Ultimate 3D ‘manuals’ to improve production and service

US-based R&D firm Alion Science and Technology, and 3D visualisation software firm Ngrain are partnering to deliver interactive 3D training and assembly systems for the defence and manufacturing sectors. The partnership builds on Alion’s recent successes in implementing Ngrain’s 3D iManual systems in the automotive industry, and the pair say they will develop systems that deliver lifelike product simulations mirroring real products to the smallest detail. The goal is to extend Ngrain’s technology and provide technicians and engineers with interactive, detailed 3D virtual products that can be zoomed, taken apart, walked around and linked to information such as procedural instructions, product and parts-related data and reference documents. Their systems will also cover procedural animations, such that assembly operators and service technicians get on-demand access to all the directions they need, when they need them. Facilities will be accessed by PC or over the web, with users able to see how part of any equipment fit together – and with links to instruction materials, reference data, documents and inventory databases. Bahman Atefi, chairman and CEO of Alion, says: “By partnering with Ngrain, we are able to give our large and small customers alike access to a substantial, competitive solution for manufacturing, training and support that will enable them to achieve their objectives more quickly and effectively.”