Adobe Acrobat is going 3D. Yes, that Adobe Acrobat. Adobe Systems, creator of the ubiquitous reader that's probably on your desktop right now, recently rolled out Acrobat 3D, a software tool that lets users publish technical documents as Adobe PDF files with interactive 3D illustrations. Engineers can create, publish, share and review 3D design information from a variety of CAD applications. These 3D designs can be converted into PDF files and viewed by anyone with a free Acrobat Reader, which means just about anyone with a computer.
Rak Bhalla, a senior marketing manager with Adobe, said that the target audience for Acrobat 3D is the engineering design professional, especially the project manager who must get input from multiple team members. Users first capture the OpenGL stream from 3D CAD applications such as AutoCAD. Parts hierarchies are not captured, and Acrobat 3D can't generate a BOM.
Users can insert 3D CAD designs into Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files and use Acrobat 3D to convert them into Adobe PDF. Once the design is converted into a PDF, users have access to dynamic cross-sectioning, line drawing and the ability to create exploded views of parts with the 3D Toolkit feature. With 3D Toolkit, engineers can also save the design as a 3D object or a 2D raster/vector image.
The result can then be viewed by anyone with Acrobat Reader, which amounts to anyone with a computer. Once they've been enabled by Acrobat 3D, anyone with the reader can add comments and use standard Acrobat markup tools directly on 3D objects in the PDF files.
"There are about 1.2 billion people who have the Acrobat Reader," said Bhalla. That's counting all of the copies sold with Windows or downloaded since Acrobat's inception in 1993, but you can assume that Adobe has an installed base to die for.
And there's a lot to be said for having an installed base. Valor's ODB++ data transfer format got the jump on GenCAM and the other potential transfer standards because so many board shops already used Valor's CAM software.
Some may wonder why Adobe didn't get into the 3D game sooner. The company's full-featured Acrobat tool boasts more features than most users will ever need. Editors of numerous publications, including PCD&M and Circuits Assembly, use Acrobat for editing and markup of final proofs, and I've barely scratched the surface of Acrobat's functionality. It wouldn't be much of a stretch for Adobe to develop a full-fledged EDA tool (though it might be a mistake).
Acrobat 3D is priced at $995, a price point low enough to make inroads into the cost-sensitive PCB industry. Keep an eye on Adobe: The company recently purchased Macromedia, developer of the Flash Player and the program used to create its content.
Moving Time
As if we all didn't have enough to do – with APEX/Printed Circuits Expo in February and PCB West's 15th anniversary show coming up in March – UP Media Group is moving its headquarters. Fortunately we're only moving a few blocks to the west, from Atlanta to Smyrna.
We'll be in our new location sometime between the end of February and the middle of March. Yes, that's a tad vague. It all depends on how fast the build-out at the new office is completed.
Our new digs are located at 2400 Lake Park Drive, Suite 440, Smyrna, GA, 30080. Our telephone numbers and fax numbers won't change.
If you're in Atlanta, stop by and see us in our new office. After deadline, that is.
ANDY SHAUGHNESSY is editor of PCD&M.
