Spatial Corp recently announced the latest service pack of 3D software development toolkits (SDKs), focusing on updated version support and feature enhancements for improved usability – enabling customers to accelerate their 3D innovation.

3D InterOp

This release contains a number of enhancements and new features for 3D InterOp, starting with support for new file versions:

• SolidWorks version 2017
• UG NX version 11
• CATIA V5-6 R2017
• 3DEXPERIENCE (CATIA V6) R2017x

A number of new features have also been included:

• UG NX model views ‒ 3D InterOp now offers translation of model view data from NX files, as well as the camera views that were previously supported. These model views are translated through 3D InterOp as capture information.
• UG NX layer category ‒ In Unigraphics NX a layer category is a named group of layers, providing a way for a user to logically combine layers, and thereby display related sets of objects in the model.
• Control of default work-plane translation ‒ Work planes are construction objects used in CAD files to locate 2D geometry for defining 3D objects. This release provides a new option to control translation of these default work planes separately from user-created ones.

CGM Core Modeler

CGM Core Modeler has received a number of enhancements:

• New “Extract Cells” operator for improved usability
• Many new How-To articles and strong commands for improved usability

CGM Polyhedra

Users can now directly stitch together discrete and precise entities to create a hybrid body.

 Learn more at:  www.spatial.com

We recently announced the availability of 3D Precise Mesh, extending our existing offering of 3D Mesh. 3D Precise Mesh is the result of our collaboration with Distene S.A.S., the developer and supplier of MeshGems, the leading suite of meshing software components and technologies, bridging the gap between CAD and simulation/analysis.

For customers of Spatial modelers, the self-contained meshing component can be easily integrated into a software application, providing end users access to a reliable solution — one validated via a large and growing database of models. With support for parallelized meshing, 3D Precise Mesh removes the limits for simulation applications in demanding industries.

For more information, please visit: https://www.spatial.com/products/3d-precise-mesh

Lubansoft

Lubansoft focuses on research, development, and promotion of  building information modeling (BIM) technology. The company concentrates on construction-phase BIM technology projects, plus enterprise-level solution research and development and services.

The company’s enterprise-level building information modeling (BIM) system (Luban PDS) is an engineering basic-data platform that innovatively applies cutting-edge BIM technology to the entire process of project management for the construction industry. Lubansoft’s BIM application clients are mobile ready, able to support mobile office requirements of the construction industry.

In the past, Luban Architecture (a part of Luban PDS) used the 3D modeling function built into AutoCAD; however, AutoCAD’s strength is as a 2D drawing platform, and not as a 3D modeling engine. Because the 3D modeling kernel in AutoCAD is neither robust nor full-featured, it impacted both the performance of Luban Architecture, as well as resulted in a number of Boolean operation failures.

Along with limited 3D modeling capabilities, AutoCAD’s abilities in 3D visualization are also very limited. For example, displaying a relatively complex 3D BIM model, such as a 20-floor building, resulted in sluggish performance. This inability to effectively display complex 3D BIM models placed Lubansoft at a competitive disadvantage.

Given these shortcomings, Lubansoft’s development team replaced the AutoCAD 3D modeling kernel with 3D ACIS Modeler.  By moving to an industry-proven solution with more than two million seats worldwide, Lubansoft’s applications can now achieve a significant improvement in their stability and performance, while benefiting from the robustness gained through thousands of use cases.

The result of Lubansoft incorporating Spatial SDKs into their products has led to a more effective and competitive BIM application suite. For more details, see the case study, Lubansoft Leverages Spatial SDKs to Build World-Class 3D BIM Toolsuite.  

Healing, Not Just for Precise Models Anymore

Mesh/tessellated data is common to some industries such as additive manufacturing, medicine, geology and architecture, or for workflows operating with approximated 3D models. The data can come from LIDAR or from other modeling systems that output stereolithography (STL) files. Because mesh data is an approximated representation of an object/assembly, there are often imperfections in the data which can hinder many downstream workflows or result in a poorly printed assembly. For these reasons, a tessellated model requires healing  — the repair of the mesh to better represent the scanned object or the original design intent.