Siemens PLM integrations with the 3DViewStation

ActiveWorkspace with Kisters 3DViewStation

ActiveWorkspace with 3DViewStation WebViewer

With Siemens ActiveWorkspace the 3DViewStation WebViewer version can be used fully integrated into the user interface. Use the high performance of 3DViewStation to visualize even GB sized assemblies in seconds. With the 3DViewStation licenses the interfaces to many other CAD systems are available, no matter if 3D or 2D. Office and image formats are also supported. So you can create mockups with data from different sources without any preparation time, because there is no need to convert to a common data format like JT. If you need a view tool that is as fast as possible, then we also recommend a conversion - then please into our 3DVS, which is much faster to visualize than any other format including JT.
Once a model has been loaded via ActiveWorkspace into the 3DViewStation WebViewer version embedded there, then the complete wealth of over 180 functions is available to you. This is reht unusual for a web-based application, where most are quite reduced compared to desktop applications. These 3DViewStation functionalities are intuitively offered via an MS Office-like user interface with so-called ribbons. If you do not need all functions, you can easily customize this interface yourself and reduce it to what is necessary, or even restructure it if necessary. For example, several interface configurations can be used for different user groups.
Due to its rich functionality, 3DViewStation does much more than a JT2Go and is even on par with a VisMockup. Many customers have experienced the value of web-based systems and have now decided to use the modern online version of 3DViewStation.

ActiveWorkspace with 3DViewStation VR Edition

With Active Workspace, however, the 3DViewStation VR-Edition has also been integrated, which is here very ergonomically controlled via speech. Not only perform virtual inspections and typical CAD analysis during a VR session, but also attach annotations to a geometry via voice and then place snapshots into ActiveWorkspace for further editing.
Unlike other virtual reality software, 3DviewStation VR Edition uses the same graphics core as our desktop and WebViewer versions. This is unique in the world. It leads to the fact that we could provide almost every feature you know from the desktop version also in the VR edition. So far, after consultation with many customers, there are about 40 functions that you can find in the menu of our VR edition.

The manufacturing industry uses virtual reality today, among other things, to detect errors and problems at an early stage. So it is ideal that issues detected via Virtual Reality are stored in the PLM system like ActiveWorkspace and tracked via change management. First, the snapshots generated provide a quick visual impression. But then, to get to the bottom of a problem, the same model with the same view settings from the previous VR session is further examined this time within the ActiveWorkspace interface using the 3DViewStation WebViewer. This is a perfect interaction of PLM with VR and web viewing.

Teamcenter Engineering with Kisters 3DViewStation

Also from Siemens Teamcenter Engineering it is possible to load 3D CAD data directly into the 3DViewStation Desktop version or even VR edition within a few seconds, which means long preparation times with other solutions. The easiest way is to customize the context menu in TCE to export e.g. JT data and then use a simple command line call to access 3DViewStation, no matter if desktop or VR version. This is the zero development category. If one pushes the effort a bit higher, a PLMXML or VSXML file can be generated from a virtual product structure previously defined in Teamcenter, which is passed to 3DViewStation for rendering. This kind of integration also allows the automatic application of metadata as 3D annotations within the visualization session, the enrichment with status and release information and the use of metadata to colorize geometries depending on the status - the so-called color coding. 3DViewStation can also send events, e.g. as soon as a solid is clicked within a design. This information can be used to establish digital business processes and, for example, to query the stock level live in an ERP system or to subscribe to related documentation in an editorial system.

Integration requires little effort

It is important to mention that a connection of 3DViewStation to a leading system like Teamcenter Engineering is quite a manageable effort. We can take away an important concern here for Siemens customers, who often have had different experiences in their customizing projects.

Example:
An automotive supplier with a team of 3 people created an integration with the following functionality within one week: First, geometries with metadata are exported from Teamcenter. The geometries are loaded in the 3DViewStation WebViewer version. The metadata describes which spot welds have to be checked. Therefore these spot welds are highlighted in 3DViewStation via colored spheres. If the inspector clicks on them, he can enter the inspection result in a window generated by JAVA script and thus work through a list step by step or click on all balls in the graphic one after the other. The JAVA script extensions were quickly implemented by the customer's professional development team. They appear to the user as natural windows of the 3DViewStation; a seamless integration.