Acrobat 3D Corner

CASE STUDY

Designbrand

A simplified review process between industrial designers and their clients makes the most of limited budgets

Challenge

Designbrand is one of New Zealand's leading product design firms, working with a wide variety of local and international clients on projects ranging from small submarines to innovative equipment that simplifies feeding farm animals.

Traditional paper processes for exchanging and reviewing designs were proving costly and made it difficult for clients and outside development partners to understand all design components. 2D designs on paper sent to four people, could easily be interpreted in 4 different ways.

Distributing documents on paper also increased delays as staff produced materials and shipped them across town or halfway around the world. Designers could then wait days or even a week or longer for reviewers' comments to be returned. The resulting delays increased project costs and slowed product time-to-market.

Designbrand was seeking a solution for a simplified review process.

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Solution

Designbrand creates 3D product designs using Rhinoceros 3D modeling software and then converts to PDF using Acrobat 3D, enabling the firm to collaborate on designs by sharing the native CAD files.

Using Acrobat 3D Designbrand clients and partners can rotate designs to gain a 360-degree view of designs. Reviewers can measure design details, cut cross sections of an assembly, and add digital notes and edits directly to areas of concern. The result is more reliable and timely reviewer feedback that reduces design errors and frees Designbrand staff to spend more time refining design details and less time on administration and clearing up.

In some cases the 3D PDF can even eliminate the need to manufacture intermediate prototype models because the digital 3D designs clearly communicate everything. These efficiencies improve design processes and help us to shorten the time-to-market for new products.

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