CORTONA3D RapidAuthor

Q: Which CAD formats can RapidAuthor use?

RapidAuthor imports models and product structure from the major CAD systems, including NX, CATIA, SolidWorks, Creo, Inventor and Solid Edge, as well as JT. With RapidAuthor for Teamcenter, authors work directly with Teamcenter CAD and BOM data.

Q: Which documentation standards does it support?

S1000D, ATA iSpec 2200 and DITA are included, and you can define your own specification with RapidSpecification. Training courses publish to SCORM so they run in your existing learning management system.

Q: What can we create with it?

Interactive parts catalogues, maintenance and repair manuals, 3D work instructions, training materials and operation manuals, all from the same CAD source.

Q: How are publications delivered to users?

As HTML5 in the browser, as PDF for print, into IETM/IETP systems or in augmented reality. The Cortona3D viewers run on Windows, in the browser and on handheld devices, and you can embed publications in your own applications through the API.

Q: Can CAD-IT create the content for us instead?

Yes. Our in-house technical authoring team creates and maintains interactive 3D documentation in RapidAuthor for manufacturers worldwide, either as a full outsourced service or to clear a backlog. See outsourced technical authoring .

3D interactive technical documentation built from your existing CAD data.

Create 3D interactive technical documentation, including parts catalogues, repair manuals, work instructions, and training materials, by leveraging your existing CAD data.

Get in Touch

Interactive 3D maintenance manual on a tablet showing an exploded assembly and a parts list

WHY RAPID AUTHOR?

Your engineers have already modelled the product. Stop documenting it twice.

Most technical publications are still built by hand: screenshots, redrawn illustrations and long written procedures that fall out of date the moment engineering releases a change.

RapidAuthor reuses your released 3D CAD and product data as the source. Authors with no CAD experience build animated procedures, exploded parts views and 2D illustrations in one application, and republish when the data changes.

Reuse existing CAD assets instead of recreating them
No CAD or 3D experience needed to author
3D, 2D and text authored in a single environment
Graphics update when engineering or PLM data changes
Protects your company's engineering data

Our Services

What we can create for you

We help industrial businesses overcome documentation challenges, from lengthy backlogs and legacy content, to skills gaps and fluctuating demand. We take on the challenge so you can focus on keeping your products and customers moving forward.

Interactive parts catalogue with an exploded assembly, numbered callouts and a parts list

Parts
Catalogues

Illustrated, interactive catalogues with 3D explosions, drill-down navigation and pick lists that reduce ordering errors.

Maintenance manual page with an animated 3D fastener illustration and procedure text

Maintenance & Repair Manuals

2D illustrations, 3D animations and text that make complex mechanical procedures clear and cut translation issues.

Step-by-step work instruction with one step complete and the next step highlighted

Work Instructions

Interactive work instructions, job cards and assembly steps, animated from manufacturing data for shop floors and dealers.

Training screen with a 3D model and a multiple-choice question

Training Materials

Interactive 3D simulations for demonstration, practice and assessment, delivered standalone or through your LMS.

Operation Manuals

Clear operating procedures that combine text components with illustrated content, managed in one XML environment.

Inside the suite

One suite, a tool for every publication.

RapidAuthor is a set of bundled tools that share the same way of working. Each uses the product structure and JT data in Teamcenter as its source.

Illustration of a 3D model surrounded by publication pages and a video, one suite for every publication

RapidWorkInstruction
Fast, easy production of digital interactive work instructions, job cards and assembly instructions. Create 3D animations from Teamcenter manufacturing data so shop-floor workers, technicians and dealers know what to do and how to do it.

RapidManual
Re-use existing CAD and PLM XML content to create 2D illustrations, 3D animations and text that clearly communicate complex mechanical procedures. 3D manuals favour visual knowledge transfer, minimising translation issues and improving retention.

RapidCatalog
Digital, interactive illustrated parts catalogs with 3D explosions of complex assemblies. Built from your product structures, using the effectivity, options and variants already in Teamcenter, with drill-down navigation that reduces ordering errors.

RapidLearning
Interactive training built on animated 3D simulations, in demonstration, exercise and test modes. Run it standalone or integrate it with a SCORM-compliant learning management system, at lower cost than physical mock-ups.

RapidText
RapidText gives authors the same XML editor environment as the rest of the suite. Create text components on their own, then build them into larger manuals, catalogs and training documents alongside illustrated content.

Cortona3d Viewers
Everything authored in RapidAuthor can be published as PDF or HTML, or through Cortona3D Viewers supporting 2D, 3D and interactive text in browsers, on Windows and on handheld devices.

For your document architect

RapidDeveloper for Teamcenter

Customise the data import process and the output format of your RapidAuthor projects.

RapidConfiguration

Analyse source CAD data and control the import settings with guided wizards, mapping the data to fit your document content structure.

RapidSpecification

Set the format and appearance of your documents. DITA, ATA iSpec 2200 and S1000D specifications come out of the box, or create your own.

Try it yourself

Your engineering data, turned into instructions people can follow.

A Cortona3D RapidAuthor Interactive Demonstration: A fully interactive 3D model, experience the installation of a machine-roomless elevator, authored in RapidAuthor.

This is a Cortona3D RapidAuthor interactive demonstration, source content can be found here.

To see more Cortona3D RapidAuthor Demonstrations head over to the Cortona3D Demo site here.

How it works

From CAD model to published document in three steps.

RapidAuthor turns the engineering data you already have into interactive 3D technical documentation. When the design changes, you re-import and republish rather than starting again.

CAD files from NX, JT and CATIA flowing into a 3D model on screen

STEP 1

Import

Bring in released 3D models and product structure straight from your CAD or PLM system. No redrawing, and no CAD skills needed by the author.

NX · CATIA · SolidWorks · Creo · Inventor · Solid Edge · JT

STEP 2

Author

Build procedures from ready-made 3D animations, generate exploded views and 2D illustrations, and write the text alongside, in every language you publish in.

S1000D · DITA · ATA iSpec 2200 · SCORM

The same publication shown on a laptop, a tablet and a phone, with a PDF version

STEP 3

Publish

Deliver to the browser, print, IETM/IETP systems or augmented reality, on desktop, tablet or phone. Embed publications in your own web applications through the API.

HTML5 · PDF · IETM / IETP · Augmented reality

Running Siemens Teamcenter?

RapidAuthor for Teamcenter lets authors work inside the PLM environment with direct access to CAD and BOM data, so publications stay tied to the released product.

See RapidAuthor for Teamcenter

Customer results

What it looks like in production.

ISTOBAL · Car wash systems

Parts catalogues for every variant and language, produced 80% faster.

ISTOBAL imports its Siemens NX assemblies straight into RapidAuthor, giving service centres and distributors in more than 62 countries interactive 3D catalogues and a more reliable ordering process.

80%

faster production

60%

cost saving

Read the ISTOBAL case study →

Siemens Mobility · Rail

Maintenance manuals ready six months before the trains launched.

With RapidAuthor and Teamcenter, authors write alongside engineering. A work instruction that took days now takes 6 to 10 hours, and technicians follow 3D work instructions on tablets in the depot.

50%

less authoring time

30%

less maintenance time

Read the Siemens Mobility case study →

Watch

See RapidAuthor in action.

An overview of what CAD-IT and RapidAuthor deliver, plus two short demonstrations of real publications.

More on our YouTube channel →

CAD-IT and RapidAuthor: interactive 3D technical documentation

Interactive parts catalogue demonstration

RapidManual 3D work instruction

Why buy RapidAuthor from CAD-IT

Software is the easy part. We get your team publishing.

We have been helping manufacturers get value from their engineering data for more than 34 years. We implement RapidAuthor, train your authors and stay with you afterwards, across the UK, Ireland and North America.

Implementation

Set up around your CAD sources, document standards and publishing targets, so your first project starts on the right footing.

Training

Hands-on training that takes your authors from first import to first publication, using your own products.

Teamcenter integration

As a Siemens Silver Expert Software Partner, we connect RapidAuthor to Teamcenter so documents follow engineering change.

Outsourced technical authoring

Short of authors or facing a backlog? Our in-house team can create and maintain the content for you. See outsourcing

Ongoing support

Bronze, Silver and Gold customer success plans give you 5 to 15 support days a year at a discounted rate. Compare plans

Not sure which components you need?

Tell us what you document today and we will recommend the right setup.

Talk to an expert

FAQs

RapidAuthor questions, answered.

Can't see your question here? Ask our team.

Do our authors need CAD or 3D experience?

No. RapidAuthor is designed for technical authors, not CAD engineers. Wizards and a library of ready-made animations handle the 3D work, so authors focus on the content.

Which CAD formats can RapidAuthor use?

Which documentation standards does it support?

What can we create with it?

How are publications delivered to users?

Can CAD-IT create the content for us instead?

See RapidAuthor working on a product like yours.

Book a free, no-obligation demonstration. Tell us what you document today and we will show you how it would look built from your CAD data.

A demo built around your use case

Advice on software, integration or outsourcing

No obligation, no hard sell

UK: +44 1785 847 066
USA: +1 919-882-2045