We read in this RSS feed, “PDF-PRC and ISO 10303 (aka STEP)” which intrigued me to look further, especially after our last post going on about the Evolution of PDF; Adobe PDF/X-5g with OPI type prepress workflow. We read:

“The PRC format Adobe introduced in Acrobat 9 accommodates both precise B-rep and surface tessellation data as well as product structure, Product Manufacturing Information (PMI) and metadata.”

OK, fair enough, but many of you may still be asking, ‘what is this Adobe PDF-PRC exactly?’ It is a spec, like the 3D STEP file format, for architects, industrial designers and more broadly, engineering documentation, as we can further read from the source feed:

• Design re-use : STEP is more appropriate for pulling data into a CAD system and making modifications, and although there are now direct B-Rep modeling systems that enable using PRC this way, use of STEP will provide much higher fidelity.
• Visualization : PRC targets this use case squarely while STEP ignores it.
• Technical Publications like process planning, work instructions, repair operations : PRC is better for this we think as it is lighter weight and includes visualization information.
• Interrogation of precise geometry for downstream processes : This is the one where there is likely be some overlap as CAM and CAE applications often only need/want the B-REP data and PMI. Today PRC meets these requirements as does STEP AP 203 E2.
• Archival and Retrieval : here the two formats are complimentary due to the non-overlapping use cases above. We are actually seeing more and more companies archiving 3D PDF along with native CAD and STEP datasets.
  SOURCE: http://www.graphicstart.com/item.php?&itemid=1103442

Yes, another PDF subset, not too sure if printers will have to worry about outputting, preflighting or editing PDFs of this flavor, but interesting, in any event, to see the term “portable” in Portable Document Format (PDF) getting extended.

Tags: 3D PDF, acrobat 9, Adobe, Adobe PDF-PRC, aka STEP, architects, CAD, CAD-CAM, design re-use, document geometry, editing PDFs, engineering documentation, evolution of PDF, industrial designers, ISO 10303, PDF subset, PDF-PRC, Portable Document Format, PRC format, printers, RSS feed, STEP file format, technical publications

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