Intergraph® introduces SmartPlant® FreeViewTM
Intergraph® today released SmartPlant® FreeViewTM, a free .VUE viewer that allows users to display and navigate Intergraph 3D models and view associated plant properties (Fig.). SmartPlant FreeView will open any Intergraph SmartPlant 3D and SmartMarine® 3D projects published as a .VUE file. A user then may walk through the plant, ship or offshore model and select any object in the view to see its associated plant properties via the MDB2 package. Intergraph’s SmartPlant Review Publisher can convert and combine SmartPlant 3D and SmartMarine 3D, as well as other project types, into .VUE and MDB2 formats for viewing with SmartPlant FreeView or Intergraph’s full-capability visualization solution, SmartPlant Review.
The free .VUE viewer has a complete set of on-screen navigation controls for easy use, allowing even the most casual user to walk through complex 3D models with no training. Keyboard navigation is equally simple. An orientation axis is displayed in the view to help the user maintain direction. SmartPlant FreeView also has a surface measure command to display accurate distances between objects.
“On the oil sands projects in Canada, AMEC works with a large number of clients, partners and subcontractors who could benefit from viewing the 3D model,” Vlad Savulian, engineering systems lead for AMEC Natural Resources and one of the many industry experts who worked with Intergraph on the requirements for a free .VUE viewer said. “With SmartPlant FreeView, they will be able to easily navigate the plant model, view properties, make comments on what they see or ask questions about what they don’t understand. With the introduction of SmartPlant FreeView, we will be able to extend model review capabilities to a much broader audience.”
Gerhard Sallinger, Intergraph Process, Power & Marine president, agreed: “SmartPlant FreeView enables our customers and their suppliers to increase productivity and competiveness without increasing costs. The use of SmartPlant 3D and SmartMarine 3D has doubled in the last two years. With that tremendous growth comes the need for a variety of users, including design, engineering, construction, operations and maintenance, to view these complex 3D models.
