Adobe Solutions for Manufacturing

Yesterday's announcement about PRC moving its way towards ISO certification generated a lot of excitement and some very good questions. Most notable were 1) Does the PRC format Adobe is releasing include the 'exact geometry' definition and 2) if so, does that inclusion of the exact geometry put PRC at odds with ISO 10303 (STEP)?

The short answers are 'yes' and 'not really'. Read on to get the details...

The PRC format Adobe introduced in Acrobat 9 accommodates both precise B-rep and surface tessellation data as well as product structure, Product Manufacturing Information (PMI) and metadata. PDF was released to the ISO process prior to Acrobat 9, and as such the PDF ISO 32000:1 specification does not include the PRC format right now and technically speaking PRC is an Adobe proprietary extension to ISO 32000. We publish the PRC Specification on our website and anyone can read/write it using the spec. As noted in the announcement yesterday by AIIM, Adobe released PRC to ISO and it has been accepted for the standardization process. This will likely take about 2-3 years and become part of ISO 32000:2. The entire PRC format was released to AIIM/ISO, i.e., 'Yes, the PRC ISO candidate does include topology and exact geometry'.

Which brings us to, "Doesn't that mean PRC competes with STEP?". We don't see PRC replacing the need for STEP today, and if STEP continues to evolve to include other information like design construction history and parametric relationships, there will be even larger gaps between STEP and PRC in the future. As noted in the press release by AIIM, the PRC working group will be coordinating with the STEP ISO technical committee to ensure that there is conformance between the two specs where it makes sense. Given all that, we see very different use cases for PRC and STEP most notably around

• Design re-use : STEP is more appropriate for pulling data into a CAD system and making modifications, and although there are now direct B-Rep modeling systems that enable using PRC this way, use of STEP will provide much higher fidelity.
• Visualization : PRC targets this use case squarely while STEP ignores it.
• Technical Publications like process planning, work instructions, repair operations : PRC is better for this we think as it is lighter weight and includes visualization information.
• Interrogation of precise geometry for downstream processes : This is the one where there is likely be some overlap as CAM and CAE applications often only need/want the B-REP data and PMI. Today PRC meets these requirements as does STEP AP 203 E2.
• Archival and Retrieval : here the two formats are complimentary due to the non-overlapping use cases above. We are actually seeing more and more companies archiving 3D PDF along with native CAD and STEP datasets.

Posted by Jim Merry at 4:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

You may already be aware that PDF is indeed the ISO standard for engineering documentation.  To learn more about ISO 32000-1 click here.  Recently we received some exciting news about extending ISO certification to 3D content within the PDF format. 

As you may know, PDF can extract 3D content from a wide variety of CAD and visualization formats for inclusion and interaction within a PDF container.  The formats used internally to the PDF are U3D and PRC.  Read on to learn more about PRC and how it is being embraced by the standards community.

AIIM (www.aiim.org) has just announced the initiation of a new standards activity to standardize the Adobe Systems Incorporated PRC (Product Representation Compact) specification as an International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standard.

Here are some key facts you should know :

• The PRC project will specify a file format for creating different representations of 3D models. PRC is optimized to store, load, and display various kinds of 3D data, particularly from CAM and CAE applications, and enables precise geometry with great compression. PRC is intended to support documentation requirements for design reviews, as well as distribution of detailed design documentation to supply chains. This standard will help support regulatory mandates requiring the use of open standards.
• PRC is being released to ISO by Adobe.  This release is Similar to the release of PDF to ISO; PDF is now an ISO standard (ISO 32000) which is developed and maintained by ISO.
• AIIM is forming a working group to develop and maintain PRC file format
• Working group participants include: Boeing, Adobe, Bentley Systems, General Dynamics, Mental Images, PFS Corporation, TechSoft3D, Transcendata, and others.
• A liaison has been established between TC 171 WG7 (PDF/E and PRC) and TC 184 (STEP).

At Adobe, we feel that standardization of the open PRC format will provide customers worldwide with a truly open standard for 3D content.  Here is why this is important:

• PRC provides detailed and accurate CAD visualization data and makes it easier to distribute 3D content downstream.
• This is an open 3D file format, not affiliated with a specific CAD/PLM application.

Some other things you may be interested in include:

• It is the first 3D CAD visualization format to go through ISO standardization
• This is in line with Adobe’s long history of supporting industry standards and releasing formats to ISO.  This includes ISO 32000, PDF/X (printing), PDF/E (engineering) and PDF/A (archiving).
• This will make it easier to include 3D content in documentation work flows, particularly for manufacturing.
• The PRC format complements STEP.
• The ISO working group will be responsible for all future development and maintenance of PRC, and Adobe will continue to participate as one of the organizations on the working group.
• The PRC working group is working closely with ECMA TC43 (U3D) to incorporate industry requirements.

To read the AIIM press release for more information, click here. To read frequently asked questions, click here.

 

 

Posted by Doug Halliday at 12:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Two articles caught my attention this morning that I thought were worth mentioning. The first one cites a report by the Federal Reserve Bank in Philadelphia that shows manufacturing activity unexpectedly expanding in the Philly area for the first time in over a year. The second article focuses on how manufacturing is the unexpected bright spot in the US economy right now with encouraging signs in (surprise!) the automotive sector. While the signs are encouraging both articles cite substantial risks to a sustained uptick.

Very encouraging nonetheless...

Posted by Jim Merry at 9:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Exciting news from one of our ISV partners, Kubotek, who announced today they are integrating Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro Extended into their product line. OEM licensing and consulting services will be provided by Techsoft 3D, our reseller for the Acrobat SDK. The full press release can be found here.

Posted by Jim Merry at 3:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)