Converting AEC File Formats - Adobe Acrobat and PDF for Architecture, Engineering, and Construction - page 69

A consortium of 30 companies, including Intel, Bentley Systems, and Adobe, worked together as the 3D
Industry Forum to create a standard for 3D renderings called U3D [1]. ECMA (originally European
Computer Manufacturers Association, now ECMA International) has adopted the Universal 3-D First
Edition as ECMA-363 [2].
Complex 3D renderings can be shared with anyone using Adobe Acrobat 7 Professional and Adobe
Reader 7, as both programs support U3D. The ability to include rich, interactive 3D models in a PDF
document allows even novices to navigate a 3D rendering the way the designer intended.
MicroStation 3D to PDF
Bentley Systems offers several ways of publishing U3D content from its design files. From MicroStation
V8 2004 Edition, users can choose to export U3D files by choosing File > Export > U3D. Once exported,
insert the content into a PDF file using Adobe Acrobat 7 Professional's 3D tool. The Acrobat tool is helpful
if you have a presentation document that needs a 3D model included for presentation purposes, for
example.
MicroStation's Print interface can publish PDF documents that include the U3D file, eliminating the
two-step process. If you are working in a 3D design file and wish to publish a PDF that only contains the
3D model, all you need to do is check off the Plot to 3D option on the print dialog as shown in Figure 6.24.
Of more importance is the ability to publish your 3D models along with your 2D designs by selecting
the Plot to 3D option in the Reference Attachment Settings dialog (Figure 6.25).
Figure 6.24 MicroStation Print dialog, Plot to 3D
Figure 6.25 MicroStation Reference Attachment Settings dialog, Plot to 3D (PDF) option
The model will appear in the PDF as a U3D on the 2D sheet when published from MicroStation,
MicroStation PDF Composer or the ProjectWise publishing products.
Figure 6.26 shows a resulting PDF created with MicroStation PDF Composer when a 3D reference is
attached to a sheet. There are controls for interacting with the model, such as Rotate, Walk, Pan, and Zoom.