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FIG. 058EEngineering

Octave Forte 3D

by Octave

Data-centric 3D design system for process plants, power plants and other industrial facilities, scaled for large multi-office projects and sustaining work. Developed by Hexagon as Intergraph Smart 3D and renamed after the business was spun off as Octave in 2026.

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Specification

Vendor
Octave
Categories
3D Plant Design
Phase
EEngineering
Status
Active
Deployment
Desktop
Licensing
Commercial licence
Standards
None documented
Former names
Intergraph Smart 3D, SmartPlant 3D, Hexagon Smart 3D
Official site
octave.com

Capabilities

  1. aRule-driven 3D design to limit errors and rework
  2. bConcurrent multi-user, multi-site design
  3. cGlobal reuse of engineering data
  4. dCross-discipline design review
  5. ePoint-cloud integration via CloudWorx for Forte 3D

Assessment

Intergraph Smart 3D under a new name, and still one of the two benchmark plant design systems for large EPC work. Choose it where the owner or the rest of the toolchain is Octave/Intergraph-based.

  1. Capability25%9/10

    Rule-driven, data-centric 3D design for process, power and marine facilities with strong piping, structure and equipment modelling.

  2. Interoperability20%7/10

    Well connected to Octave's P&ID, instrumentation, stress and information-management tools; wider exchange relies on established formats and partners.

  3. Scale15%10/10

    Concurrent multi-user, multi-site design and global data reuse are core to the product and proven on major EPC programmes.

  4. Usability15%6/10

    Rich and rule-heavy; teams need sound reference data and administration to keep it productive.

  5. Deployment10%7/10

    Traditionally deployed on-premises with hosted and work-share options; cloud packaging is less prominent than its rival's.

  6. Ecosystem15%9/10

    Long-standing peer of AVEVA E3D in owner specifications, with an experienced user base inherited from Intergraph Smart 3D.

Strengths

  • Rule-driven design that catches errors early
  • Mature global work-share
  • Integrated with Facets P&ID and Aspect Pipe Stress

Considerations

  • Rebrand to Octave adds a period of name and packaging change
  • Significant reference-data and administration effort
  • Smaller teams may find it heavier than needed

Editorial assessment from public documentation, 23 October 2026. Not a hands-on benchmark. Methodology

In the same circuit · 3D Plant Design

  1. 01
    AVEVA E3D DesignAVEVA
    82
  2. 02
    Octave Forte 3DOctave
    81
  3. 03
    Cadmatic 3D Plant DesignCadmatic
    74
  4. 04
    OpenPlant ModelerBentley Systems
    71
  5. 05
    Octave Forte 3DWorxOctave
    68
  6. 06
    AutoCAD Plant 3D toolsetAutodesk
    65
  7. 07
    M4 PLANTCAD Schroer
    61
  8. ··
    AVEVA PDMSAVEVA / Discontinued
    n/a
  9. ··
    AVEVA Unified EngineeringAVEVA
    n/a

Compare head to head

Documented integrations and data exchange, in either direction.

Coverage

Sources

  1. Octave Forte 3DOctave · accessed 22 October 2026
  2. Product namingOctave · 8 April 2026 · accessed 22 October 2026

Plate updated 22 October 2026 · revision 1