21 
Integrate 3D models
in product documentation for more efficient communication
The benefits of interactive 3D models
integrated in technical and other documents go far beyond eye
candy. They can save your company large sums of money when incorporated
into manufacturing and servicing, catalogues and process control.
Over and above making merely your PDFs easier to use, 3D models
of hardware, parts and processes enhance comprehension, reduce
errors and contribute to higher productivity. The saving in resources
can be immense, from marketing (visualizing products and processes)
through training and service (error reduction such as minimizing
the shipping of incorrect parts) to reduced localization costs
(as processes are visualized).
But how to go about it? Many companies
will not even pay for a static exploded diagram, let alone a
3D model. And how labor-intensive is creating a 3D PDF?
Then what happens when you need to update your PDFs?
Well, first of all, hardware-related companies
invariably use 3D models for design and production purposes,
so the models are already available at no or little extra cost.
And you don't have to manually place the
3D models in the PDF file using Acrobat every time the document
is updated. With TimeSavers + 3D Assistant,
3D models can be added to your FrameMaker source files,
together with a wide variety of model-related interactivity features.
All these will automatically be produced in the PDF document
whenever you distill.
End users do not need any special 3D display
software. When viewing the PDFs using the free Adobe Reader (7.0.7
or later), all they need to do is click on the 3D model
and manipulate it interactively -- zoom in/out, switch between
different views, rotate the model, view cross-sections and individual
parts, see animations such as assembly or disassembly sequences,
and more.
Interactive 3D-PDF examples (distilled
with TimeSavers+3D Assistant):
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