Hot sell! Microsoft software wholesale!PDF Adobe Acrobat 3D Version 8

On paper the new release of Acobat 3D certainly does look very impressive, really solving some perennial nasty thorns in our industry head on. PRC files can be anything from 150x to 1,000x smaller than the CAD original file. The mature translators of TTF now inside Acrobat mean that PDF will be very useful in Automotive and Aerospace firms and associated supply chains. Adobe has also introduced some PLM-like data capture with this release to aid the formats integration into enterprise systems, raising the possibility of PDF being an archival format for enterprise engineering information. Inclusion of PMI data is obviously a big improvement on the last release and the new translation capability to neutral standards will hopefully stabilise our industrys somewhat roving standards.

During my briefing, Adobe was keen to point out that PDF can be a single format used across a complete industry, playing a role in design, collaboration, interoperability, planning, tech publications, catalogues, data sheets, field service and spare parts management. Of course Acrobat 3D also gives you the feature set of Acrobat V8 Professional which was released late last year, including the Adobe Connect collaboration service (for an additional monthly fee).

While the new Acrobat PDF has been beefed up on its file capabilities, the interface has also seen some subtle but useful enhancements. The previous version shipped with a Toolbox utility product that was licensed from Right Hemisphere which provided a product to prep and animate U3D files for inclusion in PDFs. I understand this product hasnt changed significantly and still only supports U3D models. Models captured as PRC have to be converted to tessellated U3D, for this kind of post processing.

One of the key new features is the inclusion of PMI (Product Manufacturing Information, such as tolerances) in the PDF display. These are now included in the conversion, making Acrobat 3D an interesting option for the shop floor - especially now it can work well with Catia, Pro/E and NX data. PMI data can be extracted and maintained from Catia V5, I-deas, NX, Pro/E and JT.

Last month Adobe let some information leak out, stating that the next release of Acrobat 3D would also offer data translation to STEP, IGES and Parasolid formats. In addition, the software will import Catia, Pro/E, SolidWorks, UGS NX and I-deas. In reality the new version does a lot more than just import and view; Acrobat 3D is now a veritable Swiss Army Knife CAD product that can find uses in multiple workflows. Model data can be converted from most CAD systems to PRC (within the PDF) and then output to native STEP, IGES or Parasolid. There are a number of switches while importing which define how accurately you want to capture and store the model in PDF. Its possible to keep both tessellated and BREP in the same model, at varying accuracies. But even when at very high accuracy, the PDF file doesnt expand all that much. The compression in the new PDF is extremely impressive. There is also some support for Autodesks DWF format.

For the second version, based on Acrobat Version 8, Adobe has seriously raised the bar by purchasing a dedicated CAD file format translation company, TTF. The company was renowned in the CAD industry for providing very high-end, reverse engineered 3D translators for products like Dassault Systemes Catia and UGS NX. At the heart of TTFs technology is a highly compressed, yet accurate format called PRC, which Adobe sees as the main prize of its acquisition. Adobe has incorporated the format and the translators into the new Acrobat 3D. Of course, U3D remains in the software for technical docs and the creation of animations, while the new PRC format will provide an industrial strength solution for those that want to do model translation or manufacture. Its possible to capture a highly accurate Boundary Representation (BREP) of most 3D CAD Data - so accurate in fact that you will be able to machine off it!

The first version of Acrobat 3D relied on Intels U3D open format to contain the 3D data. This is a tessellated approximation of the model and Adobe included a number of clever ways to capture and convert 3D CAD models, or in fact any OpenGL 3D into a U3D enabled PDF file. To do this, Adobe licensed technology from Right Hemisphere and bought a company called OKYZ. The first version of Acrobat 3D was a valiant initial attempt but U3D lacked broad industry support and large data sets werent particularly compact.

Adobe has finally spilled the beans on the second version of its Acrobat 3D version 8 product, due for its official launch this Spring. The most powerful version of Acrobat is all about engineering CAD data and offers a suite of tools and utilities to incorporate 2D and 3D models into the ubiquitous and omnipresent PDF format.

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For Adobes second foray into the 3D CAD market, PDF has gone for industrial strength format conversion and data translation with accuracy so high you could machine from it. Martyn Day reports.

Adobe Acrobat 3D Version 8

Adobe® Acrobat® 3D software empowers CAD, CAM, and CAE users to convert virtually any CAD file to a highly compressed 3D PDF file to enable 3D-based collaboration and CAD data interoperability. Increase engineering productivity by sharing Adobe PDF files containing precise geometry and product manufacturing information with users of free Adobe Reader® software to mark up 3D designs, or leverage Adobe PDF files for downstream manufacturing processes without having to buy CAD translators.

Communicate and collaborate more securely with the complete PDF solution for 3D design

Hot sell! Microsoft software wholesale!PDF Adobe Acrobat 3D Version 8