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3D SPACE PLANNING AND DESIGN SOFTWARE

Salespeople and designers alike have been using Herman Miller’s Z-Axis™ with their customers, making them part of the design process, for over 20 years. Z-Axis is truly for everyone, enhancing the buying process for customers, and simplifying the complicated sales and design decisions.  Z-Axis is quick, easy and accurate. Z-Axis shortens the sales cycle, reduces design time, and improves the accuracy of the creative process.  It allows Sales to be customer centric, and Design to focus on the capabilities only they can add.  Dealerships realize the highest profit margins by eliminating common specification errors and installation delays.

 

With Z-Axis, what you see is what you get. The accuracy of the software is unparalleled in the industry.  If you can dream it, you can design it in Z-Axis.

Z-Axis Overview

Version 32 of Herman Miller's Z-Axis

Released December 5th, 2011

Version 32 of Z-Axis™ is one of the most robust releases to date, full of user driven requested features, enhancements, and new product vocabulary. CHI•LLC is pleased to release version 32 of Herman Miller’s Z-Axis™ interactive 3D software. Version 32 represents our teams continued commitment to work in parallel with dealership design and sales user groups in order to produce and deliver v32 a market driven answer to the needs of the office furniture community. Version 32 features and enhancements of Z-Axis™ include:

  • AutoCAD Import/Export: Commanding improvements to AutoCAD import capabilities provide support for larger AutoCAD drawing files such as building shells. Interoperability between Z-Axis™ and AutoCAD received a major boost with the new 2D DWG feature allowing users to experience a more lossless transferance of products and symbols between files. Z-Axis™ now supports many more AutoCAD conventions and follows the American Institute of Architects (AIA) National CAD Standard (NCS).
  • Print and Install Plans Get Greener: This release features print suppression for blank pages that do not contain furniture items or text. Users can also consolidate elevation and legend views for print, as well as controlling the print fonts.
  • Two-sided Tile Arranger: Perhaps the most frequently requested feature is now available.  Users can create frames with as many tiles as are required within a panel. Configure your panels with the same or different tiles on either side of the frame at the same time.
  • Office-Wide Options Enhancements: Create office designs with an increased number of palettes and themes in Canvas and Ethospace with the addition of 10 new fabric selections.
  • Finished End-to-End Join: Connect two finished ends together quickly and easily, now users can turn two panel runs into a single run without adding a shared panel.
  • Drag 'n Drop ZIP Files: Z-Axis™ now automatically extracts the files from your ZIP file.
  • People Props: Need a variety of new people props to provide clients improved visuals for rendering or visualization?  Z-Axis™ now offers four different female business figures, two standing and two sitting; and four male business figures, two standing and two sitting.
  • Create Top-Level Views: Users can now create top level 3D view windows that eliminate menus and other unnecessary spaces. Work in one display to design the space and zoom, pan, and rotate in another display to view the design without switching modes.
  • Luxo Task Lighting: Herman Miller’s Alliance partner Luxo has joined the Z-Axis™ platform allowing users to design and specify their preliminary offering of lighting products; Terea, Ovelo and Ninety LED task lights.

 

Version 31 of Herman Miller's Z-Axis

Released September 7th, 2011

One of our most robust releases, version 31 of Z-Axis offers new Herman Miller product vocabulary, the ability to design and specify eighty new manufacturers’ products from within Z-Axis and platform enhancements all highlighting requests from our customers. Find out more about what is included in version 31 of Z-Axis below.

  • Product Vocabulary and Features in version 31 of Z-Axis include:
  • Meridian Spec-A-File
  • Canvas Wall-Based Stanchion Attachment
  • Performance Tuning Enhancements
  • Installation and Print Enhancements

Version 30 of Herman Miller's Z-Axis 

Version 30 is the fastest yet with performance enhancements that also support larger files for jobs with multiple workstations. Other enhancements include Canvas Private Office stanchion support, electrical integration with Trainor Modular Walls and Herman Miller system panels, all grade 1 & 2 fabrics for Ethospace, Action Office (AO), and Canvas, as well as a new mirror/join feature that lets you duplicate workstations in sections by clicking or dragging.

Version 29 of Herman Miller's Z-Axis

Features and Enhancements released in this version of Z-Axis:

  • List Price Adjustment effective May 2, 2011. Z-Axis now includes the adjusted list prices that are effective May 2, 2011 for both the US and Canada.
  • S3 integrated into a single Z-Axis version. Through the lead time screen, you can now limit your product vocabulary to the S3 offering by choosing the appropriate S3 lead time icon. This also allows you to switch between the S3 vocabulary and the full vocabulary within a single drawing.
  • GSA vocabulary now included. Through the lead time screen, you can now limit your product vocabulary to the GSA offering by choosing the appropriate GSA lead time icon.
  • New 2D view zoom/pan. Z-Axis now supports AutoCAD-style controls for zooming and panning on the 2D view. Simply roll the mouse wheel to zoom in and out, and click-and-hold the mouse wheel to pan.
  • New architectural wall enhancement. You can now enter an exact height (e.g. 87.625"), enhancing precision and productivity.
  • AutoCAD/CAD Pack performance improvements. Noticeable performance improvements have been made when working with AutoCAD/CAD Pack imported symbols.
  • New support for materials in imported AutoCAD drawings. Z-Axis now recognizes all materials that were applied in AutoCAD as part of an AutoCAD DWG file during the AutoCAD symbol import process or AutoCAD floor import process. During the import process, click on the ACAD Materials icon and Z-Axis will apply all applicable finishes and fabrics to the item in your Z-Axis drawing based on the materials included and specified in the AutoCAD DWG file.
  • New orderable props. You can now add ordering information to any prop, including the generic box. Just add product number, description, catalog code, lead time, list price, quantity, and more. The information will then appear on the Product Order and included in SIF and XML files.
  • New delivery method for Z-Axis and specIT. Z-Axis is now delivered via internet download from http://Z-Axis.hermanmiller.com.Please visit http://specIT.hermanmiller.com to install or update specIT. It is no longer distributed with Z-Axis.

 

Version 28 of Herman Miller's Z-Axis

Trainor Modular Walls, a division of Trainor Glass Company, is pleased to announce a strategic partnership with CHI·LLC, to introduce Trainor’s M-Wall catalog of full-height modular walls, doors, and hardware, to Herman Miller’s Z-Axis 3D sales and design software currently used by office furniture dealerships nationwide.

Trainor Modular Walls’ full-height wall product represents a new category of product flexibility for salespeople and designers when working with their customers within the Z-Axis software platform. The use of full-height wall products has shown strong growth within the office furniture industry as employee work areas and office space configurations have evolved. Modular walls offer businesses an economical alternative to traditional fixed wall construction and help businesses optimize space, while keeping their costs low. “This partnership enables Trainor Modular Walls to showcase the capabilities of our initial product offering within the leading 3D space planning tool used in the office furniture industry for photorealistic visualization and order accuracy,” said Brian Clark, Executive Vice President, Trainor Modular Walls.

“We are excited to announce this partnership with Trainor Modular Walls and having their product in Z-Axis is a great addition for dealerships designing with full-height wall product,” said Uli Chi, CEO of CHI·LLC. “For the past 20 years we have pioneered the creation of visualization and specification software for Herman Miller in the office furniture industry. It is a natural progression to include modular full-height walls, expanding the product offering and design capability for the salespeople and designers who are using this software to design spaces.”
The most compelling release of Z-Axis yet- version 28 builds on previous releases with the addition of new features and products, including the introduction of Trainor’s M-Wall full height modular wall products and the Herman Miller Compass Healthcare Systems Furniture.

NEW! Trainor Modular Walls M-Wall Full Height Products
- Place and design with full height wall products

NEW! Herman Miller Compass Healthcare Product
– Design with the full range of Herman Miller's new healthcare furniture line

NEW! AutoCAD 3D DWG Export
– Including materials and SIF attributes.

NEW! Smart Symbols Enhancement
- SIF import feature introduced

Software Performance Enhancements
– Improving speed, usability, and workflow