The 3D PDF Consortium was originally founded at the suggestion of Adobe to demonstrate the openness of the 3D PDF format. Thanks to its collaboration with the PDF Association and, in particular, recognition by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) of the Consortium as the US TAG Administrator for the PDF ISO standard , it has become the world’s most important organization when it comes to PDF standardization. In addition to Adobe and other leading software vendors – including the PLM consulting and software company PROSTEP – its members include large industrial companies such as Boeing.

On the one hand, the 3D PDF Consortium involves itself with the further development and consolidation of the various ISO PDF standards for archiving (PDF/A), engineering (PDF/E), electronic signatures (PSdES) and universal access (PDF U/A), which have been created within the framework of the ISO 32000 standard for the full function PDF. On the other hand, it provides software houses and industrial companies with support when implementing the 3D PDF standard. The 3D PDF Implementor Forum is a collaborative testing program designed to ensure the quality and usability of 3D PDF in engineering workflows by means of joint testing.

An important activity performed by the 3D PDF Consortium is the planned extension of the 3D PDF format that will allow STEP AP242 data to be embedded directly in 3D PDF documents without conversion to the internal PRC or U3D format and to be viewed with Adobe Reader. As Pfalzgraf says, “We expect this to lead to even broader acceptance of 3D PDF, especially with regard to the long-term archiving of 3D data. This option is of particular interest to manufacturers of products with very long lifecycles and strict obligations to provide documentation, such as the aerospace industry.” The 3D PDF Consortium therefore wants to work more closely with LOTAR International, an initiative for long-term archiving and retrieval launched by leading aircraft manufacturers.