Announcing Major Updates for Lattice3D Reporter for Microsoft Excel & 3D PDF

Lattice3D Reporter is a plug-in for Microsoft Excel that enables you to embed 3D XVL models into Excel worksheets. It also allows you to create images, lists, trees, and other worksheet elements and link them to the 3D model. With Lattice3D Reporter, you can create rich, interactive 2D and 3D documents directly from your 3D CAD data. 

 The list of enhancements is long and is listed further down in this article. The most important enhancements for the manufacturing company are in the following two areas: Templates & 3D Snapshots. 

NOTE: The same interactive 3D model and associated data can also be published to 3D PDF (in addition to Microsoft Excel) by Lattice3D Reporter.

Templates 

The Lattice3D Reporter Template Option can be used to create technical documents such as bills of materials, design issue reports, and work instructions without manual input. 

Templates increase productivity and improve quality.  

In addition, applying templates to models can be automated with Lattice3D Reporter Publisher. 

The enhancements for templates to be used with Lattice3D Reporter for Microsoft Excel include: 

• Added the ability to output assembly lists. 
• Added ability to specify indented text for the assembly list. 
• Added ability to output level number for the assembly list. 
• Added the function to output only main notes to the note list. 
• Streamlined updating snapshot images for process animations. 
• Enabled cross-section display in snapshot images. 
• Enabled display of wire harnesses in process lists and part lists. 

3D Snapshots 

A 3D Snapshot is not a snapshot in the traditional sense, which is 2D. Rather, it captures a 3D state so that specific information can be captured similar to what can be done with a 2D drawing. The big difference is that the 3D Snapshot is interactive 3D making the model explorable. 

Think of all of the 2D drawings your company uses and the time it takes to create them.  And on top of that, they are hard to interpret. 

3D Snapshots allow you to capture the same information, saving time and increasing understanding. 

The above Snapshot could be a 2D drawing, right? Look below to see the power of a 3D Snapshot. Since a 3D Snapshot is live and interactive, the user no longer has to guess and interpret a 2D drawing, they can just examine for themselves.

1. The original view is displayed here
2. This is an interactive document. Click on a part number or a part, and the other will be highlighted so that the user knows exactly which part is where on the model. And reposition the model.
3. The selected part is isolated in the viewing pane.
4. All of the original annotations and dimensions are still visible after rotating the model.

Complete List of Enhancement to Lattice 3D Reporter: 

• Enhanced snapshots to support shading of hidden line images 
• Enhanced note leader lines 
• Cross sections
• Enabled cap area selection during cross-section display 
• Enhanced cross-section and profile line editing
• Enabled highlighting of selected cross-section caps 
• Enhanced light reflections 
• Increased performance of editing functions
• Added support for dimension lists 
• Added wire harnesses to the assembly tree 
• Added the ability to set the color of process animation tracelines 
• Updated toolbar icons 
• Added support for high-resolution images
• Added snapshot images to task displays

Conclusion

Sharing interactive 3D data with commonly used tools (Microsoft Excel Spreadsheets or 3D PDFs) reduces the learning curve for users. 

And it is free for the consumers. 

Whether your company is embarking on a Digital Transformation journey or you just need a better way to share your 3D data with stakeholders downstream of design, Lattice3D Reporter will enable you to share rich interactive 3D data easily.

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