NavisWorks has just released v5.0 within the last week which has some major
improvements and enhancements PLUS they created a new plug-in which will
read AVEVA's PDMS .rvm files with Attributes & DATAL information from the
model.
If anyone has used NavisWorks, you know it is mucho better than REVIEW (my
opinion). Plus Freedom, NavisWorks' free viewer can be used to distribute
with the model. The latest Roamer release also allows you to do streaming
model review directly off websites.
Trust me, this software is very reasonably price and awesome for model
review.
If you want my personal take as a PDMS user as to the power of NavisWorks,
please don't hesitate to email. You can download information and a demo from http://www.s2solutions.biz.
Dave Simmons
cadfusion, Inc.
[email]dave@cadfusion.net[/email]
NavisWorks' RVM Reader plug-in does make using their JetStream Roamer product compelling. But before anyone decides that JetStream products are a full replacement for Review, do a full evaluation and feature comparison.
There are currently problems with NW's solution:
- Exporting to Rendered Image Files - to use for large format color plots - fails - say this will be fixed in a patch to their Presenter plug-in (which is required)
- PDMS Attribute/Properties - potentially very powerful but currently seems all but unusable due to very time consuming re-reads of data
- Creation of animations - there are improved features in recent versions of Review, and you may require NW TimeLiner and Clash Detective to accomplish the same results; and you may find NW more confusing for making conventional anims
Notwithstanding the above, NW have an easy-to-use tool with some great additional features, such as clipping plane sliders, and comment/markup/viewpoints exporting.
The most valuable benefit may be converting to NWD format for use w/ the Freedom viewer. This would require Roamer + RVM Reader Plug-In + Publisher Plug-In
I thought I'd just edit this reply to clarify that I think NavisWorks is the ONLY way to go if somebody's not already using a Review product. My info about certain weaknesses was just that, info meant to be helpful.
I think "topdog" has some good points that NavisWorks is not perfect and like all software has some bugs... I am just glad to see that PDMS users now have other viable options for model review that don't cost 20k+ like Review Reality or Reality Wave. I have used NavisWorks with REBIS, Plant4D and now PDMS... Personal optinion, I was not impress with REVIEW from several aspects, (cost, functionality, licensing) then add the free viewer and choice gets easier. If AVEVA would incorporate some of the functions from NW and reduce their pricing structure, REVIEW would be better more viable product solution. To me personally, PDMS is an awesome 3D package, but REVIEW does not show the same level of programing excelence of PDMS.
You can get started with the (3) basic options of NavisWorks Roamer, Publisher & RVM Reader plus bond for approx 5k (retail) and a single licene of all modules for approx. 10k+bond (retail) in the US. If you want a demo, go to http://www.s2solutions.biz. Put Dave w/ cadfusion, Inc. referred you in the "How did you find us?" section. A full retail price sheet is available, just let me know.
Just like topdog, if we all work together and share our knowledge and expertise, we can grow as users and also guide AVEVA in their development of PDMS and other packages for us. We are also looking to grow out ViewPoint Americas User Group (www.viewpointamericas.com) ...Get involved and make a difference.
