The CADprocess Technology

With IsoDraw you save time and cost within the entire process chain in the documentation department.

The gap between CAD and technical publishing, therefore, must be filled. IsoDraw CADprocess is the first product to implement these features with outstanding quality. Completely new perspectives for optimizing the publishing process are the result. Most companies currently use 3D CAD systems for design purposes. Among the various advantages of these systems is its integration with the environment, such as the production process, for example.

IsoDraw CADprocess now provides the bridge between 3D CAD systems and technical publishing. Whereas many companies previously spent large amounts of manual work creating illustrations for product documentation or spare part catalogs, CAD data can now be used directly. This results in significant time savings that help minimize the production time and costs of documentation or spare part catalogs. Normally, complex illustrations that require between 15 and 30 hours of manual labor can be converted and prepared in just a few minutes. The savings are truly dramatic. In this way, a complete production chain can be created that runs from the CAD systems and publishing department to the electronic spare part catalog on CD or the Internet.

The completely new CADprocess technology fills the gap between 3D CAD systems and technical publishing and illustration. This is not just a simple data conversion process. Complex 3D data is specifically prepared for the requirements of Technical Illustration and publishing. The process includes the addition of different line weights as well as the optimization of the elements into easily editable polylines or bezier curves. In both quality and file size, the resulting illustration is virtually indistinguishable from a conventionally drawn one. This is particularly significant for sub-sequent use of the illustration in electronic catalogs or manuals that will be distributed on CD or over the Internet.

Conversion
IsoDraw CADprocess reads surface models from IGES and AutoCAD DWG or DXF files and displays them in a 3D window. Here the user can set the perspective or even transform the object spatially. The view is then projected onto a 2D illustration. If desired, any hidden lines are removed and the data is optimized for use in the Technical Illustration. IsoDraw CADprocess can convert 3D data from all leading CAD systems in the aforementioned standard formats. If you use solids in the 3D area, they have to be converted to surface models when exporting to IGES.

Optimization
CADprocess does not just perform a simple hidden line removal. Experience with CAD systems has shown that the quality required for Technical Illustrations, both graphically and in terms of the file size, simply cannot be achieved this way. In the initial conversion stages, a specially developed process collects additional information that is used later to create the required line widths. These different line widths are a proven and widely used stylistic method that make illustrations easier to understand for the end user. Equally important is the quality of the generated graphical elements. IsoDraw CADprocess joins individual lines into connected polylines that are more compact and easier to edit. If desired, these can then be smoothed and converted to bezier curves as well. This reduces the file size even further. For example: A 20 MB IGES file produces an illustration that is less than 100 KB. A result that is comparable with the manually created illustration.

Time
CAD file conversion can be done in just a few minutes. Actual conversion time depends on the complexity of the file and the performance of the computer being used. On an average PC, a 20 MB CAD file can generally be converted and optimized in 3 to 4 minutes.