The source for solving your business content challenges.

Get email updates on ECM industry trends. Enter your email below.

Subscribe
Skip Navigation LinksAIIM > Resource Center > AIIM News > Press Releases > Press Releases

AIIM Partners with Industry Leaders to Advance PRC 3D File Format

New Standard Addresses 3D data Within Engineering Workflow

08/25/2009
— AIIM

Silver Spring, MD, August 25, 2009 – AIIM (www.aiim.org) announces the initiation of a new standards activity to standardize the open Adobe Systems Incorporated PRC (Product Representation Compact) specification - a three-dimensional (3D) File Format used to represent 3D models and assemblies - as an International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standard. 

 

The work will specify a file format that can be used for creating, viewing, and distributing 3D content used in document exchange workflows. The resulting file format will be optimized to store, load, and display various kinds of 3D data, especially coming from computer-aided design (CAD) systems.

 

"The PRC standard gives AIIM a unique opportunity to establish specifications that are beneficial to the engineering and manufacturing industry," said John F. Mancini, President, AIIM. "The manufacturing sector, among many others, has seen an increased need for improving their information management. AIIM views this standard as one way to improve the flow of information and ultimately improve the manufacturing sector."

 

The PDF Engineering (PDF/E) Committee which brings together leaders from Adobe, Bentley Systems, Boeing, General Dynamics, PFS Corporation, TechSoft3D, Transcendata, and others has committed to developing the new standard that will enable documents to be interoperable with Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) and Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) applications.

 

The PRC project will specify a file format for creating different representations of 3D models. PRC is optimized to store, load, and display various kinds of 3D data, particularly from CAM and CAE applications, and enables precise geometry with great compression. PRC is intended to support documentation requirements for design reviews, as well as distribution of detailed design documentation to supply chains. This standard will help support regulatory mandates requiring the use of open standards.

 

According to the Boeing Corporation,"as a leader in the evolution, use and standardization of 3D technology, The Boeing Company promotes the use of global standards for 3D data.  Standardization provides common access to tools across Boeing's diverse set of customers and promotes the longevity and interoperability of data used to manufacture, service and support Boeing's products throughout and beyond their given lifecycle."

 

"Adobe has a long-standing commitment to open standards, including involvement in efforts such as ISO 32000, PDF/A, and PDF/E," said John Knightly, vice president of enterprise marketing, Adobe. "Releasing the PRC format for industry standardization further builds on this commitment. We believe this approach will help accelerate innovation in PRC- and PDF-enabled 3D workflows, and supports the manufacturing industry's requirement for richer documentation exchange."

 

The work falls within the scope of ISO Technical Committee (TC) 171, Document management applications. The United States holds the secretariat of this TC, and the U.S. member body to ISO, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), has delegated this responsibility to AIIM.

 

AIIM formed a preliminary committee that will identify issues to be addressed, as well as proposed solutions, and will be incorporated into a draft document that was presented to a Joint Working Group of ISO for development by TC 171 and eventually approval as an International Standard.

 

Anyone interested in this effort, and able to contribute technical expertise, is encouraged to participate actively in this work. Interested persons can register to participate on the committee by sending an email to AIIM's Director of Standards, Betsy Fanning at bfanning@aiim.org.  For more information about PRC, please visit http://www.aiim.org/pdfe.

 

###

AIIM International

 

AIIM (www.aiim.org) is the community that provides education, research, and best practices to help organizations find, control, and optimize their information. The AIIM community has grown to over 65,000 professionals from all industries and government, in over 150 unique countries, and within all levels of management including senior executives, line-of-business, and IT.

 

For more than 60 years, AIIM has been the leading non-profit organization focused on helping users understand the challenges associated with managing documents, content, records, and business processes. Today, AIIM is international in scope, independent, implementation-focused, and, as the representative of the entire enterprise content management (ECM) industry – including users, suppliers, and the channel – acts as the industry's intermediary.

 

Subscribe to AIIM RSS feeds at http://www.aiim.org/feeds

 

 

About ANSI

 

ANSI’s (http://www.ansi.org) mission is to enhance U.S. global competitiveness and the American quality of life by promoting, facilitating, and safeguarding the integrity of the voluntary standardization and conformity assessment system.  Its membership is comprised of businesses, professional societies and trade associations, standards developers, government agencies, and consumer and labor organizations.  The Institute represents the diverse interests of more than 125,000 companies and organizations and 3.5 million professionals worldwide. 

 

ANSI is the official U.S. representative to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and, via the U.S. National Committee, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and is a U.S. representative to the International Accreditation Forum (IAF).

 

 

About ISO

 

ISO (International Organization for Standardization) http://www.iso.org is the world's largest developer and publisher of International Standards.

ISO is a network of the national standards institutes of 160 countries, one member per country, with a Central Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland, that coordinates the system.

ISO is a non-governmental organization that forms a bridge between the public and private sectors. On the one hand, many of its member institutes are part of the governmental structure of their countries, or are mandated by their government. On the other hand, other members have their roots uniquely in the private sector, having been set up by national partnerships of industry associations.

Therefore, ISO enables a consensus to be reached on solutions that meet both the requirements of business and the broader needs of society.