CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
19 November 2004
Product News
Intergraph Shipping SmartPlant Review 5.1; Increases Value of Point Cloud Data Captured from Existing Conditions Laser Scanning
Intergraph Corporation is shipping SmartPlant(R) Review 5.1, the first high-performance 3D visualization and design review software to offer vendor-neutral laser scanning point cloud data integration within the plant modeling environment. The 5.1 version offers point cloud integration with BitWyse Solutions LASERGen and Leica Geosystems HDS Cyclone Point Cloud Engine software. The new version supports Intergraph Plant Design System (PDS®) 3D projects and those from competing 3D vendors for walkthrough reviews that include point cloud data alone or combined with plant models. Integration of point cloud data helps lower the time, effort and cost of process plant retrofit engineering and construction projects. SmartPlant Review 5. 1 also provides significantly quicker project loading, faster raytracing, edge-enhanced outline display and support of Intergraph FrameWorks® Plus structural labels.
SmartPlant Review helps engineers take advantage of the high accuracy and completeness of point cloud data for retrofit design projects. Existing condition data integration translates into less construction rework due to interferences and fit-up problems and helps eliminate costly field fabrication. For example, a customer survey conducted at the Intergraph APEX Summit in September 2004 demonstrated that firms can routinely reduce typical plant revamp field rework rates of 5 to 7 percent to about 1 percent by using laser scanning technology.
BitWyse Solutions, Inc . provides software to display, manage and use point cloud data directly within the design environment.
Leica Geosystems HDS LLC develops, manufactures and sells advanced 3D laser scanning hardware and software systems.
Tom Greaves, managing partner and senior analyst, Spar Point Research LLC, said, "Near interference-free design for revamp work is becoming a must deliver - not only to get the work but to make a profit. Intergraph's capability to serve up scanner-captured existing-conditions data with both SmartPlant Review and PDS is breakthrough technology for EPCs and owners fixed on driving construction growth to zero. Another dividend: plant owners will get better alignment of design constraints with operations and maintenance requirements when revamping existing facilities." Spar Point Research LLC is an independent consulting firm researching the market and assessing new tools and methods for capturing and managing existing-conditions data.
Additional Improvements Boost Speed, Productivity
Large projects (1 gigabyte) typically load five times faster than in the previous version of SmartPlant Review. Coupled with significantly reduced raytracing time, the performance boosts help increase design review and presentation productivity. New anti-aliasing and filtering options improve image appearance. A new display option in outline mode for shaded images provide edge enhancement like that provided in SmartPlant 3D. Options enable selection of line thickness and color as well as flicker reduction to improve appearance of still or animated images. SmartPlant Review 5.1 also supports display of structural component labels from the Intergraph FrameWorks® Plus structural modeling software.
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