Ship, Plant Design – New CAD Software Gives Virtual 3D Inspection

Intergraph introduces CAD viewer for 3-D virtual walk through plant, ship or offshore model

Intergraph, a leading global provider of engineering and geospatial software that enables customers to visualize complex data has released SmartPlant® FreeView™, a free .VUE viewer that allows users to display and navigate Intergraph 3D models and view associated plant properties.

SmartPlant FreeView will open Intergraph SmartPlant 3D and SmartMarine® 3D projects published as a .VUE file. A user then may walk through the plant, ship or offshore model and select any object in the view to see its associated plant properties via the MDB2 package. Intergraph’s SmartPlant Review Publisher can convert and combine SmartPlant 3D and SmartMarine 3D, as well as other project types, into .VUE and MDB2 formats for viewing with SmartPlant FreeView or Intergraph’s full-capability visualization solution, SmartPlant Review.

The free .VUE viewer has a complete set of on-screen navigation controls for easy use, allowing even the most casual user to walk through complex 3D models with no training. Keyboard navigation is equally simple. An orientation axis is displayed in the view to help the user maintain direction. SmartPlant FreeView also has a surface measure command to display accurate distances between objects.

Gerhard Sallinger, Intergraph Process, Power & Marine president said: “SmartPlant FreeView enables our customers and their suppliers to increase productivity and competiveness without increasing costs. The use of SmartPlant 3D and SmartMarine 3D has doubled in the last two years. With that tremendous growth comes the need for a variety of users, including design, engineering, construction, operations and maintenance, to view these complex 3D models.

“Now, for example, an engineering company can provide a 3D model to a potential subcontractor who can use SmartPlant FreeView for a preliminary review and bid based on the actual model rather than a collection of drawings – without having to purchase viewing software,” Sallinger said. “Then once the work is awarded, the subcontractor can upgrade to SmartPlant Review for more in-depth review and analysis capabilities.”