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What
is
STEP?
The
information
generated
about
a
product
during
its
design,
manufacture,
use,
maintenance,
and
disposal
is
used
for
many
purposes
during
that
life
cycle.
The
use
may
involve
many
computer
systems,
including
some
that
may
be
located
in
different
organizations.
In
order
to
support
such
uses,
organizations
need
to
be
able
to
represent
their
product
information
in
a
common
computer-interpretable
form
that
is
required
to
remain
complete
and
consistent
when
exchanged
among
different
computer
systems.
STEP
(ISO
10303)
is
an
International
Standard
for
the
computer-interpretable
representation
and
exchange
of
product
data.
The
objective
is
to
provide
a
mechanism
that
is
capable
of
describing
product
data
throughout
the
life
cycle
of
a
product,
independent
from
any
particular
system.
The
nature
of
this
description
makes
it
suitable
not
only
for
neutral
file
exchange,
but
also
as
a
basis
for
implementing
and
sharing
product
databases
and
archiving.
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What
is
the
scope
of
the
STEP?
STEP
is
a
key
international
product
data
technology
that
effectively
enables:
interoperability,
supply
chain
integration,
web-based
collaboration,
and
life-cycle
management.
STEP
applications
include:
computer-aided
design,
process
planning,
computer-aided
manufacturing,
product
data
management,
web
content
standardization,
engineering
analysis,
systems
engineering,
and
drafting.
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What
is
PDES,
Inc?
PDES,
Inc.
is
a
global
consortium
of
industry,
government,
and
academic
members
working
together
to
advance
the
development
and
implementation
of
STEP
technology.
The
consortium's
computer
lab
and
technical
and
administrative
staff
are
located
at
ATI
in
Charleston,
SC.
Member
companies
of
PDES,
Inc.
include
AIRBUS,
Boeing,
BAE
SYSTEMS,
DoE/NNSA,
Electric
Boat,
EPM
Technology,
General
Motors,
Georgia
Tech,
IBM,
LKSoft,
Lockheed
Martin,
NASA,
NIST,
Northrop
Grumman,
PTC,
Raytheon,
Rockwell
Collins,
Theorem
Solutions,
the
US
Army,
and
UTC/Pratt
&
Whitney.
The
projects
of
the
consortium
are
funded
by
its
members.
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What
are
the
requirements
for
joining
PDES,
Inc?
Membership
terms
in
PDES,
Inc.
are
two
years
in
length.
Companies
with
annual
revenues
of
less
than
$1B
can
join
PDES,
Inc.
by
providing
$25,000
in
dues
and
one
full
time
equivalent
resource
annually.
Companies
with
annual
revenues
over
$1B
require
$50,000
in
dues
and
one
full
time
equivalent
resource
each
year.
STEP
vendors
can
join
PDES,
Inc.
for
$25,000
in
dues
and
one
full
time
equivalent
resource
annually.
All
members,
regardless
of
their
size,
have
the
same
rights
and
privileges,
and
STEP
vendors
can
charge
up
to
50%
of
their
PDES,
Inc.
staff
hour
commitment
to
STEP
related
product
development.
Government
Associates
can
either
provide
two
staff-years
of
technical
effort
per
year
or
provide
one
full
time
equivalent
resource
and
$25,000
in
dues.
A
University
Associate
membership
is
also
available.
Universities
can
participate
in
PDES,
Inc.
by
providing
one
full
time
equivalent
resource;
no
membership
fees
are
required.
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Who
is
using
the
STEP
Standards
and
which
industries
is
it
relevant
to?
Today,
STEP
use
is
growing
throughout
the
world
within
many
industries,
including:
aerospace,
shipbuilding,
process
plants,
automotive,
electronics,
and
construction.
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Is
there
any
commercial
software
available
to
use
STEP?
A
wide
variety
of
interoperable
STEP
software
tools
and
translators
are
available
for
commercial
use.
Click
here
for
a
sample
listing
of
available
products.
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What
business
benefits
will
I
get
from
implementing
STEP?
Unlike
other
data
transfer
standards,
STEP
is
computer
sensible.
It
supports
design
reuse,
data
retention,
and
provides
access
to
data
across
a
product's
entire
life
cycle.
Product
development
strategies,
such
as
concurrent
engineering,
enterprise
integration,
electronic
commerce
and
quality
function
deployment,
will
significantly
benefit
from
the
use
of
STEP
--
allowing
them
to
have
a
broad
impact
within
enterprises.
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How
will
STEP
improve
my
business
processes?
By
removing
the
barriers
that
prevent
maximum
flexibility
in
design,
manufacture,
and
support
processes,
STEP
enables
manufacturers
to
achieve
new,
higher
levels
of
quality
and
productivity
while
reducing
costs
and
time-to-market.
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What
do
engineers
need
to
know
about
STEP?
Engineers
do
not
need
to
acquire
an
in-depth
knowledge
of
STEP,
but
it
will
be
beneficial
to
them
to
know
how
it
works
in
general
terms.
STEP
provides
a
neutral
data
format
for
the
exchange
of
CAD/CAM/CAE
models
and
PDM
data
--
which
is
generically
referred
to
as
"product
data".
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What
is
ISO
TC184/SC4?
STEP
is
an
international
standard
(ISO
10303).
Its
evolution
and
development
take
place
under
the
auspices
of
the
International
Organization
for
Standardization
(ISO)
Technical
Committee
184,
Subcommittee
4.
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Who
is
working
to
develop
and
implement
STEP?
STEP
is
being
developed
and
implemented
by
technical
representatives
from
many
industries,
including:
aerospace,
shipbuilding,
process
plants,
automotive,
electronics,
and
construction.
Noted
organizations
include
members
of:
-
PDES,
Inc.
-
AIRBUS,
Boeing,
BAE
SYSTEMS,
DoE/NNSA,
Electric
Boat,
EPM
Technology,
General
Motors,
Georgia
Tech,
IBM,
LKSoft,
Lockheed
Martin,
NASA,
NIST,
Northrop
Grumman,
PTC,
Raytheon,
Rockwell
Collins,
Theorem
Solutions,
the
US
Army,
and
UTC/Pratt
&
Whitney
-
The
US
Product
Data
Association
(US
PRO)
-
AIAG,
Altarum,
ATI,
The
Boeing
Company,
Caterpillar,
Concurrent
Technologies
Corp.,
US
DoD,
Eurostep
LTD.,
Georgia
Tech,
IBM,
International
TechneGroup
Incorporated
(ITI),
LKSoft,
NIST,
National
Shipbuilding
Research
Program
(NSRP),
Oklahoma
State
Univ,
PDES,
Inc.,
ProSTEP,
SCRA,
and
STEP
Tools
Inc
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What
will
STEP
deliver
and
when?
STEP
standard
data
definitions
deliver
the
capability
for
the
reuse
of
information
in
different
applications,
such
as
design,
analysis,
manufacturing,
and
support,
as
well
as
data
retention,
throughout
the
entire
life
cycle
of
a
product.
Using
STEP,
companies'
business
processes
can
be
streamlined.
Large
manufacturers,
small
and
medium
size
enterprises,
software
developers,
and
systems
integrators
can
capitalize
on
STEP.
Many
of
these
capabilities
are
supported
by
commercial
products
today.
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Why
invent
a
new
standard
available
for
product
data
exchange?
STEP
provides
a
standard
way
to
accurately
and
efficiently
exchange
complete
electronic
product
information.
STEP
allows
companies
to
effectively
exchange
information
with
their
worldwide
partners,
customers
and
suppliers,
as
well
as
internally.
In
order
to
remain
competitive
in
the
global
marketplace,
companies
will
have
to
ensure
this
exchange
is
consistent,
accurate
and
timely.
By
removing
the
barriers
that
prevent
maximum
flexibility
in
design,
manufacture,
and
support,
STEP
will
enable
manufacturers
to
achieve
new,
higher
levels
of
quality
and
productivity
while
reducing
costs
and
time-to-market.
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Is
STEP
the
only
standard
available
for
product
data
exchange?
Other
standards
(e.g.,
IGES,
DXF,
etc.)
also
address
product
data
however,
STEP
is
by
far
the
most
robust.
The
STEP
data
models
allow
for
product
data
to
be
maintained
in
a
system-independent
format.
This
capability
allows
the
data
to
be
compatible
across
various
computer
platforms,
operating
systems,
database
and
other
applications,
assuring
that
over
time
the
data
is
not
rendered
useless
due
to
a
system
or
software
change/upgrade.
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How
will
STEP
help
me
to
use
software
applications
from
different
vendors?
STEP
Enables
Reuse
of
Design,
Planning
and
Manufacturing
Data
across
multiple
vendor
platforms
by
providing
a
neutral,
ISO
standard
data
format.
The
STEP
Standard
defines
the
neutral
data
format
required
to
facilitate
bi-directional
information
exchange
between
software
applications.
The
integrated
information
models
addresses
all
of
the
major
data
flows
and/or
transactions
required
to
support
a
comprehensive
product
support
process
model.
By
mapping
the
data
import/export
capability
of
existing
software
applications
to
the
STEP
Schema
it
is
possible
to
define
the
information
exchange
requirements
in
the
form
of
a
STEP-based
neutral
/open
format,
for
example
a
Part
21
File
(ISO
10303-21).
This
file
format
can
them
be
readily
exchanged
between
any
STEP
compliant
software
applications
without
the
need
for
costly
and
time-consuming
development
of
proprietary
interfaces.
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I
know
STEP
supports
Engineering
Design,
can
it
be
used
for
anything
else?
STEP
applications
include:
computer-aided
design,
process
planning,
computer-aided
manufacturing,
product
data
management,
web
content
standardization,
engineering
analysis,
systems
engineering,
and
drafting.
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Where
can
I
get
the
actual
documentation
for
STEP?
The
documents
of
the
STEP
standard
(ISO
10303)
are
copyrighted
and
published
by
ISO.
They
can
be
procured
from
US
PRO
(the
U.S.
organization
that
has
been
licensed
to
sell
them)
--
go
to
the
US
PRO
Catalog
of
STEP
documents.
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