Aachen, October 7, 2025 – Whether in mechanical engineering, the automotive industry, or aviation, the continuous development of technical products presents companies with a key challenge every day: efficient and transparent change management. The new Kisters 3DViewStation offers powerful tools that enable CAD changes to be quickly identified, analyzed, and documented, without having to rely on the original CAD system.
Thanks to its high performance and comprehensive format support, 3DViewStation is now an established solution for change management in industry – from design review to manufacturing to after sales.
3D comparison in seconds – audit-proof and precise
One of the core functions of Kisters 3DViewStation in change management is 3D geometry comparison. With just a few clicks, any two CAD models can be compared – regardless of whether they are in the same or different data formats, and regardless of whether they are individual parts or assemblies. The system clearly displays all geometric deviations to the user in a color-coded representation:
- Modified parts
- Modified assemblies
- Added parts, features, holes, or PMIs
- Removed parts, features, holes, or PMIs
- Moved parts or PMIs
In addition, structural comparisons can also be performed, in which two assemblies are compared. This allows
- changed physical properties such as volumes or areas,
- changed colors or transparencies,
- changed PMIs or attributes, or
- new, deleted, or renamed components
to be clearly displayed, sorted, filtered, and analyzed in a table. These functions support development departments, production planning, and quality assurance alike—saving time-consuming manual analyses and providing greater reliability.
“Our customers regularly report that with 3DViewStation, they can identify and evaluate changes in seconds that they previously could not detect at all or that took them hours to identify even with expensive CAD-related tools,” explains Craig Impastato, sales manager at Kisters.
Comment, document, share
In change management, it is not only analysis that is crucial, but also documentation and communication. Kisters 3DViewStation offers a complete set of functions for this purpose:
- Markups and annotations for graphical comments directly in the 3D CAD model
- Creation and review via desktop or web solution
- View management for managing different views, each of which can include isolated geometries, annotations, markups, and camera positions
- Export of change requests as screenshots or in neutral formats, or provision of annotated 3D data for the web browser-based viewer
- Integration into PLM, PDM, or workflow systems for the automatic transfer of change requests, comments, test results, or approvals
These functions enable interdisciplinary teams to discuss changes centrally, document them in a traceable manner, and keep them available throughout the entire lifecycle.
Supports digital workflows and automated inspection processes
Kisters 3DViewStation is not just a tool for manual analysis. Automation functions (e.g., in batch mode or via an API) allow CAD models to be automatically compared and evaluated with previous versions each time a new version is released. Companies use this function to:
- Generate automated change reports
- Support approval processes in PLM systems
- Check supplier data for changes before transferring it to the system
The solution remains CAD-neutral, high-performance, and independent of original systems such as CATIA, NX, Creo, or SolidWorks.
"Clear visualization is essential for efficient change management. Kisters 3DViewStation delivers exactly that – immediately visible, transparent, and documentable," Impastato continues.
Benefits for all departments – from engineering to service
Change tracking is not just a matter for design engineers. Kisters 3DViewStation supports:
- Technical editors who need to track changes in documentation
- Production planners who need to adapt their work instructions and assembly instructions
- Quality assurance, which must ensure that changes have been implemented correctly
- Sales & after-sales, which work with current product statuses
Thanks to its versatile interfaces, the solution can be fully integrated into existing engineering IT infrastructures – both locally and web-based.
About 3DViewStation
Kisters 3DViewStation is continuously enhanced in response to customer needs and requirements. It is available as a Desktop, HTML5 WebViewer and VR Edition product versions plus the online collaboration tool VisShare. All product offerings can be integrated with a PLM, ERP or other leading management system as well as service and spare part applications. Kisters 3DViewStation provides all necessary APIs for your development team. For cloud, portal and web solutions, there is a HTML5-based WebViewer solution available, which does not require client installation. All file formats can be used in combination with the intelligent navigation and hyperlinking features to address the needs of complex integration scenarios.
About the company
With more than 25 years of success in the market as a provider of superior visualization solutions from desktop to mobile, Kisters has become the CAD viewer tool of choice within the 3D visualization industry. The company’s clients range from small firms to well-known multinationals, comprising more than 3,000 customers and over 200,000 installations worldwide. The 3DViewStation's easy-to-use interface is suitable for all user groups and 100% customizable to everyone’s specific requirements.
Contact:
Kisters AG
sales-viewer@kisters.de
3dviewstation.com
