Design Collaboration Made Easy

By Nancy Rouse-Talley

It seems the more viewing software changes, the more it stays the same. We first looked at Cimmetry’s AutoVue software several years ago and were impressed with how simple the software was to install and use. Last month, we downloaded AutoVue version 19.1 Desktop Edition with SP1, and once again we were taken with the program’s ease of use and well-organized help file.

AutoVue software can be used to view and annotate more than 450 formats including 2D drawings, 3D CAD files, printed-circuit board (PCB) layouts,  integrated circuit schematics, various raster and vector files, and office documents such as those produced by word processing and spreadsheet programs. In fact, Cimmetry’s AutoVue is unique in its comprehensive coverage of mechanical and electronic CAD formats.

AutoVue 19.1

> > Customers can use AutoVue to build digital mockups of assemblies from product manufacturing information from diverse files. Here a printed circuit board designed in an electronic CAD program is fit into a telephone housing designed in a mechanical CAD system.

 

Cimmetry is also known for updating its software to view new CAD formats more quickly than its competitors, an important benefit to customers who want to install the latest CAD software in a timely fashion. Cimmetry can revise its software quickly because the company relies on in-house development rather than third parties. Version 19.1 with SP1, for example, provides additional support for the 3D features of Autodesk’s AutoCAD version 2007, Autodesk Inventor version 11, Mechanical Desktop 2007, as well as PTC’s  Pro/Engineer Wildfire 3.0.

The various files provided by Cimmetry, as well as some older SolidWorks  and AutoCAD files we had on hand, opened well in version 19.1 with SP1. We tried out the newer features of the program, including the 3D Compare,  Explode, and Entity Search features that were introduced with AutoVue version 19 last year, and found them simple to use. We caution that the 3D files used to test these features were relatively simple ones that involved only a few components, and suggest that customers with taller orders make sure they test these features thoroughly with production files before committing to the program.

Enterprise Viewing

Companies that provide CAD visualization software today are challenged to offer a collaborative environment where workers across the enterprise can use information in engineering databases. To this end, Cimmetry has beefed up program features that allow non-engineers access to CAD files and data.

The company’s VueLink integration software allows users to access information locked up in PLM (product lifecycle management) repositories from SAP, Documentum, OpenText,  and MatrixOne. The VueLink integration products,  like Cimmetry’s CAD-format viewers, are developed and managed by the company, making it likely they will remain up-to-date as CAD and repository software changes.

AutoVue 19.1

< < AutoVue version 19.0,  introduced last year, offers a compare function that allows users to see differences between 3D models in a single window. This function is useful for engineers who are collaborating on assembly design.

 

According to David Edwards, senior product marketing manager for AutoVue,  Cimmetry’s approach to the market simplifies viewing and markup for the company’s customers by eliminating the need for neutral file conversion. “What we’ve done — that is a major differentiator ]between Cimmetry and its competitors] — is allow customers to view native files stored where they live, without neutral file conversion.”

Newer features of AutoVue help customers build mockups that combine files from both mechanical and electronic CAD systems. AutoVue relies on the native geometry within CAD models and product manufacturing information (PMI) to build the mockups, which can make it easier for engineers working on the mechanical and electronic components of a product to collaborate on designs. For example, customers can use AutoVue to insert information about a PCB layout from one program into the model of a cabinet from another. Mockups developed in AutoVue also can be used to check for clearances and alignments, or for process verification.

Future Direction

In the future Cimmetry plans to add enterprise-level administration controls to its products that will help customers manage large installations of AutoVue. The new administration controls will let customers update and configure numerous instances of the program from a central location. This capability will save customers time, and will make it easier to update AutoVue installations when CAD vendors tweak file formats or add features.

AutoVue 19.1

> > AutoVue reads product manufacturing information (PMI) such as dimensions and tolerances as well as CAD geometry. PMI and other key metrics that are integral to all CAD models are used in manufacturing as well as other downstream operations.

 

Enterprise administration controls will also make it easier to track and change the hundreds of .INI configuration files in AutoVue that enable users to customize the program’s settings. An .INI option might allow users to display certain lines as dashed if the default setting were solid, for example.

The AutoVue Software Suite includes desktop and client-server versions of AutoVue, AutoVue SolidModel, AutoVue Professional, and AutoVue SolidModel Professional. The client-server software allows viewing in Java-enabled Web browsers such as Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator, and the professional versions provide annotation and markup functions. In addition, Cimmetry offers AutoVue EDA for viewing electronic CAD files and AutoVue Office for looking at business files such as spreadsheets. Cimmetry offers a variety of licensing plans including volume pricing for both the desktop and client-server Web versions of AutoVue.

Nancy Rouse-Talley is a freelance writer who focuses on technology subjects, including product lifecycle management, computer design, and engineering. Send your comments about this article through e-mail by clicking here. Please reference “AutoVue Review, November 2006” in your message.

Contact Information

Cimmetry Systems Corp.
Montreal, QUE