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Visualization tools, when they serve their function, can benefit complex projects like buildings and process plants. They can help perform design review functions like collision checking and construction sequencing, and they can provide owners with a visual medium in which to explore various design alternatives and aesthetic considerations, as well as to review a project's status.
Last December, Intergraph's Process & Building Solutions division released SmartPlant Review 4.2, a comprehensive visualization tool designed to allow users to interactively review large and complex 3D models. Several new features have been added to this release. There is a new look and feel, including improved navigational tools, multithreading capability (to take advantage of multiple processors), and a variety of rendering and shading support enhancements. A wider range of data interchange and file formats are also supported, and several "Add-In" modules enhance interactivity with model data and also create photorealistic visual effects for rendering and animation.
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SmartPlant Review works by first importing a 3D model from any compatible CAD application, which the program then uses to create a project model database. The .DGN, .DWG, .DXF and .SAT formats are all supported. However, the Intergraph product's "affiliations" become apparent when perusing the Help files and menus, where the language used throughout contains a strong MicroStation accent: "design" or ".DGN" files are assumed for example, and model components are described in the context of "elements" and "levels." The importing of MicroStation lights from .DGN files are exclusively supported (although they cannot be edited or deleted), and materials for rendering can be generated from MicroStation color tables, also to the exclusion of other formats. Opening project files are easy, but the program lacks the ability to close files without exiting the program, so the user must bear the minor inconvenience of re-launching the program when switching between projects.
