PTC is unveiling an authoring and data management tool that helps engineers and technical writers create documentation for complex design, including those in regulated environments. The Arbortext Content Manager provides broad support for technical illustrations created from scratch or pulled from CAD data.
The software is designed to maximize re-use, letting organizations pull data from XML-based components and create illustrations from design data. It provides data management capabilities that automate content management, including the review and approval processes. It also handles multiple formats, languages and media.
Copying the approach of CAD tools, the software automatically updates related information when one element is changed. That’s a significant change from traditional technical authoring systems, which manage documents as monolithic objects, forcing users to recreate existing content and alter each usage of information when changes are made. Transportation and process manufacturing are among the target industries.
Siemens Building Technologies has already selected the software for its building automation, security and life safety systems, and GE Healthcare selected Arbortext for its product documentation. Some customers say Beta versions cut development time in half, reducing the chance that documentation holdups can delay products introductions.
Arbortext, based on PTC’s existing Windchill technology, simplifies the task of pulling information from many companies, a more common occurrence as more companies outsource services to global operations. “This eliminates the risks of piecing together disparate products from multiple vendors,” says James Heppelmann, PTC’s executive vice president for software products.
The tool can be augmented by software from ITEDO, a German company recently acquired by PTC. ITEDO tools can create isometric technical illustrations for manufacturing and support documentation, pulling art from existing 3D and 2D design data from most popular mechanical CAD applications.
In addition to linking to various CAD tools, the software also works well with Microsoft Office and other non-technical programs. Arbortext is shipping now as part of the PTC Dynamic Publishing System. That software has long been used in markets that have many product updates or have many different configurations.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Arbortext Content Manager offers robust workflow management capabilities. |
|
|
Tweet This
0 
