For decades, the process for sharing schematics, prototypes and design ideas has remained relatively unchanged and analogue.
You know the process: An astonishing amount of time is spent creating drafts and drawings within CAD systems, to ultimately be flattened into a bulky 2D printout or PDF.
The miscommunications and bottlenecks that inevitably arise when multiple stakeholders attempt to interpret and give feedback on a static line drawing can be frustrating and time-consuming. Collating and comprehending various pieces of feedback that are returned as crudely annotated sketches, screenshots and Word documents is a process that doesn’t have to be so... irritating.
A better way of sharing ideas
Creating a 3D model is certainly not a new way of working, however, effectively sharing models, mockups and schematics, is an obstacle that companies like JigSpace are solving with the power of AR visualisation software.
Take this example of a hairdryer:
A simple 5-step AR demonstration such as this “Jig”, can be viewed and interacted with on any device.
Bring your CAD files to life
Jigs are easily created in minutes from existing CAD files (SolidWorks®, Fusion 360 , Inventor, Creo, Blender, Shapr3d, and more). If your CAD files contain colours, they’ll automatically be imported into JigSpace, while part names can be imported for use as interactive labels. It is easy to include visual effects and animation to simulate airflow and direction of movement to breathe life into the design.
If CAD files are to-scale when they are imported, the models will display in augmented reality at a 1:1 real-world scale, creating a lifelike visualisation with minimal effort.
Users can engage with the model using rotation and zoom, and they can even explode the model to explore and interact with the inner mechanics (if enabled). CAD mesh data is imported at just 1/50th of its original size, so Jigs can be opened on mobile devices without slowing them to a crawl.
Augmented reality, accessed from anywhere
The Jig can be shared with the team and stakeholders through the use of easily generated QR codes or shareable links. The Jig is also viewable on any device using JigSpace’s brand new Web AR viewer, a feature that allows instant, remote sharing of concepts on a global scale and also allows Jigs to be embedded into webpages.
Even in the draft and high conceptual stages, sharing an idea in this manner can remove the confusion and ambiguity that comes with trying to comprehend a complex concept in 2D. The human brain learns and views the world in 3D, so disseminating information, in the same way, makes plain sense.
It’s not just for simple concepts like hairdryers though:
Imagine how many reams of paper or presentation slides it would take to share a project like this using traditional methods. Using JigSpace to visualise products in augmented reality means even the most complex ideas are shared in high resolution, with full context, annotation, and detail for non-technical viewers, even if they don’t have access to CAD software.
From concept to prototype, all the way through to assembly guides and instruction manuals, the opportunities to share information in 3D are almost limitless.
JigSpace is free for individuals to download and use, download JigSpace here.
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Content published by Professional Engineering does not necessarily represent the views of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.