For students at Challenger Institute of Technology’s oil and gas training facility, 3D computer animation is coming to a screen very near them.

In a training first for Western Australia, animated modelling is allowing students to take the lid off oil and gas processing plants and gain a unique insight into the workings of complex machinery.

For students at Challenger’s Australian Centre for Energy and Process Training (ACEPT) in Munster, in Perth’s southern suburbs, the new modelling system designed by animated feature movie experts is providing new ways to develop workplace skills in processing engineering.

Whether based on off-shore rigs, in the desert or on campus, learners now have the ability to virtually adjust flow rates and levels on gauges to get a feel for real response times before operating actual equipment.

The latest Adobe PDF technology allows the students to rotate machinery models so they can view different angles and parts of the equipment to gain a full understanding of how it works.

By clicking on various points of an image of the process plant, users can access explanatory text, audio and animation.

ACEPT has also created a 3D PDF model for a tilted plate separator, which allows users to ‘run’ the processing plant through a series of animated graphics.

ACEPT Project Manager Jo Walker-Smith said the 3D modelling allowed users to deal with real life processing situations in a simulated environment.

“This model gives learners a thorough exploration of the inside workings of the equipment,” she said. “They can manipulate process variables and experience the results in real time.”

Previously, this type of simulation was only possible using very expensive software. This model, however, only requires a standard computer and free software as it uses the industry standard PDF.

Jo added that with a ‘little bit of extra effort’ 3D PDF models can be created for all sorts of processing plants using the original computer aided design drawings as a basis to develop highly interactive training materials.