The other day I was sent a 3D PDF from I think Solidworks. I asked how he did this and he said he has an export to 3D PDF command.
As I’m typing this, I see topics on the subject, but can anyone save me some time and let me know what works the best for them?
I dislike freeware, so I would rather something I can purchase… within reason.
Thanks,
Frank
Wow that was easy. And cool to. I gotta get out more.
Thanks Mark!
Just to add to the pool here, I purchased the Simlabs 3DPDF plugin for Rhino. It works quite well. You can take dimensions and change lighting as well as the way the 3D objects display. It outputs layers, as well as layer names. Very useful.
Layer names too? I’ll have to remember that. Could be embarrassing if not careful.
It doesn’t export dimensions though. For my line of work (where you need to show the dimensions right off the bat) it’s nearly useless. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find a 3D PDF exporter that would work with dimensions either…
Yes, it does.
Simlab cannot create dimensions to be exported to a 3D PDF, but it can create a 3D PDF that can be dimensioned in Adobe Reader. The dimensions work as part of the commenting function, so you could add dimensions in Adobe Reader and resave the PDF so the dimensions become part of the saved PDF. Then, the dimensions can be viewed by clicking in the comments panel. I haven’t figured out a way to make the dimensions (comments) show by default when the PDF is opened.
There was some info on the Simlab site a while ago about exporting dimensions originating in an AutoCAD file, but I can’t find it now. Its not something I have worked with.
I’m not sure what that means…
Rhino creates the dimensions. Simlab exports the dimensions in Rhino to a 3D PDF.
In my experience, exported annotations are stripped out of their original Rhino layers and every text or dimension object is placed into it’s own folder and takes on text dot type behaviour where text size remains constant and on top of the model and has a border around it and dimensions remain on top of the model and the arrows size remains constant, This behaviour makes Rhino generated annotation unuseable, unless hopefully, there is a way to avoid this hidden deeply in some non-default setting.
You can also try this plug-in : http://www.datakit.com/cad-convertors/rhino-to-pdf-3d/1784-rhino-3d-to-pdf-3d.html
It supports Model tree, Brep and Mesh, Linear and angular dimensions, Texts, Attributes (colors, visibility, layer…)
Pic or didn’t happen.
^ wow, cool. Last time I tried it it couldn’t do it.
Edit:
I take it back. Just remembered that it could do it, but the scale of dimensions wasn’t proportionate to the model geometry.
That’s just wonderful. How did you do that?
clk
I don’t know if that’s down to Adobe or Simlab.
Mark.