Adobe Solutions for Manufacturing

I have been working with a colleague and mentor, Mike Juras of Vertare Corporation, who has introduced me to the concept of Relational Product Creation.  Relational Product Creation is grounded in Complexity Theory, and points to a whole new model of product development. The RPC concept is based upon a business operating framework that requires interoperability, a process framework that requires contextual collaboration and an open source infrastructure.  I won’t attempt to fully describe Relational Product Creation in this brief article, but I will focus upon a couple of key elements: in context collaboration and interoperability.

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Like most successful innovators, Victor Company of Japan, Limited (JVC) has created created innovative and segment leading products through close collaboration between JVC and its hundreds of parts suppliers. JVC has realized substantial benefits, such as:

• Reduced document exchange cycles from as long as 20 days to 1 day
• Improved accuracy and timeliness of input from reviewers
• Eliminated errors from manual data entry by automating data capture
• Shortened product time to market with accelerated document exchange
• Increased competitiveness of manufacturers

To learn about how JVC was able to achieve these improvements, continue reading below. 

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The Adobe Flash platform was integrated into the Acrobat product family with version 9 and this enabled a lot of very cool, cutting edge features like portfolios and dependable/flawless video playback in the free Adobe Reader. The collaboration tools were integrated with the video content as well enabling anyone to comment directly on a specific frame of a movie using the 2D commenting tools. In addition to all this, the engineering team also added the ability to use Flash content as a 3D material which opens a whole new world of possibilities for 3D content inside of PDF.
If you are interested in understanding how this works, there is a two part tutorial on AcrobatUsers.com you’ll want to watch. Here’s part one and here’s part two.

John Warnock and Chuck Geschke will each receive the National Medal of Technology and Innovation from President Obama at a White House ceremony next Wednesday.
Here’s an excerpt from a White House press release:

“The National Medal of Technology and Innovation has its roots in a 1980 statute and is administered for the White House by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The award recognizes individuals or companies for their outstanding contributions to the promotion of technology for the improvement of the economic, environmental, or social well-being of the United States. Nominees are selected by a distinguished independent committee representing both the private and public sectors.

From the White House press release:

“These scientists, engineers and inventors are national icons, embodying the very best of American ingenuity and inspiring a new generation of thinkers and innovators,” President Obama said. “Their extraordinary achievements strengthen our nation every day–not just intellectually and technologically but also economically, by helping create new industries and opportunities that others before them could never have imagined.”

The Adobe founders are being acknowledged “for their pioneering contributions that spurred the desktop publishing revolution and for changing the way people create and engage with information and entertainment across multiple mediums including print, Web and video.”

Terry Wohler’s group covers the manufacturing industry and publishes an exhaustive annual report on the current state of the industry. He attended the Collaboration and Interoperability Conference last May in Estes Park and sat in on Chris Senesac’s presentation on how Boeing Rotorcraft Systems has deployed 3D PDF for multiple use cases. He was so surprised at learning that PDF can now contain precise geometry suitable for fabrication along with PMI, 2D drawings and associated technical documentation that he wrote an entry in his blog, Wohler’s Talk. It’s worth a read and you can find the entry here.

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…

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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.

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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…

How many of you have purchased CAD and visualization tools so downstream users, including external suppliers, can work with your designs?  Have you had to purchase and deploy multiple solutions due to interoperability issues?  How many of you have had to punch holes through your firewall to allow access to partners and suppliers.  How many of you have had to limit design reviews and approval due to the cost and complexity of orchestrating collaborative activities?  What do you do when 2D requirements and specifications need to accompany your designs? There is a better way.  It’s is called a Shared Review.  Let me show you how it works.

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We are gearing up for the 5th annual Collaboration & Interoperability Conference and Exhibition. There will be at least two presentations/workshops focused on how 3D PDF can help manufacturing companies collaborate more effectively with their entire value chain. 1) Boeing Rotorcraft’s Chris Senesac will present on how they are supporting their move to 3D Model-Based Definition by leveraging 3D PDF, Adobe Acrobat and LiveCycle (CIC abstract, Adobe Case Study). 2) Doug Halliday and I will give a 2+ hour workshop on how Adobe’s tools can be used to build rich information packages that include 3D data and information from various back end systems either manually with Acrobat or automated with LiveCycle (CIC abstract).
The event will be held in Estes Park, Colorado on May 18-20. You will find all the information you need at the conference web site. You can find the agenda here. All presentation are reviewed and approved by the CIC Advisory Board. You can register for the event here.

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