Rwanda Information and Technology Authority (RITA) has adopted the use of modern computer graphics system to help develop comprehensive graphic designs for industrial products. The three-dimension (3D) graphic, which uses Computer Aided Design (CAD), converts the old style 2D models to ensure that entire product components fit together properly. Engineers use the 3D computer data to convert 2D drawings into actual 3D graphic designs, a process that is used to create new models of product parts in industrial design. This new method of producing digital drawings could change many elements of product design, says John Rugamba, the Coordinator of Gasabo 3D Project that oversees the work in RITA. He added that the Gasabo 3D Project has so far converted over 200 drawings from 2D to 3D for some US-based companies, but this had only been on experimental basis. “We are moving from pilot exercise to money-generating graphic designs where we anticipate working for paying clients,” Rugamba said on Tuesday.He said that the move is meant to partner with global clients in order to turn Rwanda into an outsourcing destination for 3D designs at cost effective labour. This will be attained through high quality model designs that meet international standards and stick to time schedule. Rugamba pointed out that such supremacy could turn Gasabo 3D Project into a graphic design centre of excellence on the African continent. Since they have adopted a detailed computer graphics design system with the help of SolidWorks in the US, which is used in the modern drawings of industrial products. The new software jointly developed by the US-based SolidWorks Corporation and local experts dispenses with the need to use a mouse or keyboard to teach science, technology and mathematical principles and ignite engineering enthusiasm. 3D graphics enable a designed image to appear as a projection in front of the viewer, where the designers can walk around it, bend and stretch it and even get inside it. Rugamba explained that the technology is currently being used by various product design companies worldwide, that it gives designers a complete different view, one that is not available in the real world. The state-of-the-art graphic design system was launched in Rwanda in April. Ends
