Article published in August 2008 on the Novedge blog.
The relatively short history of CAD visualization is marked by big ambitions and small results. So far, no company has been able to escape this spell. Looking at the target market, the opportunities for a CAD visualization system seem huge, with potential users numbering in the millions, including entire departments outside design and manufacturing.
Franco Folini
The relatively short history of CAD visualization is marked by big ambitions and small results. No company has been able to escape this spell. Looking at the target market, the opportunities for a CAD visualization system seem enormous, with potential users numbering in the millions, including entire departments outside design and manufacturing. Here’s the problem: when it comes to convincing real users to adopt the technology and open their wallets, even the best companies struggle to sell more than a few thousand licenses. I suspect that nobody really knows the reason for such disappointing results, and I certainly don’t. But there is one thing I can say for sure — in the last 10-15 years, we have seen very few innovative approaches to this problem. In fact, all CAD visualization products usually fall into one of two categories:
- Programs created by CAD experts. They are too often unfriendly to users without a CAD background.
- Programs created by people outside the design and manufacturing world may be easy to use, but don’t address critical problems; instead, they seem to focus on irrelevant details.
When I first saw QuadriSpace Pages3D, something resonated with my experience. Finally, a CAD visualization tool that is easy to use (even by non-CAD users) and that addresses real problems, not abstract idealizations of the design and manufacturing world. QuadriSpace software is still in its infancy, but it is already a great example of what a CAD visualization tool should be. The person who created an easy-to-use viewer that doesn’t look like a pruned version of a CAD system is Brian Roberts, the President and founder of QuadriSpace.
The interview with Brian Roberts
Franco Folini: Hi, Brian! Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your company, QuadriSpace?
Brian Roberts: First, thank you for taking the time to discuss QuadriSpace today.
Believe it or not, the initial ideas that formed the foundation for QuadriSpace originated on the golf course. At the time, I worked for Raytheon, developing cutting-edge 3D technologies and delivering vehicle simulations to the Army and National Guard for training.
Weekly, I would meet up with an engineer friend for a round of golf. He was an early user of 3D CAD software and used 3D to design products. We realized that software technology could be developed to allow him to create documentation for his products more quickly and efficiently than ever before. We began working with other companies experiencing the same problems, and it became clear that the solution lay buried in the 3D models. We had developed a powerful, unique technology to leverage for non-engineering tasks. QuadriSpace was founded in 2001 to solve this disconnect between engineering data and downstream deliverables, and we released our first product 6 months later. We were the first to market with a completely revolutionary method of using 3D to create page-by-page presentations. Ultimately, this was the first step in developing a complete end-to-end 3D communication and documentation suite, now known as the Document3D Suite.
As for me, I graduated from the University of Texas in 1994 and have been involved in 3D software marketing and development since then. Currently, I am the founder and President of QuadriSpace. And now that QuadriSpace is running full steam ahead, the golf days seem to be behind me, at least for now.
We realized that a software technology could be developed that would allow him to create documentation for his products more quickly and more efficiently than ever before.
Brian Roberts
Franco Folini: QuadriSpace is approaching 3D communication, emphasizing the “document” metaphor. What are the benefits of adopting a document-based solution instead of viewing the original CAD file?
Brian Roberts: There is a huge difference between using 3D to create documents and simply viewing a 3D model. 3D viewers do just that: they allow you to view the 3D model, nothing more, nothing less. What we mean by “document” focus is that you use the 3D to actually create something. In some cases, this is a quick email; in others, it is a high-quality document such as a user guide or instruction set. In all cases, QuadriSpace allows users to quickly use the existing 3D models.
I would say that the primary benefit of our “document” focus is the user experience. Many competitive products work more like 3D CAD software. This doesn’t make much sense because the end user is often not an experienced CAD user, and we all know the learning curve for 3D CAD software can be months, even on good systems. What QuadriSpace does is very different. Our products present users with a familiar interface comparable to Microsoft Office.
Another very important benefit arises from integrating 3D with authoring tools. Other products that attempt to get the same results have users jumping through 4 or 5 different programs before a final document is created. Not only is this multi-step process costly, but it is also extremely difficult and time-consuming. With QuadriSpace, you can simply import your 3D models and publish a final document in minutes.
With QuadriSpace, you can simply import your 3D models and publish a final document in minutes.
Brian Roberts
Franco Folini: Adobe Acrobat 3D seems to be in the same market segment as QuadriSpace. How do you compare your product with Acrobat?
Brian Roberts: First of all, I’d like to point out that 3D PDF is only one example of the many formats that can be published with QuadriSpace products.
That being said, everyone is looking for a way to create 3D PDF documents from their 3D models. As a platform for 3D, the PDF file is ideal because you can embed your 3D model in a standard document format and share it with others, who can then rotate, pan, and zoom the model interactively. It’s a great communication platform for people who work in 3D.
Unfortunately, Acrobat 3D is an ad-hoc tool for creating these 3D PDF documents. Let’s say you wanted to create a 3D PDF from your 3D model. Using Acrobat 3D, you would need to learn and use a program for authoring the document, then Acrobat for adding the 3D, yet another program for editing the 3D, and finally, you would have to learn JavaScript programming to add interactive elements to your 3D PDF. This is not document creation; this is a software development cycle. Given this complex process, it is no wonder that very few people master the art of sharing 3D PDF documents.
Now, on the other hand, the same 3D PDF document is simple to create with QuadriSpace. The process is simple: import your 3D model, add text, tables, and buttons around it, and publish it. No programming is necessary; no other software is needed. Just one integrated program.
Ease of creation is not the only benefit. With our solution, you can easily update entire documents when 3D changes occur, publish to other standard formats, and add parts lists and step-by-step procedures to your document with ease. These critical features are incredibly difficult, if not impossible, with Acrobat 3D alone.
I’ll send you a few example documents if you’d like.
Given this complex process, it is no wonder that very few people master the ability to share 3D PDF documents.
Brian Roberts
Franco Folini: How can customers manage the dynamic nature of an ever-changing CAD model with a static document-based solution such as QuadriSpace?
Brian Roberts: No doubt about it, 3D CAD has created a new world where products are in a continuous cycle of revision and improvements. Keeping documents up to date and in sync with the current engineering design is a challenge that cannot be overstated.
With this fundamental problem in mind, QuadriSpace has implemented a straightforward solution that builds on the unique “document” focus that we offer. Let’s say that a customer’s product requires a 50-page installation guide. The first benefit of using QuadriSpace for this project is that the creation time for the initial document is typically 80% shorter than the current manual process many still use today.
Now consider the scenario where a 3D CAD design has changed, requiring an update to the manual. If you are still creating all manuals manually, you will spend days updating and reapplying callouts to each illustration. In contrast, QuadriSpace offers an Update command that lets users simply import the new 3D CAD design, automatically updating all illustrations and parts lists across the 50 pages. You can easily see the time savings realized with a single manual.
Keeping documents up-to-date and in sync with the current engineering design is a challenge that cannot be overstated.
Brian Roberts
Franco Folini: I’ve been reading about the huge potential market for CAD visualization for many years, but so far nobody has been able to exploit it. What is missing here—products and awareness, or is the market simply smaller than expected?
Brian Roberts: Simple CAD viewers suffer from the “that’s cool, now what” syndrome. In other words, by itself, the simple ability to open and view a 3D model does not solve many problems outside of engineering. With a CAD viewer, the overall value is just not there for the non-engineer. These guys are creating work instructions, parts catalogs, technical illustrations, or marketing brochures. The 3D model is just a small piece of the puzzle. QuadriSpace addresses this with a fundamentally different approach, packaging the power of 3D in a familiar and affordable software suite that is easy for non-engineers to use.
Another way to say this is: CAD visualization is a feature, not a product. When products that leverage 3D visualization for a specific purpose are offered, the market responds with acceptance because they solve real-world problems. For example, 3D CAD software includes 3D visualization features used to create a 3D design. This provides extensive benefits. With QuadriSpace, we allow customers to leverage 3D visualization features to create documents, illustrations, and animations. This also provides extensive benefits.
CAD visualization is a feature, not a product.
Brian Roberts
Franco Folini: Some visualization solutions include export functionalities for 3D geometry. What are the benefits and the risks of letting users extract the original 3D geometry from a 3D document?
Brian Roberts: When a customer delivers a document created with QuadriSpace, we want them to have confidence that the document that they share is secure and does not provide any information that could be used for reverse engineering. One part of this is to keep the data locked up inside the document.
The recipient can still rotate, pan, and zoom the 3D model embedded in the document page, but extracting the information and using it for other purposes is something we intentionally do not support.
There are formats on the market used to exchange data between 3D CAD programs. QuadriSpace has a number of 3D importers that will read this information into our products for 3D communication and documentation uses.
We want customers to have confidence that their documen is secure and does not provide any information that could be used for reverse engineering.
Brian Roberts
Franco Folini: Your 3D communication solution is desktop-based. Have you ever considered integrating some server-based services into your products?
Brian Roberts: When you consider the list of companies that provide 3D communication and documentation products, you will find that QuadriSpace is the only company dedicated to a desktop-based solution. In other words, we offer the only solution that will take you from a 3D model to a final document for less than $1000. Competitive products offer an enterprise solution, but we all know that quickly results in a long-term integration effort and a price tag that can easily cost $100,000 or more. To answer your question about server-based services, we have been researching easy ways to integrate a desktop solution with the enormous amount of product data available. This is something we have considered for the future, and I think you will find our approach aligns with our current products: easy, affordable, and complete.
I would like to thank Brian Roberts for taking the time to answer all my questions.
