Archive notice: This article was originally published on September 18, 2006. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Software manufacturer Adobe today announced a major update for its Acrobat range. This also affects Acrobat 3D, which is aimed specifically at product designers, architects and 3D developers.
The update to Adobe Acrobat 3D 8 is scheduled to appear in the first quarter of 2007. In addition to the general new features for the Acrobat 8 range, such as Acrobat Connect, a tool for online collaboration, it also brings a number of new 3D-specific functions.
In the assembly structure, Acrobat 3D 8 supports manufacturing-relevant data such as information on geometry, tolerance (fits), as well as annotations, dimensions and other details about a 3D model, and displays them alongside the 3D geometry and metadata in the assembly structure.
It exports precise manufacturing data from Adobe PDF files into industry-standard 3D formats such as STEP, IGES and Parasolid and also supports newer formats for CAD applications such as Solidworks, Catia, UGS and Pro/Engineer.
The update is faster when opening and displaying PDF files with 3D designs as well as when rendering large assemblies.
It also creates smaller PDF files and contains a revised conversion engine that converts CAD data into PDFs more quickly.
Finally, Acrobat 3D 8 provides expanded navigation tools for zooming, panning, rotating and analysing 3D designs.
Further Links:
- Adobe Acrobat 3D 8
Adobe Acrobat Connect
