Overview of QY CAD Technical Publications
QY CAD provides two related, yet independent authoring applications for communicating the correct manufacturing, installation, and maintenance procedures for your designs:
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QY CAD Illustrations
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QY CAD 3D Publishing
Use them to create and publish illustrated work instructions, operations manuals, service guides, and drill-down parts catalogs from your QY CAD models. Both products use the same 3D tools, which makes it easy to learn one product and quickly transition to the other for different uses.
Use the QY CAD Technical Publications applications to:
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Quickly create detailed illustrations of your designs.
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Use animations to clearly communicate how your products work.
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Publish interactive digital documents for manufacturing work instruction packages.
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Create comprehensive maintenance manuals.
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Publish easy-to-navigate spare parts catalogs that encourage your customers to source their spare parts directly from you.
Which application should I choose?
The application you choose—QY CAD Illustrations or QY CAD 3D Publishing—depends on what you want to do. To provide some guidance, the following table compares the high-level capabilities of each.
| Description | QY CAD Illustrations | QY CAD 3D Publishing |
| Type of output | Technical illustrations | Technical documentation |
| Author | Create detailed illustrations from a 3D model. | Create multiple-page documents with embedded 3D models. Add interactive (click-able) objects such as buttons, text boxes, and tables. |
| Document features | Single-page templates for print PDF and HTML5 outputs | Full-featured, multiple-page, customizable documents Multiple 3D files in a single document |
| Print output | Batch creation of vector files or raster images from illustrations | Printed multiple-page document or static PDF |
| Interactive 3D PDF output | Single-page template | Entire document is published to PDF. |
| Interactive 3D HTML5 output | Model-only or single-page template | Entire document is published to HTML |
| Working file format | QY CAD Model (QSM) | QY CAD Document (QSD) |
| Interoperability | Saves QY CAD Model (QSM) files, which can be imported into QY CAD 3D Publishing. | Exports QY CAD Model (QSM) files, which can be opened with QY CAD Illustrations. |
| Associative to QY CAD model | Yes | Yes |
| Support for other CAD data | Yes | Yes |
You also can use both products together to streamline the technical documentation process. For example, one person can use QY CAD Illustrations to create the illustrations, and another person can use QY CAD 3D Publishing to include those illustrations in a printed manual or interactive 3D document.
Getting started
If you have a QY CAD Technical Publications license, then you can use either of the technical publications applications with your QY CAD 3D models.
To begin, do the following:
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Open a QY CAD part, sheet metal, or assembly document in QY CAD.
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On the ribbon, choose one of the following commands:
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Tools tab→Environs group→QY CAD Illustrations
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Tools tab→Environs group→QY CAD 3D Publishing
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Your QY CAD model is opened in the selected application on your computer. A separate icon is added to your task bar.
Example:
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To begin creating technical illustrations or publications, begin by reviewing the appropriate workflow:
Note:You also can use the Application menu→Save As tab→Save As command
to save a QY CAD model file to the (*.qsm) format, which can be opened in Solid Edge Illustrations.
Help for QY CAD Technical Publications
You can access the full set of web help for QY CAD Technical Publications by doing either of the following:
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When you have either of the applications open—In the top-right corner of the application window, click the Help button
, and then use the contents pane to browse to the appropriate section. -
Access the web help directly—QY CAD Technical Publications.
Comparison of input and output formats
| Function | QY CAD Illustrations | QY CAD 3D Publishing |
| Open | QY CAD 3D models | QY CAD 3D models |
| Import | Other 3D CAD | 3D CAD, text, images, QY CAD model (QSM) |
| Save/Open | QY CAD model (QSM) | QY CAD document (QSD) |
| Export | N/A | QY CAD model (QSM) |
| Save As... | N/A | QY CAD template (QST) |
| Publish | Raster images Vector graphics Movies Template-based 3D PDF Template-based HTML5 | Printed documentation PDF documents Custom 3D PDF documents Custom HTML5 documents |
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