Kubotek Kosmos 3D Framework 3.0 Released

Build Engineering Software with the Fastest and Most Interoperable Tools Available

Kubotek3D, a leading supply chain software provider, announced today that the Kubotek Kosmos® 3D Framework has been updated to version 3.0. The framework is a set of advanced, multi-platform software components which maximize a program’s performance and ability to work with complete engineering models and data from all major MCAD databases. The Kubotek Kosmos 3D Framework supports software developers building precise 3D applications which need to work with engineering models and data.

“We’ve seen steady performance gains with use of Kubotek technology in our applications.”, said Ed Freniere, President at Lambda Research Corporation, “The Kosmos framework has also improved our ability to reliably import complex geometry.”

Read Files from All Major MCAD Databases

The Kubotek Kosmos 3D framework provides support for reading engineering models and data from over a dozen major file formats. For the 3.0 release, the framework has significantly expanded its support of STEP files.

• Added Read and write support for STEP AP 242 Model-based Definition (MBD) data. STEP AP 242 is an ISO standard that defines precise 3D models as well as critical manufacturing annotations including Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T) and their relationship to the faces of the model. This form of MBD can provide process efficiency by eliminating the need to translate the design into detail drawings and better support automation of downstream activities such as NC machining and inspection.
• Added read and write of compressed ASCII STEP files which use the extension “.stpZ”. Compressed STEP files are around 20% of the size of uncompressed STEP files. The stpZ format has been gaining in popularity since originally released in 2013, especially in the aerospace and automotive industries. 

Maximize Application Performance

Kubotek Kosmos performance stands out from other 3D modelers due to its unique un-constricted support for multi-threaded processing. For the 3.0 release, additional areas of the code have been further optimized.

• Feature recognition
• Surface/Surface Intersection
• Booleans
• Faceting
• Multi-threading in additional file readers
• Transforming assemblies

Leverage Precise Engineering Data

Automatic geometric feature recognition such as machined holes, fillets/rounds and chamfers is a core feature of the Kubotek Kosmos 3D framework. For the 3.0 release these capabilities have been improved.

• Identifying blend/chamfer/rib/slot/boss/pocket features in sheet bodies
• Improved vertex blend recognitions
• Improved blend features with cliff edges
• Improved blend features for surfaces with poles
• Improved blend boundary conversion
• Improved the connecting conditions between blends of a feature
• Improved ruled surface detection for chamfer

Expand to New Platforms

The framework fully supports development of applications to run on numerous platforms. With the 3.0 release the following capabilities have been enhanced to enable broad platform support.

• Added a Python wrapper to allow teams developing in the high-level Python programming language to quickly integrate Kubotek Kosmos with existing code
• Introduced a new Text library which works with the graphics component for dramatically improved support for displaying text objects within the 3D scene
• Updated compiler support to include MSVC 2019

“Our development team has continued to expand and refine the Kubotek Kosmos framework in many important areas”, said Ram Eswaran, CTO/COO of Kubotek3D, “This year our proprietary STEP translation capabilities have improved to support MBD initiatives in manufacturing supply chains with critical feature, tolerance, and surface finish details.”