This article highlights that by using a standard that enables complete product model data to be transmitted digitally, a company can build open systems to make information available on many platforms throughout its operations. The world of CAD/CAM has viewed the International Graphics Exchange Standard (IGES) as its translation standard for years, using the system to move two-dimensional models from one program to another. While IGES does, in fact, do a good job of transmitting basic geometry, another translator—the Standard for the Exchange of Product Data (STEP) —has been gaining on IGES in popularity. STEP goes considerably further than just transmitting geometry; it provides users with the ability to express and exchange digitally useful product information throughout a product's life cycle, including design, analysis, manufacturing, and support. In short, IGES transmits two-dimensional drawings, while STEP transmits complete product models. The updated schema, consisting of an ASCII file written in EXPRESS, is simply run through a utility that merges the extensions that have been added by Unigraphics with the standard ST-Developer libraries. Updating the translator to incorporate an upgraded version of the libraries is just as easy.
Feature-based translation of CAD models with macro-parametric approach: issues of feature mapping, persistent naming, and constraint translation
