Glovius runs on Windows, iOS, and Android; requires use of online conversion service. Small vendors are continuing to beat the big CAD vendors in mobile.
Engineering software and services vendor Geometric Limited is launching a new set of products for mobile viewing of 3D data for manufacturing. Glovius is the name of a free viewer for Windows, iPad/iPhone and Android devices, and also the name of the toolkit with application programming interfaces (APIs) allowing Geometric and its clients to build custom solutions with the technology.
Geometric is calling Glovius a “strategic initiative” as opposed to just a product. Much of Geometric’s current business comes from providing custom PLM solutions to clients, and the company intends to use Glovius as another branch of its services work.
The 3D data and product visualization foundation for Glovius is the JT format, a manufacturing visualization standard originally published by Siemens PLM but now maintained as an open format. To convert files from most CAD formats for viewing on Glovius, Geometric refers Glovius users to Babel3D.com, its online translation and storage service. The service is free through Feb. 14; after that date users will pay $.99 per conversion, with the first 10 free upon signup. Supported file formats include Catia V5, NX, Pro/ENGINEER (Creo), SolidWorks, Autodesk Inventor, STEP, and IGES.
Geometric says users of the Glovius viewer can interact with 3D models using touch interface, view PMI & product structure, hide/show components, take sections, and email snapshots from within the application.
Beating the giants with mobility
This is the third mobile viewing app for manufacturing CAD we have reported on this week, and the second mobile application development environment for mobile CAD viewing in less than a month. (See also Lattice extends XVL mobile viewing, IMSI/Design releases first 2D/3D DWG viewing app on Android, and IMSI/Design to release TurboViewer SDK.) Mobile was hot in CAD in 2011 and is only getting hotter in 2012. With the continued exception of Autodesk, the small vendors are beating the big players to market. For now, mobile viewers from CadFaster, IMSI/Design, Lattice Technology, and Geometric are the only real choices for multi-platform CAD viewing. Users of SolidWorks and PTC CAD products are still waiting for their vendor to offer any thing for tablet or smartphone viewing.
