Working from home? You probably are. A new system that can help dynamicists work together on vehicle designs and manufacturing processes has been developed by CAD software specialist, Lattice Technology, to bring all stakeholders together more effectively while working remotely. The product is called Design Review, but it can be used for any purpose that involves working with 3D CAD models.
“Working from home is presenting new challenges to companies,” said Keishi Nagino, manager of global business at Lattice Technology. “Now everyone is remote. The design department is probably the most adept at working together remotely since they probably use common CAD tools, but what about manufacturing and all of the other stakeholders who are involved with bringing a product to market?”
Many companies use their native CAD system for this activity, but it was not designed for this purpose. Using the native CAD can be troublesome for a number of reasons: due to file size limits, viewing the entire product is often not possible, compounded by the fact that many high-powered workstations have been left behind in offices; multiple CAD system formats may have been used to create the parts; lack of markup capabilities; and non-CAD users cannot access and operate the CAD system due to the experience required and licencing.
Lattice Technology’s XVL data format – the underlying 3D technology – was designed for use by the extended team of stakeholders. Any mainstream 3D CAD file can easily be converted into the lightweight XVL format. Multiple CAD files, even in different formats, can be combined into a single XVL file, with markup capabilities. The system was designed for non-CAD users, and access for stakeholders is free, with several options including Microsoft Excel and web browsers.
