Cadalyst - November 2007 - (Page 20)

cadlabsreview Actify SpinFire Professional enables manufacturing organizations and their supply chains to easily access, interact with, and communicate parts data, related files, and documentation. This review focuses on SpinFire Professional 8.2. With SpinFire Professional, you can display and interact with product manufacturing information (PMI) and geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T) annotations, as well as create exploded views and animations, organize and store related design documents of any file type inside a single compact .3D file, and merge assembly files to create one complete digital prototype for early design analysis. You can capture all parts data for later access, markup, and measurement, and you can use the Actify API to create custom solutions tailored to your specific needs. SpinFire Professional 8.2 supports a remarkably wide array of CAD file formats, including both common and not-so-common variants. For the extensive list of the file formats supported, go to www.actify.com/v2/ products/Importers/formats.htm. A version of SpinFire for Microsoft Office supports all of the popular Office file formats. Installation of SpinFire Professional is straightforward and easy with options for selecting needed file-format support. Once installed, SpinFire Professional offers a clean and well-organized interface with many ease-of-use features. Particularly noteworthy are forward-reading 20 labels regardless of how the model is rotated; display priority that increases readability and comprehension; and the ability to interrogate by PMI type rather than just part or surface. Dimensioning features for 3D files include edge measurements, distance measurements, extents, vertex coordinates, and sectioning capability. 2D calibration and 2D stamps are also available. Collaboration is implemented by streamlining the communication of CAD data, which enables any user to share product designs and offer feedback. This function is accommodated by distributing design data using Actify’s compact .3D file format. I tested Actify SpinFire Professional 8.2 with the SolidWorks and AutoCAD models, converting and loading them directly into the application. The SolidWorks SeaScooter assembly produced a 2.53 MB file in Actify’s .3D file format in less than 1 minute, 30 seconds. I also loaded and converted the AutoCAD engine drawing, which produced a 126 KB .3D file in less than 30 seconds. The .3D files can be viewed in SpinFire Reader, which is available as a 22 MB download from Actify’s Web site at www.actify.com. SpinFire Professional 8.2 runs under Microsoft Windows XP or Microsoft Windows 2000 with Service Pack 4 installed. Recommended hardware for optimal performance is a system with a 2 GHz or faster processor and 1 GB or more of RAM. An OpenGL-compliant video card with 64 MB or more of RAM is recommended, along with 500 MB of free hard disk space. Pricing for the SpinFire Professional client is $499, but the product is scalable in conjunction with other Actify applications to serve a range of users from small, independent CAD shops to enterprise-level installations. At the Actify Web site, you can download trial versions of applications or order a CD with trial versions of the products. You’ll also find extensive documentation and examples of how Actify products can be used, along with PDF data sheets outlining product features. Adobe Acrobat 3D version 8 Adobe Systems 800.833.6687 www.adobe.com/acrobat3d Price: $995, upgrades $295 or more Released by Adobe earlier this year, this second version of Adobe Acrobat 3D offers all the features found in Acrobat 8 Professional, along with a variety of features specifically targeted at the engineering, CAD, and manufacturing industries. Adobe Acrobat 3D v8 supports a wide range of CAD files, including AutoCAD, Bentley Systems’ MicroStation, Dassault Systemes’ CATIA V4 and V5, PTC’s Pro/ENGINEER, SolidWorks, and Siemens PLM Software’s (formerly UGS) NX, I-deas, and JT. Additionally, Acrobat 3D supports PDF creation from any software application that offers the ability to print. Plug-ins are provided for popular applications, including Lotus Notes and Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Internet Explorer, Project, Visio, Adobe Acrobat 3D allows you to create callouts for communicating to a work group or design team. November 2007 | cadalyst | www.cadalyst.com http://www.adobe.com/acrobat3d http://www.actify.com http://www.actify.com/v2/index.htm http://www.actify.com/v2/index.htm http://www.cadalyst.com

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

Cadalyst - November 2007 Contents Editor's window Cad Central Conceptual Inspiration for Less Than $200 From Any Angle - Publish and Share Your 3D Designs NX 5, Part 1 - CAD/CAM/CAE Software Newforma Project Center Fourth Edition - Software for Project Information Management CAD Manager's Survey 2007 Sharing and Collaborating with Your Team To BIMfinity and Beyond! Solutions for Sending Large Digital Files Cad Cartoon Issue Indexes Cad Fidential

Cadalyst - November 2007

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