Free 3D PDF Creation Software From Solidworks Labs

The mad scientists over at The Solidworks Labs have released another free tool.  Their latest offering is Presentation Studio.  The program is a 3D PDF creation tool thats inbedded into the Solidworks software as an add-in.  What it does is allow you to create a 3D PDF of a part or assembly in a more graphical look as opposed to just a plain 3D PDF.  With just a few clicks you can create a pretty nice looking presentation file that anyone can read.  Here is a walk through of setting up a file:

Before you start you need to download and install the Presentation Studio software.  It can be found via this Link.  I would also highly recommend visiting the Presentation Studio Page for a brief overview, and sample video.  Once installed, you need to go to Tools > Add-ins and check the check box for the presentation studio.

Step one of course is to select a file to use.  In this case I'm going to use the ball valve assembly thats used in the Solidworks Tutorial for FloXpress:

If you checked the add-in, you will have a new tab in the command manager named Presentation:

Step two is to click the Layout button.  Here is the top portion of the resulting feature manager:

Under theme you have the option of selecting from one of four preset layouts.  They include Metal, Red, Silverlight 1, and Silverlight 2.  There are slight differences in the actual layout of each theme, and the color changes for each one.

Next are the Output Details.  The first option is where you want the resulting PDF file to be saved.  Clicking on the radio button will allow you to select the appropriate place.

Under that is the Title.  Whatever you type in this box will appear as a title to the document.  Whatever you type in Summary and Description will also appear in the document.

Right below that is Enable Assembly Explode.  If you are setting up on an assembly with an exploded view, you can check this box and the explode steps will then be placed into the document.  I went ahead and set up a quick exploded view of this assembly for demonstration purposes.  The person viewing the document can then play, rewind, and play forward the explode of that assembly:

Notice the playback controls in the bottom right corner.  Here is the exploded view:

You will also notice that realview shades and materials carry over into the PDF file.  The second part of the feature tree contains the following:

The first section, Enabled Views, is where you check which standard views you want to include in the document.  All the standard views are selectable including your active view.  In testing I was not able to set up a custom view, and then have it appear in the list.

Here is what the section of the document relating to what you check in the Enabled Views will look like based on the choices above:

By clicking on one of those views you will then see that view in the main window of the document.

Next is Components To Highlight.  This option is only available when creating a presentation of an assembly.  You select the parts that you would like the end user to be able to isolate in the main view window.  Here is what the interface will look like in the document:

Basically every component you select will then show up as something that can be isolated in the main view window of the product.  Here is what you would see if you were to select the red handle:

Notice how the other components are ghosted out.

So after you make your component selection, you hit ok, and Solidworks goes to work creating your 3D PDF document.  You can then send that to anyone who is able to view a PDF file.  Here is how my Presentation Studio file looks:

You can download the file from this link to see it for yourself: Download ball_valve.pdf   

One note is I had to download Adobe Reader to view a 3D PDF.  I was using Foxit Reader which at this time doesn't support 3D PDF files.  Also, this current version of Presentation Studio only supports 32 bit operating systems.  No word if 64 bit support is in the works.  It should be noted that most 'labs' projects are almost the same as beta products, so future upgrades and support is anyones guess!

Comments

[sina]

verey goooood

[Christopher Bright]

Apart from the inflexible themes and lack of allowance for custom themes, I noted that Presentation Studio was incompatible with SW09 SP2. Just prior to the time of this comment I had recently installed SP2.1. I then learned that Presentation Studio was incompatible with SP2. I uninstalled SW09 and reinstalled SW09 SP0, then Presentation Studio again. Once I created a 3D PDF and opened it in Acrobat 9 Pro, the image appreared as expected but the buttons for my chosen views displayed no thumbnails. Upon clicking on one, the diplay area went blank. An image would not reappear regardless of which blank button was then clicked. After all I'd gone through, the end result still failed to meet my expectations. I've given up on Presentation Studio and will try the Acrobat Pro Extended 3D PDF approach.