Editor's Pick: Model Validation Solution Upgraded

Dear DE Reader:

The “Where's Waldo?” books challenge kids to find Waldo lurking in the open of a complicated illustration. They love it. But say you translate a 3D CAD file into a new format for downstream users or archiving. Or maybe your revision control process doesn't document the changes between versions well. Do you love playing “Where's Waldo?” while hunting for differences between a master and a derivative file to validate that the copy is a trustworthy representation?

ITI (International TechneGroup Inc.) has just released CADIQ version 11, the newest edition of its 3D CAD model validation and product quality solution. It's designed to find the differences between 3D CAD master files and their derivatives automatically. It highlights found issues and provides a full report with statistics. With this information, you can take whatever action necessary to make sure the derived file is exactly the same as the master and doesn't mess up downstream operations.

CADIQ does more—like quality checks that ferret out flaws in a native model that can impact downstream re-use adversely. It can generate shareable 3D PDF reports. For long-term data archival and retrieval, it enables today's engineer to document for some future one that a translated model's quality and shape is equivalent to the master model.

Highlights of CADIQ 11 include single-page 3D PDFs and a bunch of enhancements relating to PMI (product manufacturing information). Single-page reports should make navigating models and sharing data easier. PMI validation for MBD (model-based design) models include new PMI and saved PMI view diagnostics. Current users will note improvements to existing PMI diagnostics and that the user interface is more friendly.

CADIQ comes in desktop and server flavors. It readily integrates with PLM (product lifecycle management) systems and can be embedded in interoperability automation solutions. It's CAD vendor neutral. It interfaces with most major CAD systems and supports most major file format types, including their latest iterations.

Look, it's simple. You have two great assets: Your 3D CAD files and your designers, engineers and makers. Everyone needs to know that the derived copy of the master file they're working with is a validated representation of the truth. And none of them should be playing “Where's Waldo?” to figure out where the differences between a complicated master 3D CAD and its derivative are lurking.

Learn more about CADIQ 11 from today's write-up. Make sure to watch the linked videos. It's good stuff.

Thanks, Pal. – Lockwood

Anthony J. Lockwood, Editor at Large, DE