Cadalyst - September 2007 - (Page 32)

cadlabsreview Adobe Acrobat 3D v8 New version incorporates features designed specifically for engineering, CAD, and manufacturing. By Ron LaFon A dobe has released the newest version of its Acrobat family, Adobe Acrobat 3D version 8, which is the second release of the company’s design collaboration and communication application. Acrobat 3D has all of the features found in Acrobat 8 Professional, as well as a variety of features designed specifically for engineering, CAD, and manufacturing users. To Share and Protect To the feature set found in Acrobat 8 Professional, Acrobat 3D adds the ability to convert 3D designs from major CAD applications to PDF, as well as create rich documents that can include exploded views, animations, lighting, materials, textures, and color (figures 1–3, p. 33). It also can export precise geometry from PDF to STEP, IGES, and Parasolid to enable downstream use in CAD, CAM, and CAE applications. As with Acrobat Professional, users can grant access for comment and review through Adobe Reader. Users can initiate collaborative reviews as well. Acrobat 3D allows users to control document security in several ways to protect intellectual property. Any time your design data leaves an organization, security becomes an obvious concern. Users can place password pro- Figure 1. With Adobe Acrobat 3D, you can create a variety of views of a model, complete with lighting and textures. tection on their 3D PDF files to restrict access to documents or assign permissions to control printing, saving, copying, or modifying the document. Different passwords can enable different views within the document to ensure that the appropriate persons see the data (figure 4, p. 34). In AutoCAD, for example, users can turn layers off entirely in creating the 3D PDF, or they can enable certain layers when a specific password is entered. Users also can permanently delete sensitive information, including specific text or illustrations, with redaction tools. Other security options include the LifeCycle Rights Management ES server software for larger installations. Adobe Acrobat 3D v8 Part of the Workflow A+ Design Collaboration Software Pros: CAD conversion capabilities; 3D; faster; displays PMI on both the geometry and the assembly tree. Cons: None significant. Price: $995, upgrades $295 or more Adobe Systems 800.833.6687 www.adobe.com/acrobat3d This version: . . . . . . . . . . A+ Ease of use: . . . . . . . . . . . A+ Features/capabilities: . . . A Installation: . . . . . . . . . . . A Customization: . . . . . . . . A Interoperability: . . . . . . . A+ Third-party add-ons: . . . . A Help/Documentation: . . . A Innovation: . . . . . . . . . . . A Value: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A+ Adobe Acrobat 3D can be used in sourcing, procurement, and supply-chain processes and it can be a component in assuring standards compliance. Users can manage and share documentation pertaining to compliance and regulatory requirements, including control and audit data, as part of an organization’s workflow. Users can create fill-in PDF forms from scanned paper, existing PDF documents, Microsoft Word documents, or Excel spreadsheets. Form fields on static PDF documents are recognized automatically and converted to interactive files that can be filled by anyone using Adobe Reader software. From within both Adobe Acrobat 3D and Adobe Reader, users can link into online conferencing using Adobe Connect Professional, which uses the Flash format and the free Adobe 32 September 2007 | cadalyst | www.cadalyst.com http://www.adobe.com/acrobat3d http://www.cadalyst.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Cadalyst - September 2007

Contents Editor's Window Techtrends: Resurrecting an Unforgettable Second Living Large UGS Solid Edge v20 Adobe Acrobat 3D v8 Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extended CAD Manager: Managing 2D and 3D in the Same Office MCAD Modeling: Where is MCAD Going? AEC in Focus: Automated Estimating and Scheduling Using BIM CAD Cartoon Issue Indexes CADfidential

Cadalyst - September 2007

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