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Stretching the digital imagination
By James Murdock
Acrobat 3D, the latest offering
from Adobe Systems, creates PDF files that feature detailed
3D models. |
Acrobat 3D
Adobe Systems
www.adobe.com
Windows
Adobe Systems has added a new dimension to its Acrobat product
suite—literally. Acrobat 3D includes all of the features
available in Acrobat 7.0 Professional plus the ability to
create PDF files that feature detailed 3D models. Using the
software, designers can import objects from CAD programs such
as MicroStation without the native modeling software installed
on their computers. Then, within the Acrobat authoring environment,
they can rotate objects, change the color or graphic style,
create cross sections, animate models, create walk-throughs,
and more.
MaxonForm is a plug-in for
Graphisoft’s ArchiCAD software. |
MaxonForm for ArchiCAD
Graphisoft
www.graphisoft.com
Windows and Mac
For every architect who has fantasized about an easy way to
warp and extrude rectilinear volumes in ArchiCAD without using
special scripts or GDL editing, MaxonForm might be the right
solution. Based on Cinema 4D, a free-form modeling program
used mainly by the entertainment industry, MaxonForm is a
plug-in for Graphisoft’s ArchiCAD software. It allows
architects to model organically within ArchiCAD’s Virtual
Building platform, using basic shapes such as cubes, pyramids,
cones, cylinders, and spheres, as well as polygon forms, including
arcs, bezier curves, and b-splines.
FormFonts provides an inexpensive
online library of 3D objects and 2D images of items such
as windows, trees, and shingles. |
FormFonts
FormFonts
www.formfonts.com
Windows and Mac
Offering something for A&D firms of all sizes, FormFonts
provides an inexpensive online library of 3D objects and 2D
images of items such as windows, cars, trees, and shingles.
For a monthly fee of $11, subscribers can download thousands
of objects from FormFont’s Web catalog directly into
their CAD programs. The service is ideal for smaller firms
that lack the time and resources to create such a library
themselves, while its optional online storage can help larger
firms that want an easy, secure way of sharing proprietary
styles among multiple offices.
NetBlender software allows
DVDs to “talk” to the internet, offering viewers
additional or updated information. |
NetBlender
NetBlender
www.netblender.com
Windows
DVDs are great for delivering high-quality photos, plans,
and other files to clients, but the format’s creators
failed to anticipate one feature: DVDs cannot “talk”
to the Internet. NetBlender enables DVD programmers to embed
active hyperlinks on a disc, thereby creating a viewing environment
in which the end user seamlessly shifts between stored content
on the disc and additional content, such as streaming video,
on the Web. For architects who want to package their portfolios
or proposals on DVD, this software eliminates any guesswork
for clients surfing the Web for additional or updated information.
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