Advanced-3D-Visualization-for-Manufacturing-and-Fa

Advanced3DVisualizationforManufacturingandFacilityControlsResearchBriefJune2010Advanced3DVisualizationforManufacturingandFacilityControlsRussAgrusa,Member,IEEE,ValeriaG.Mazza,RobertoPensoICONICSInc.Abstract—Today’smanufacturingandbuildingoperationsarefacedwiththeneedtoreducecostandbemorecompetitivewiththefewestofresources.Connectivitytodifferentinfrastructuresfordatagatheringandtheneedtoanalyzeandvisualizedatainrealtimeisevermoreimportantintoday’seconomicenvironment.Recently,visualizationsystemshavetakenagiantstepforwardincorporatingadvancedhardwareaccelerated3Dgraphicsintostandardoff-thecommercialproduct.Asaresult,providingcompelling3Dgraphicsapplicationsandhavingaccesstoplantdataisthekeytohavingacompetitiveadvantage.ThispaperpresentsawholenewpowerfulapproachtovisualizationofmanufacturingthatgreatlyreducesthelearningcurvefordevelopingHumanMachineInterface(HMI)applications.Keywords—3DGraphics,HMI,WPF,XAML,AutomationML.I.INTRODUCTIONANUFACTURINGsystemsarecomprisedofproducts,equipment,people,informationsystems,controlandsupportfunctionsforthecompetitivedevelopment,production,deliveryandtotallifecycleofproducts.Thegoalconsistsofsatisfyingmarketaswellassocialneeds.Industrialandautomotivemanufacturersarefacingnumerouschallengesacrossallphasesoftheproductdevelopmentprocess–shortendevelopmenttimes,managingglobalsupplychains,fiercecompetition,andincreasinglycomplexproducts.Theyareinneedofsolutionsthatcanhelpthemgettomarketfaster,cheaperandwithgreaterfunctionalityandcapability.Thebeststrategyistoadopt,openindustrialstandardsforprovidingcompleteintegrationofmultiplesystemsatthehardwarelevelaswellastochoosethelatestavailablesoftwaretoolsthatcanhavelongtermusefulnessandcanbecurrentforatleastfivetotenyears.Inpastsystems2Dgraphicsforautomationwereandstillareforthemostpartthedominantapproach.Nowthelandscapeisabouttochangeandanew3Dapproachismorethanjusthype.Itisnot“justapassingfad”;itisnowareality.Modernvisualizationapplicationsareleadingthewaytoincorporating3Dgraphicstechnologyintoavastarrayofindustrialsolutionsthatcanmeetrealcustomerneedsinmultipleindustries,including:ICONICSInc.-100FoxboroughBlvd,Foxboro,02035MA(USA)Tel:[phone];Fax:[phone]RussAgrusa,ICONICSPresidentandCEO,[e-mail],3DGraphicDesigner,[e-mail],SouthEuropeSalesManager,[e-mail]omationOil,Gas&PetrochemicalFood&PharmaceuticalWaterandWastewateramongmanyothers.Thisnewapproachwillsavetimeandmoney,providingtheabilitytocreatecaptivating3Dgraphics,toreduceengineeringcostandspeedupthedevelopmenttimeforanyproject.II.STATEOFTHEART:EVOLUTIONOF3DINDUSTRYSeveralcompaniestodayoffer3Dsoftwaretoolsandplug-ins,pre-built3Ddata,andservicestoagrowingnumberof3Dcontentcreators.Aglobalcommunityofhundredsofthousandsof3Denthusiastsaswellasprofessionalartistsandprogrammersutilize3Dtechnologyingamedevelopment,videoproduction,publishing,film,andgraphicarts.Whatarethefactorsaffectingthecontinuedevolutionofthis3Decosystem?Therearethreefundamentalchangesatwork:therisingpopularityofnew3Dsoftware,thegrowingglobalinfluenceofonline3Dcommunities,andthegrowingavailabilityofpre-built3Dcontent.Anincreasinglyricharrayofsoftwareforcreating3Dcontentisnowavailable.Previously,large,multi-purpose3DsoftwarepackagessuchasSoftimage’sXSIandAutodesk’s3dsMaxandMayadominatedthecommercialtoolsmarket.Today,alsootherstand-alone,focused3Dproductsoffersolutionsformanyfunctionsandtechnologiesspeciallyoptimizedforparticularneeds.Sincepeoplestartedusing3Dsoftware,thedesiretosharetheexperiencewithother3Dusershasbeenstrong.Today,theinteractionamong3DartistsisoccurringonamuchlargerscaleviatheInternet,whereverylargeonlinecommunitieshaveformed.Indozensofonlinecommunities,24hoursaday,3Dworksinprogressarepresentedandcritiqued,technologyadvancesarediscussed,andtechniquesareshared.Asanexample,theCGSocietycommunityhasmorethan252,000registeredmembers,withnearly100,000ofthosebeingactivemembers.MTheincreasingavailabilityof3Dcontentintoday’smediahascreatedapowerfulgatewaytointroducealargenumberofpeopletothehands-onuseof3Dtechnology.Thishands-onexperienceisbeyondthepassiveexposurepeoplereceivefrom3Dinmoviesandevenbeyondtheuseof3Dingames.Also,multiplestudiesindicatethat3Delementsofgraphicalimageareperceivedbetterthusmakingiteasierforthedesignertoimplementtheideaofhisartwork.Thatiswhymanycompanieshavebeendevelopingindustrial3Dsolutions:OpenInventor®byMercury:across-platform3Dgraphicstoolkitforthedevelopmentofindustrial-strengthinteractive3DgraphicsapplicationsusingC++,.NETorJavathatprovidesfunctionalityofOpenGLatanobject-orientedlevelHoops3DApplicationFramework®bySpatialCorp[1]:providesacoregraphicsinfrastructureandfunctionalityfor3DapplicationsandfullApplicationProgrammingInterface(API)accesstoapowerfulunderlyingsuiteofintegratedcomponentsDeskArtesViewExpert®:offerstoolsforviewing,verifying,measuringandcommunicating3DCADdatafiles,suchasSTL,VRML.ZPRandIGESformatsandmanyotherssolutionsareavailabletomeettheevergrowingmarketneeds.Industriesthatuse3Dgra