3DIV: Model-Based Drawings Transform Product Realization
How can digital product realization transform how we work at the Kansas City National Security Campus (KCNSC)? As a Production Agency, KCNSC has historically relied on documents and 2D drawings to define the products we produce, but we have begun receiving a new product definition format based on models called 3D-interactive viewable (3DIV). This format is easier to understand and use, reducing risks to missed or misinterpreted information.
Current mechanical product definitions include a 2D static graphical drawing. These drawings may contain multiple sheets of 2D views of a 3D shape, textual notes, and 2D annotations that describe requirements. For employees, it can take a lot of experience and time to learn how to best search through drawings to find and interpret the piece of information they need. On top of that, most of KCNSC’s processes require 3D models, which must be recreated multiple times from 2D drawings.
“Recreating these models can lead to disconnected information and discrepancies between the original definition and the documentation used for down-stream processes,” says Troy Hartwig, Engineering Fellow and Digital Engineering Leader.
All these additional steps lengthen the timeline, slow our response to change requests, and can muddle the design intent. But, as part of KCNSC’s Digital Transformation, some programs are now replacing traditional 2D drawings with 3DIVs and laying the foundation for future model-based definition (MBD) progress.
3DIV model-based drawings are derived directly from an MBD, which is a product definition founded on a 3D model with logical annotations and attributes embedded in the model. They are an intuitive and straight-forward way to interact with a 3D model-based drawing within a PDF file, making them faster and easier to interpret than traditional 2D drawings. You can rotate and zoom, and when you click on a tolerance annotation or note, the associated features are clearly highlighted on the model making it much easier to decipher. 3DIVs also have a viewing filmstrip capability where the designer can isolate and concentrate specific product characteristics per view, making it much easier for the user to understand.
“3DIVs offer a powerful format for visualizing and understanding product definition by allowing users to interact with 3D images and, most importantly, to interrogate tolerance annotations as they apply to cross-highlighted features, all within a PDF file,” says Curtis Brown, Principal Mechanical Engineer. “We are beginning to receive 3DIV model-based drawings from a Design Agency that help communicate their mechanical product definition.”
The Nuclear Security Enterprise’s prior MBD work has validated that a digital product realization process, based upon authorized spatial models, will become faster, more consistent in quality, more responsive to change, and allow for more innovation. By using mechanical MBDs, along with their derived 3DIV model-based drawings, KCNSC is developing a faster, more efficient process where one digital model acts as the source of truth for everyone in the product realization process. 3DIV model-based drawings are a key driver of KCNSC’s Digital Transformation program and just one example of how digital product realization is transforming production.
