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ptc-53379991-Visitor
1-Visitor
August 18, 2014
Question

Graphic file type for Arbortext

  • August 18, 2014
  • 2 replies
  • 5707 views

Trying to figure out what type of file to use in our tech manuals. We will be using a 3d product model to generate images but our publushed tech manual (.pdf) will not be interactive (all images will publish as 2d, hopefully .tiffs). I want to be able to edit and update the graphics via creo illustrate throughout production but have no 3d interaction within the finished manual. Which file format do I want to generate from creo?

2 replies

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ptc-53379991-VisitorAuthor
1-Visitor
August 19, 2014

Maybe a better question would be... is there a way to turn off the interactivity or the interactive viewport in arbortext on a .pvz file?

P
ptc-48558651-Visitor
1-Visitor
August 20, 2014

I think you are going to be limited by the graphic entity characteristics contained in your DTD or schema. The best thing may be to create a sample file and try all the various graphic formats allowed and see which one works best. I think that 2D representation in a pdf is going to look pretty much the same no matter what type you use so perhaps you should determine which file type is easiest to use and maintain from the illustrator/tech writers point of view. Since PDfs are flat files, some type of raster image may be best (tif, jpeg, etc).

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ptc-53379991-VisitorAuthor
1-Visitor
August 20, 2014

The engineers are still going to be making changes to our 3D model throughout our production of our manual. From what I understand, Creo will link files so that when a part in one file is changed, the changes will filter down through all the other 3D files that contain that part. I am trying to make sure that whatever graphics I put into the manual will still update when changes are made to the main model that it is linked to.

G
GarethOakes16-Pearl
16-Pearl
August 20, 2014

Hi Rebecca,

Conceptually I think you are correct. Creo (3D model) -> IsoDraw CADProcess (imports as 2D illustration) -> Arbortext (creates PDF). IsoDraw CADProcess allows an "update and import" of a 3D model to refresh a 2D illustration. However that should still be run by a human as there may be import errors depending on the complexity of updates to the 3D model.

For print fidelity I would recommend printing your IsoDraw files to EPS if possible. CGM or SVG may have issues being rendered in print, and TIFF is not a vector format so not well suited to high res printing. Also note that since one of the Arbortext 6.0 releases, Arbortext now contains an embedded version of IsoView so you could also choose to use that component to render IsoDraw illustrations directly to page.

From a workflow perspective you should use something like Windchill to house and manage all the files and their versions.

Hope that helps.

-Gareth

    P
    ptc-53379991-VisitorAuthor
    1-Visitor
    August 21, 2014

    So, it looks like i will be needing IsoDraw????

    If I don't have that program, is there a way around only using Creo Illustrate?

    We are using Windchill to manage all our files.

    G
    GarethOakes16-Pearl
    16-Pearl
    August 22, 2014

    Creo Illustrate should work just fine. Make sure to export your 3D illustration from Creo Illustrate in a format supported by Arbortext or the embedded IsoView of Arbortext (CGM, WebCGM, PVZ, EPS, etc.).

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