Communicate in 3D

Author: Jess Maertterer

First a bit about me: I started in 1980 as a toolmaker and learned industrial manufacturing from the ground up. I worked with CAD and CAM from its early days, then studied Industrial Design. Since 1990 I run my own company with clients that include Mercedes, Villeroy & Boch, Nokia, Ferrero, Fuksas, and Frank Gehry. One unique aspect about my company is that we deliver designs ready for production.

Developing a good design is mostly a problem of communication. You cannot discuss or decide anything if you are not sure that everyone is looking at the same thing. I have successfully used Acrobat 7 to communicate design solutions and let authorized people sign the reviews. My principal CAD application is Rhino3D, but many of my clients and partners use CATIA and SolidWorks. Translating the files has always been a significant problem. It costs time, a lot of money and inevitably leads to many errors.

For example right now I’m working on another architectural project for Frank Gehry. I’m doing the construction design of all complex curved metal parts and I have to ensure that everything can be built exactly the way I’ve designed it. As you can imagine there is lot of potential conflict with all involved parties. Here you can see a previous project: http://www.rhino3.de/design/modeling/developable/architecture/ (click the images for bigger pictures).

Previously we have never been able to make a viewable file that includes all components. The process of creating image files for reviews required a tremendous amount of work and usually forced a big loss of information. However, using Acrobat 3D 8 Preview, I have imported the entire CATIA 250 MB assembly and ended up with a 5 MB 3D PDF file that I can even navigate with my notebook. Unbelievable - I mean this is something I would not even have dreamed possible.

When I export the 3D data to STEP I get perfect solids, no naked edges, clean surfaces and trims. Even the object attributes are still there. Over the years I worked with many (pretty expensive) file converters, but none comes close to the quality Acrobat 8 produces. So it looks like Adobe made a good investment by acquiring TTF. Acrobat is worth the money if it is just used as 3D file converter, but don’t hesitate - actually this is just a very tiny spot of the whole Acrobat universe.

Congratulations! Acrobat successfully made the shift from 2D to 3D.

My wish list of what Acrobat 3D still needs:

I think you have a rough picture of my very positive experience with Acrobat 3D 8. There are also some multimedia projects where we are experimenting with Acrobat but for now I’ll focus on the PRC / 3D aspect.

When we are working on big CAD/Design projects we always make a “Master Model”. This model contains everything from the project. We use Rhino 3D for the master model because it has a robust NURBS kernel and is the most flexible modeller for the price. It can handle 2D and 3D and has a wide range of supported file formats for import and export.

I would like to see Acrobat 3D fill the role as the host for the Master Model. PRC already has the core potential to do that. To be able to be a Master Model and fit the workflow of our 3D project management it needs:

Optionally link (not embed) various 3D files / formats.
Update changed files (Version Cue functionality)
Export selected / visible objects only
Export to separated files (original assembly structure)
PRC Support for Rhinoceros 3DM format

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!

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.

1. 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”)
2. 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?)
3. 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.
4. 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
5. 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
6. 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.