Techno Babble

I recently obtained a preview copy of Acrobat 3D which is currently (Apr 2) available from Adobe Labs

( http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/acrobat3d_version8/ ).

Adobe® Acrobat® 3D Version 8 software empowers CAD, CAM, and CAE application users to rapidly convert virtually any CAD file into highly compressed, more secure, ubiquitous PDF files that can be used by customers, suppliers, and co-workers to quickly and easily review and mark up 3D designs with free Adobe Reader® software. The same PDF can also be leveraged by manufacturers for downstream CAD, CAM or CAE based processes without having to buy expensive CAD translators

Incorporating technology acquired from TTF (Trade and Technologies France), Acrobat® 3D Version 8 can import data from a number of CAD systems and export the 3D content to PRC, an intelligent, high-compression format that can preserve precise data and a high-level of accuracy.

Supported 3D Formats

Other programs that came along with Acrobat 3D v8 include:

Acrobat 8 Distiller
Acrobat 3D Version 8 Toolkit
Acrobat LiveCycle Designer 8.0

Acrobat 3D, Sample Web Page

All in all a powerful collection of utilities that provide a user with all they need to create documentation associated with their design process.

Adobe stepped further into the 3D world with the announcement of Acrobat 3D, available now. The product incorporates OKYZ technology, which Adobe adquired over a year ago, to convert 3D models to a format that can be embedded in a PDF file. The technology can obtain model data from the OpenGL graphics stream, so no plug-ins are needed for the originating CAD application.

Read more at the Adobe web-site

http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat3d/main.html

or view a 3D PDF demo document (needs Adobe Reader v 7.0 )

3d_pdf_demo.pdf