MARLBOROUGH, MA, Mar 27, 2025 – Kubotek Kosmos has announced the 7.0 release of its Validate, Revision, Convert, and View products. These model-based definition (MBD) file utility programs utilize proprietary Kubotek Kosmos modeling technology to support high-fidelity sharing of critical 3D CAD and product manufacturing information (PMI) data across the manufacturing supply chain. Version 7 updates support for CAD files, enhances model visualization, and includes functionality to view and verify MBD data in the QIF file format. The software is available for download.
QIF File Support Added
Validate, View, and Convert 7.0 products include new support for reading solids/surfaces and PMI data from quality information framework (QIF) 3.0 files. Recognized as an ISO-standard file format in 2020, QIF is an XML-based MBD format used for inspection workflows in manufacturing. This format serves as a CAD-neutral alternative, similar to the STEP standard.
QIF and Inspection
QIF includes inspection characteristics, measurement plans, and dimensional results data from measurement equipment, extending 3D product design and manufacturing data. The format supports linking design models with post-manufacturing inspection results as part of digital-thread connectivity by using persistent IDs to connect this information. Industrial OEMs like Lockheed Martin are distributing QIF and STEP datasets to their supply chain [1]. Kubotek Kosmos MBD utilities assist part suppliers in handling these datasets and meeting quality system requirements. The Kubotek Kosmos Validate product supports verification and documentation to confirm that MBD data in QIF derivative files matches the original CAD data.
Advancing Real-World Adoption of MBD
The user-friendly, CAD-neutral attributes of the utilities are advancing the real-world adaptation of MBD data exchange practices through an ongoing partnership with the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS).To help manufacturers in Scotland and beyond adopt MBD practices, the organization has introduced Digital Product Passport (DPP). The initiative addresses challenges in the remanufacturing sector in standardizing data exchange. A key part of this process is verifying translations from native CAD files, ensuring both geometry and PMI are accurate.
William Kerr, metrology theme lead at NMIS, said, “Translation from native into neutral CAD formats like QIF and STEP 242 is key to our MBD pipeline. The Validate software is vital in enabling us to have confidence that the translations capture not only geometry accurately, but crucial PMI data also.”
Updated CAD File Support
Reading of 3D CAD files across all Kubotek Kosmos MBD utility software programs has been updated to support new versions of seven file formats:
- Autodesk Inventor 2025
- Dassault Systemes (DS) CATIA V6/3DExperience R2025x
- DS SolidWorks 2025
- PTC Creo 11.0
- Siemens Digital Industries Software (SDIS) NX 2406
- SDIS Parasolid V37
- SDIS Solid Edge 2025
New support for reading the Autodesk Fusion F3D format has been added to the View and Convert products. Reading of CKD files in the Validate and Revision products has also been extended to support the Kubotek Kosmos KeyCreator 2025 format.
Additional Enhancements
7.0 Improvements to cutting plane capabilities provide users with better visualization of interior details of 3D models. Specifically, options have been added to align cutting planes to model edges and to offset planes with user-entered distance or angle values. User interface components in the 7.0 release have been updated to support the latest high-resolution displays.
In the Revision program, reports showing changes in complex models allow flexible manual grouping of added, removed, or revised faces into user-defined features. The Validate program has been updated to include a mass properties node for each part and improved support for CSV nominal point cloud files.
[1] Lockhead Martin’s Model-Based Enterprise Playbook for Suppliers, 2024, Lockheed Martin Corporation, https://www.lockheedmartin.com/content/dam/lockheed-martin/eo/documents/suppliers/training-2023-mbe-playbook.pdf
Source: Kubotek Kosmos
About Kubotek Kosmos
Kubotek Kosmos, a division of Kubotek USA, Inc., is owned by Kubotek Corporation, based in Osaka, Japan. The company focuses on creating precision geometry software essential for CAD/CAM applications. Its product lineup includes the 3D Framework, a modeling kernel designed for engineering software developers; KeyCreator CAD, a direct modeling tool for design engineers; and specialized CAD utilities for tasks like model validation and data exchange. Kubotek Kosmos serves the manufacturing, aerospace, and engineering software development industries. Founded in 1985, the company is headquartered in Marlborough, MA. As of March 31, 2024, Kubotek Corporation reported approximately $9 million in revenue and employs about 72 people worldwide.