When an engineer has to share product designs with someone else in the group or with the supplier down the street, it can be especially difficult (never mind frustrating) when not all groups have the necessary CAD software. Compatibility between CAD software is a major pain. Here is one way to overcome such a dilemma.

Everyone across the supply chain must be able to share and respond to constantly updated design and project information to deliver products — faster and better. This isn’t news.

However, when an engineer has to share product designs with someone else in the group or with the supplier down the street, it can be especially difficult (never mind frustrating) when not all groups have CAD software. Or if they do have CAD software, often it is the case that the software is not compatible with the software of the other person or group. For instance, the engineer may use Autodesk’s AutoCAD, while someone else thrown into the mix is using SolidWorks. Such situations can be more than a mere inconvenience; it can prolong design review cycles and thus put projects behind schedule, and it can take up critical time that could otherwise be used moving on to the next job. (We’re pretty sure this seemingly endless frustration is the leading cause of baldness in the engineering community, as engineers must be frequently pulling their hair out.)

Nick Butkovich, a project manager for plastic moldings and assemblies manufacturer Bradrock Industries, recently offered Bradrock engineers’ compromise to such a dilemma (via Machine Design).

He said:

Our engineers were spending too much time on the phone answering customer questions because the 2D screenshots don’t allow viewing the back of a design, checking clearances, or seeing design size and thickness.

Why should anyone care about the impact of 3D, a recent Planet PDF article asked? With 3D abilities, you can communicate more information, more precisely. On top of that, the end user will retain that information longer.

According to Adobe, “the newest member of the Acrobat family, Adobe Acrobat 3D comes with all the features of Acrobat 7.0 Professional. Plus, you can publish, share, review, and mark up 3D designs.” The company says you can use Acrobat 3D to:

— Convert 3D designs from major CAD applications into Adobe PDF files
— Insert, publish, and edit 2D designs and 3D models to visually communicate design intent
— Accelerate the design feedback process
— Control access to confidential information for more secure distribution of drawings, logistics, and proprietary designs

But let’s get away from corporate PR and back to design specifics.

Using Acrobat 3D, Butkovich’s folks were able to convert in-house SolidWorks and AutoCAD models to Adobe PDF documents. All users have to do is drag the 3D CAD model into the Adobe Acrobat window and save the design as a PDF file, at which point anyone with Adobe Reader 7.0 (free to download) can then view the 3D designs — without requiring CAD software or proprietary viewers — and participate in reviews.

Particularly important to Butkovich’s Engineering and Quality Control (QC) department is the fact that the latest Adobe Reader lets recipients rotate 3D objects onscreen for a better look at all components. QC personnel use the Adobe Reader to compare original designs with manufactured parts to help ensure there are no discrepancies. Further, extended team members can measure parts and dimensions such as distance and radius.

Adobe’s latest Acrobat Reader (7.0), when enabled by Acrobat 3D, allows users to add electronic comments to 3D objects in PDF. Tools for marking up documents include digital pens, callouts, highlighters, clouds and dimension lines. “The tools are easy to use,” Butkovich said, adding that the annotation tool, for example, “comes in handy when sending 3D design information to suppliers.”

By adding electronic notes on areas to give dimensions or descriptions of how something is assembled, suppliers have fewer questions and provide more accurate bids on the first try. The tools in Reader provide reviewers an effective way to give clear, concise feedback without having to purchase the full version of Acrobat. This simplifies collaboration and lets more team members participate.

The full version boosts further collaboration in its allowing users to combine multiple file types into a single PDF package. For example, the moldings and assemblies manufacturer’s engineers attach statistical process-control information in spreadsheets and approvals on purchase orders to 3D designs in PDF. Putting multiple file types into a single, compact digital binder like this is an effective way to minimize miscommunication.

Bradrock also takes advantage of the full version’s review-tracking capabilities to track the personnel, partners and customers that provide feedback, as well as their provided input.

Also take into consideration the importance of keeping intellectual property secure. When sending designs for review or to manufacturing plants in, ahem, Asia, Bradrock avoids sending native files, thus making it more difficult to copy design ideas and be subject to tampering. Acrobat 3D enables the application of security controls to password-protect documents, limit documents to “view only” status and prevent recipients from copying, or even printing, documents.

It’s not perfect, however. Writes Butkovich:

Our short wish list of improvements includes a less-cluttered, more-intuitive user interface. It’s not always readily apparent to unfamiliar users how to add comments linked to specific areas of 3D designs, or create animations to accompany designs. We’d also like to see smaller file sizes. Even though 3D designs in PDF are much smaller than their counterparts in native applications, it would be great to see yet smaller files that travel faster over networks and require less space to manage.

I’m skeptical, not yet convinced. Is this the unified standard the engineering community has been waiting for to share their drawings throughout the enterprise or with the supplier nearby?

Earlier:
Adobe vs. Autodesk: This Is Getting Really Interesting

Source
Put 3D designs in PDF
by Nick Butkovich, edited by Leslie Gordon
Machine Design