| Q&A |
 Dr.
Julian E Gómez
CAD Distillation Format (CDF), Web3D consortium's
CAD 3D Working Group
06/09/04 |
| Q1 |
A
brief presentation of the CAD 3D Working Group (CWG). |
| A1 |
The
Cad Working Group is a Web3D Consortium initiative to define
a standard for repurposing CAD data for non-CAD applications
- the CAD Distillation Format (CDF). The key idea is distill
the essential elements of complex, high density CAD data to
a form usable by other groups within an organization. For example,
marketing can use distilled design data for publicity and sales
materials and technical documentation personnel can make training
manuals far more easily, more accurately and more cheaply than
before. As always within the Web3D Consortium, the CDF standard
will be an open, royalty-free and extensible format. CDF simply
extends X3D(TM) - which is the ISO-standard foundation file
format from the Web3D Consortium - to include CAD assembly information.
By defining a standard with the appropriate level of CAD assembly
information, CDF data retains the essential structure of the
CAD design, but without exposing proprietary and complex design
details. |
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| Q2 |
Is
there any link between CDF and Intel "Universal 3D format"? |
| A2 |
No.
Although Intel is a past member of the Web3D Consortium, there
is no current liaison between the Web3D Consortium and Intel's
3DIF. The Web3D Consortium has an open membership and we welcome
input from any interested party who wishes to join. |
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| Q3 |
CAD
softwares do not include X3D exporters. How will you convert
3D datas, during the CDF framework pipeline? |
| A3 |
The
central technology of CDF conversion is the filter, which
is a component that reads CDF data, processes it, and writes
CDF data. Components can be chained together to perform compound
functions. Filters can be of arbitrary complexity; they only
have to conform to the input/output specifications defined
by the CDF standard. The Consortium will develop simple filters
to enable CDF data to be generated by most CAD products. CAD
vendors would be able to create more sophisticated filters
to provide extra value to their customers by leveraging "inside"
knowledge of their own formats. Also, the extensibility of
the filter architecture makes it an ideal framework for research.
For example, if a university develops the world's greatest
tessellation algorithm, they can write a filter and slip it
into the CDF pipeline. |
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| Q4 |
3D
CAD datas contains a large amount of polygons, will CDF project
optimize 3D datas? |
| A4 |
The
filter structure of CDF enables the use of any number of compaction
and file size reduction techniques, We expect that different
techniques will be used for different markets and applications. |
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| Q5 |
Is
there any unified NURBS support in X3D? |
| A5 |
Yes,
X3D supports NURBS, and this can be leveraged in CDF files. |
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| Q6 |
Will
it be possible to adjust the tesselation of 3d surfaces? |
| A6 |
Yes.
CDF filters have provisions for runtime control of their operations
to enable interactive adjustment of tesselation and other operations. |
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| Q7 |
What
are the benefits of using X3D/XML in CAD Visualisation and training
applications? |
| A7 |
X3D
has an optional binding to XML that is carried forward into
CDF. XML is a huge enabler for many companies by enabling enterprise-wide
process integration. Through the XML basis of X3D and CDF, CAD
data can integrate seamlessly with the rest of the company's
business data. Furthermore, tools for manipulating XML files
in turn work directly on X3D and CDF. |
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| Q8 |
CDF,
like the other technologies of the consortium are royality free,
but for the end users 3D plugin (BS Contact, Octaga) are not
free of charge. Will the 3D Consortium developp it's own player? |
| A8 |
There
are already free players for X3D such as the open source Xj3D
developed by the Web3D Consortium. There are also free commercial
browsers such as Flux from MediaMachines. We expect and encourage
a growing marketplace of free and commercial player options. |
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| Q9 |
VRML
has been widely adopted in 3D software. Why is X3D adoption
so long ? What is the status of X3D concernig standardisation
(ISO) ? |
| A9 |
X3D
was accepted as International Standard ISO/IEC 19775 at the
beginning of August 2004, by a vote of 14-0. Now that it is
an official ISO standard we expect X3D's adoption to accelerate
rapidly. Of course X3D players can be backwards compatible with
VRML content - X3D extends VRML - it doesn't make VRML content
obsolete. |
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