. If I imported the model in U3D format rather than PRC format, my export option was gone. Instead I had an option only to edit in the 3D Toolkit. That one I quickly figured out. PRC supports B-rep (exact model information) which can be used for manufacturing so IGES/STEP export makes sense. U3D is a tesselated model, so no export to IGES/STEP. More experimenting brought more understanding and a greater appreciation for the complexity of what Acrobat 3D 8 is trying to tackle.

All in all, the whole IGES/STEP export option is pretty interesting. There already are dedicated CAD programs that do this data translation and most CAD shops already own one of these. So why would anyone use this feature in a 3D PDF? Although I am not an expert in 3D translation, to me the answer is very clear. The same document that contains supporting information (costs, notes, drawings, interactive 3D mockups), can be used for manufacturing (assuming you know to right click on the model! and you have the security authorization). It means communication stays consistent within and between organizations. That will improve efficiency and productivity, as well as reduce confusion. It will take time for CAD engineers to become confident enough to use Acrobat 3D as an adjunct to or replacement for their current CAD translation solution. But the the ability to share CAD data throughout the enterprise - and the breaking down of barriers between engineering, suppliers, marketing, and management, is compelling.

Everyone and their mother is talking about the newly announced Photoshop CS3 Extended - the big news being how it will add a new set of capabilities for integration of 3D graphics (e.g. See arstechnica for an example.)

So exactly what are these 3D capabilities and how do they relate to Acrobat 3D?

The official Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extended website doesn’t offer too much detail (i.e. “Easily render and incorporate rich 3D content into your 2D composites—even edit existing textures on 3D models directly within Photoshop Extended and immediately see the results. Photoshop Extended supports common 3D interchange formats, including 3DS, OBJ, U3D, KMZ, and COLLADA, so you can import, view, and interact with most 3D models.”) So all we know from this is that U3D (an Acrobat 3D format) will be supported for importing into Photoshop to be able to create paintable composites - interesting certainly, especially if all you care about is rendering out still image composites.

But from a few early “First Look” articles we know a bit more (e.g. First Look: Photoshop CS3 Extended) Specifically we know that you can import in a U3D model, edit the textures using the familiar tools in Photoshop, and then save the textures back to the U3D model. In other words, you can use Photoshop CS3 Extended as your real-time 3D texture editor for your Acrobat 3D models. Now this is cool and very significant.

The Acrobat 3D toolkit lets you import textures and apply them to models, but you can do very little to actually manipulate the textures on the model. With Photoshop CS3 Extended, texture editing becomes a simple and integrated part of your Acrobat 3D workflow. Nice!

But I don’t think that is really all there is. As I was looking at the screen shots for 3D texture editing and 3D object manipulation in Photoshop, it struck me how similar the interface looked to Acrobat 3D with the same basic object manipulation tools, similar lighting options, cross sectioning, etc. In fact it looks a lot like the Acrobat 3D engine. I am speculating at this point, but my guess is that they are based on the same technology and that once Photoshop CS3 Extended is actually released, we will see additional support for some of the new features in Acrobat 3D 8 (such as the near-universal file format compatibility, high performance engine, and perhaps even some sort of file interchange).

You will get a very complete and very smooth workflow efficiency for Acrobat 3D and 3D PDF that you can’t get with any of the other CAD Data Visualization products (e.g. Autodesk DWF or e-drawings). This is going to remove one of the serious barriers that has been holding the CAD visualization market back.

The time is nearing when we can expect the release of Acrobat 3D 8 and I’m getting excited. Acrobat 8 Professional offers some great new features, but my interest is CAD and 3D, and Acrobat 3D v8 promises to delivers some gangbuster enhancements that will entail a giant step for the industry.

Everyone will have their own favorite feature, but to me one of the most interesting and significant change will be the inclusion of the high compression, geometry-preserving, high performance CAD format - PRC.

PRC (acquired in the purchase of the 3D file translation company TTF) will be supported in the 1.7 PDF format and will completely change Acrobat 3D in terms of performance & manipulation, format support, files sizes, editing and use in manufacturing. (Note: full details about PRC integration have not been released yet by Adobe. What I am writing about is based on the information I could find out there on the web - but that is enough to get me salivating. Hopefully nothing is too far off the mark.)

So what will PRC bring?:

Superior File Size Compression:
PRC will dramatically shrink file sizes (up to 100x smaller than the original CAD file). PRC compresses both geometrical and tessellated parts, so you can get great compression without any loss of data.
I have no idea how it actually achieves this, but the result is that you can:

• Compress files in seconds.
• Easily transfer light files through Internet, even low bandwidth. (Which means real time collaboration is fully possible.)
• Access compressed files fast

Enhanced Performance
Details are sketchy on this part, but everything I’ve read says that PRC performance, manipulation and display (refresh, frame rate, memory management etc..) is very strong.

Enhanced Format Support:
TTF was made famous from its translation technology libraries for CAD, CAE (computer-aided engineering), CAM (computer-aided manufacturing) and MVP (mock-up, visualization and 3D publishing) . So while there might be a dearth of U3D translators out there, translation to the PRC format will be enabled from all the major CAD-related and 3D formats. (these same libraries are actually used in many current market leading CAD/3D products).
Note 1: Adobe recently released an update to Acrobat 3D v7 which includes a bunch of new and enhanced import formats
Note 2: Acrobat 3D 8 will continue to support the U3D format, and its compression will be improved (files reportedly up to 3x smaller than produced by the current version).

PMI Data Support:
PRC can import and display Product Manufacturing Information (dimensions, tolerances, notes, etc). (See earlier blog why this is important)

Now all of the above-mentioned good stuff is just for starters.

High compression, enhanced performance, better format support and PMI are very compelling. But Acrobat 3D v8 PRC support has a few more tricks up its sleeve that will make it a strategic format for any CAD or modeling company and the future standard format for CAD collaboration.

PRC handles exact geometries and can be used for manufacturing including STEP export
With a PRC model and permissions enabled, a user is able to manipulate, make accurate cross sections, export to other CAD systems, investigate the features, look at the history tree, and extract the design intent because PRC objects are exactly the same as they are in their native environment.

This exactness means that the data in the 3D model can actually be used directly in manufacturing. So 3D PDF is not just for markup (although it it great for that). It is also a format for production.

With Acrobat 3D 8, data from PDF files can be exported in STEP, IGES and Parasolid formats for use directly in CAM and CAE applications. The same file for review and comments, or use in marketing, can also be used for actual production.
Export to STEP also brings 3D PDF to a host of existing engineering and manufacturing applications.

3D PDF using PRC opens the door to “enhanced” sharing - more than just viewing
Right now there are several standards in the CAD industry for sharing design data: eDrawings, AutoCAD DWF, JT, 3DXML and of course, Acrobat 3D PDF. But these are all intended for a “look but don’t touch” form of sharing. You can share the model for review, markup and commenting, but the format is not for editing. This works well when all you need is comments. But what do you do when you want to share a document with someone with the authority to make changes but they aren’t at a computer with one of the very expensive copies of your CAD software. They are limited to red-lining.

But with Acrobat 3D v8 you are exporting the actual design data (remember the exact geometries mentioned above that enable 3D PDF to be used for manufacturing). If a user publishes the 3D PDF and turns on the ability to export data, that 3D PDF is not simply a model for review and markup, but an actual editable model. Collaborators should be able to edit the model data in Acrobat 3D Toolkit or their own low cost CAD software, and return it back to the original 3D CAD software in a fully iterative design process. A little unusual to think of Adobe as a revolutionary company - but this is pretty revolutionary stuff.

As I noted above, all of this is based on the public information out there about the PRC format. I expect Adobe will have a few interesting tricks up its sleeve when Acrobat 3D v8 is actually released, that will make PRC even more interesting. For now, I just want in on the beta program!

In a previous article, Is the blueprint obsolete?, I wrote about PDF and annotation as the 3D digital blueprint of the future. A large part of what I was referring to was the ability of Acrobat 3D to include Product Manufacturing Information (PMI) along with the “traditional” 3D geometries.

So I want to talk more about PMI: what is it, and why it is so important.

Short Version: PMI is all of the information required by a manufactuers to actually build a product. This includes data such as geometric dimensioning and tolerancing, 3D annotation (text) and dimensions, surface finish/roughness, and material specifications. This is sometimes also referred to as “design intent” or “3D Model Based Definition”

Most of the major CAD softwares provide tools for annotating parts with PMI, associating the information to edges and faces. The problem has been how to share this information downstream with suppliers and manufactuers. The engineers with the CAD software, can access all of this critical data. But how do you smoothly transfer this information to suppliers and others outside engineering so they complete and accurate manufacturing specifications? In other words, how do we provide the equivalent of a 2D blueprint in portable 3D digital form?

This is where Acrobat 3D v8 comes in. Acrobat 3D v8 will extract PMI from the major CAD formats (JT and CATIA) and include it along with the model view in the 3D PDF. Since the Acrobat Reader is free, and cross-platform, this offers a a cost effective, low risk way to deploy PMI throughout the entire supply chain.

Add in the ease of collaboration through commenting and Connect, and you are going to see a revolution in efficiencies.

As a big of a deal as PMI in Acrobat 3D is going to be (and it will be big!), I think an even bigger deal is going to be the PRC file format supported in Acrobat 3D 8. More on that in a future post.

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.

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.

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:

1. 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.

2. 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.
3. 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).
4. Open and View PDF documents faster
   Improved reading performance allows you to open and view PDF files containing 3D designs more rapidly.
5. Convert from CAD to PDF more quickly
   The enhanced conversion engine accelerates rendering of CAD to PDF.
6. Faster rendering for large assemblies
   Improved rendering performance enables smoother and more rapid interaction with 3D designs, including large assemblies.
7. 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.
8. Enhanced navigation tools
   Improved navigation tools to more rapidly zoom, pan, rotate, and analyze 3D designs.
9. 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.