Computer-based simulation games such as The Sims, Roller Coaster Tycoon and Evil Genius consumed hours of many people’s adolescent years. But thanks to new engineering design technology, those don’t have to be wasted time with no real value.
A new three-dimensional industrial design program unveiled recently by Intergraph — a Huntsville, Alabama, based creator of engineering software — allows users to design, modify and plan expansions of their manufacturing, warehouse and other industrial facilities incorporating the same concepts used by those popular computer games.
Multi-Industrial Applications
The program, called Intergraph Smart 3D, allows users to use three-dimensional computer modeling to build engineering solutions for a wide variety of industrial applications. It combines the best features of three other Intergraph products — SmartPlant 3D, SmartMarine 3D, and SmartPlant 3D Materials Handling Edition — into one comprehensive program that can be used for plant, offshore, shipbuilding, bulk material handling, mining and other industries.
Like those entertaining and addictive PC simulation games that consumed so many of people’s teenage years, Smart 3D includes cool graphics and is easy to operate, as this video from Intergraph illustrates. And like a multi-player video game, Smart 3D allows users from around the world to collaborate on the same projects via the Internet.
Three-Dimensional Industrial Design
Didier Tyson, product manager for Technip, a leading offshore energy company, was among the beta testers for the new product.
“We were able to easily bring forward projects built on the 2009.1 release,” Tyson said in a news release. “The improved configuration for extraction of deliverables is significantly faster and the 65-bit processing capabilities allow large drawings to benefit from increased memory availability.”
“It’s also much easier to configure and run,” Didier said.
Mutli-Player, Um, -User Capability
One of the biggest benefits is that Smart 3D can be used simultaneously by engineers and other designers working in entirely different industries. This is helpful when different divisions of companies — or even different contractors — are collaborating on a single project. Modifications and design changes — such as facility upgrades or green design changes — can be viewed in real time by multiple users.
Gerhard Sallinger, president of Intergraph’s power and marine division, said this feature makes Smart 3D a breakthrough in the Computer Aided Design (CAD) industry.
“Users of our solutions recognize how beneficial it is to have the multi-industry capabilities of Intergraph Smart 3d,” Sallinger said. “Customers see the real value of this integrated solution. Owner operators and engineering contractors around the world now have complete access to all Smart 3D capabilities and features with a consistent interface to aid clients in project-workforce flexibility. Smart 3D represents the most comprehensive solution available for intelligent 3D design.”
The new program includes Model Data Reuse (MDR), a feature that allows users to reuse front-end engineering design or old designs from other projects and apply them to new or existing design projects. This allows for a cost savings because portions of projects can be plugged in without having to be created from scratch.
Another feature is Smart 3D’s enhances interoperability capabilities, which allow the use of 3D data from many different CAD systems from remote locations all at the same time.