Methods of distributing Autocad 3D models

Hi,

Is there a way to view Autocad-generated 3D-rendered models on
machines that don't have Autocad installed ?
I'm asking this because more often than not I have to show my 3D
Autocad stuff to coworkers and other people that don't have Autocad on
their systems.
In particular, I'd like to know if there exists a thin and
light-weight viewer, Autodesk's or third-parties', that takes Autocad
files and renders the resulting 3D-model on the screen, allowing minor
functionality such as
real-time pan, rotate and zoom of the rendered model. I do understand
that these are not trivial functions at all, but they would really
come very handy.

To distribute a model once it's finished, I do this today:
1- Pick a view.
2- Render the model.
3- Save the .BMP file.
4- Repeat step 1 until satisfied.
5- Distribute the BMP files (or jpg, png, whatever)

Apart from being cumbersome, this approach doesn't allow any degree of
interaction with the rendered 3D model.

Maybe Autocad already comes with built-in tools to achieve what I'm
asking, and I'm unaware of them. Whatever the case, I'll highly
appreciate if someone can tell me what is the state-of-the-art method
for distributing Autocad 3D rendered models.

Thank you,

Fernando Ronci
E-mail:

 

At the very least, you may want to consider .jpg format for file size
alone.
Next, you want to use the new dwf tools. autodesk.com/dwf
Autodesk was showing it at AU last week. It does a lot of stuff
including rotateable 3d models. Very impressive. Your clients do not
need AutoCAD software. They do need the free dwf viewer program
(downloadable from above link). It is under 2Mb so it can be attached
to emails, and there are no licensing requirements, you may freely
distribute the viewer.

 

Unfortunately the DWF Viewer has nothing related to real-time
manipulation of 3D models.
I'll have to search elsewhere, although I don't know if what I want to
do is feasible.

Fernando