Product Manufacturing Information

The Product Manufacturing Information button on the Standard Viewing toolbar provides access to the product manufacturing information (PMI) included in a 3D CAD model.

PMI is non-geometric attributes embedded in a 3D CAD file that convey various non-geometric data necessary for manufacturing parts and assemblies, like geometric dimensions and tolerances, 3D annotations (text), surface finishes, material specifications, and so on. It combines a model-based definition with a 3D model eliminating 2D drawings or digital documents to provide engineering or manufacturing data.

PMI is typically stored at the assembly level within native CAD files and is included by default in the process of converting the native CAD files into viewable SCS files. Consequently, the Monolithic Viewer can show a 3D model and PMI that are both sourced from an SCS file.

By default, a 3D CAD model is shown without its PMI.

Clicking the Product Manufacturing Information button shows or hides the model PMI.

When shown, graphic PMI may be positioned such that it is hard to read or interferes with some other rendered 3D component geometry. An end user should rotate a model to view and read a given PMI piece conveniently.

The shown PMI reflects the current CAD View. To view PMI attached to a different CAD View, select it on the Views tab.