Technical Data Packages are now accessible in SolidWorks no matter what MCAD product originally created the assembly. Tablets on the shop floor now have usable 3D data in PDF or HTML.
There is a new path for moving 3D data from most MCAD products to SolidWorks, thanks to product visualization specialist Anark Corporation. The new version of Anark Core MBEWorks for SolidWorks has the ability to open native 3D PDF Engineering Documents (Technical Data Packages—TDP) directly into SolidWorks 2013 and to transform the data into equivalent SolidWorks solids, associated 3D model based data, engineering views, and engineering properties.
This is true regardless of which 3D CAD system originally generated the 3D PDF. For example, Creo-generated 3D PDF design documents can be opened and regenerated as native SolidWorks Parts and Assemblies with associative 3D dimensions and tolerances, originally defined by the Creo designer remaining intact.
“The new ability to import design and tolerance data via 3D PDFs generated from other CAD systems allows SolidWorks users to cost effectively work with upstream Prime Contractors. The data that was once locked in proprietary formats can now be recreated as a complete product definition in SolidWorks,” said Fielder Hiss, VP of Product Management for DS SolidWorks Corporation.
The primary purpose of Anark Core MBEWorks for SolidWorks is to transform native SolidWorks parts and assemblies into high-fidelity 3D PDF and 3D HTML model-based engineering (MBE) documents. Once converted by MBEWorks, the SolidWorks data is free to deploy and view by either Adobe Acrobat Reader or any current web browser.
Anark says the US Department of Defense is predicting this new ability to easily re-create complete product definitions from 3D MBD TPD files “will reduce the cost of scrap and rework by 19% and will improve the time to receive spares, repairs, and upgrades from their suppliers by as much as 50%.”
Additional new features and enhancements for Anark Core MBEWorks include the following for users of both SolidWorks 2012 and 2013:
- Accelerated 3D PDF Publishing
- Enhanced performance for loading/managing large models and assemblies
- HTML based MBE-TDP (MBEWeb) viewer support
- Floating license offering and new license management system
- Anark Core Server control enhancements for automated 3D PDF publishing
Our take
Tablet computers are starting to appear on the shop and manufacturing floor. MBEWorks is the kind of product that will speed the transition. Nobody wants a pile of drawings; they want easily accessible manufacturing data. Anark claims the cost of creating, using, and storing paper documentation for manufacturing can add up to 30% in costs to a manufacturing project. Buy a few tablets, convert the data to 3D PDF or HTML, and see what happens.
