Animated motion graphics, which has traditionally been seen as creative work without much contribution in the corporate space, is now penetrating the industrial sector.
This is according to Christo Smit, founder and CEO of VirtualScape Visualisation, who says industrial animation has become essential in communicating complex engineering principles and concepts, such as when presenting a product idea to decision-makers, or conveying a design to other engineers.
Smit explains that 3D industrial animation technology has proven to be a critical management tool for visually communicating what appears in hundreds of pages of documentation.
“Complex engineering concepts come alive in colour, light and movement with animations created with 3D software technology.
“The resulting walk-through or fly-through capabilities take prospective customers and buyers on a virtual tour of the industrial structure that is being presented,” he says.
These interactive multimedia presentations allow viewers to literally see the structure - the exteriors down to intricate details such as building material, the environment, the landscaping, trees, roads, and neighbourhoods, Smit says.
“The structure can be viewed from all perspectives, giving it a photo-realistic dimension.”
He adds that product-specific information can also be included in a walk-through to make it a viable communication and selling tool.
Super value
According to Smit, industrial animations and simulations of prototypes, mechanical devices, patents, product assembles, and accident reconstructions can help an organisation articulate the company's vision.
He believes it is crucial for engineering sectors such as mining to use broadcast animation 3D technology to virtually design and replicate a plant, machine, or product to showcase various project aspects.
“These include visual communication from pre-feasibility studies to production, project handover and marketing material.”
This reduces customer service time while machinery damage issues can also be solved in less time with the help of machine troubleshooting animation.
In this way, he states, after sales service cost is also reduced this allows businesses to concentrate on sales properly.
Smit also notes that industrial animation is a highly efficient tool for developers to display their upcoming projects to customers and get feedback in quick time.
Through the help of 3D industrial animation, Smit says, a non-technical person can easily understand the mechanism of a machine very well.
“In fact, without industrial animation for prototypes, a business does not stand much of a chance of getting its project off of the ground these days. Investors want to know something works and see something tangible before they are willing to invest,” he explains.
High-end skills
However, Smit says animation and visualisation techniques require highly-skilled graphic and multimedia designers who can convert ideas into reality with the use of advanced computer software.
To address this, VirtualScape Visualisation, which develops engineering industrial animation products, has partnered with Wave Innovation to transfer skills.
Greg Serandos, managing partner at Wave Innovations, says part of the involvement is an upliftment programme to ensure a pool of talent within this space becomes available to service the international market.
“We'll also invest resources into ensuring there's a significant amount of awareness on what SA's 3D animations industry has to offer the world,” notes Serandos.
He says the companies plan to enrol students in an internship programme every year as a way to teach more people in the country about industrial animation.
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