A Guide to Implementation Techniques

Miles, G

Softback, First Published September 1995

The need for data transfer of product models between different areas of manufacturing has long been realised in industry.  The need comes from two main motivators:

• Efficiency
• Quality Assurance

The generation of a product model is a time consuming process.  If different applications can utilise some or all of the generated information, the generating process can be minimised, the product model can be maintained and updated across a wide range of applications through a product’s life-cycle most efficiently and the archiving of information can be minimised.  The generation of product models is a process which is subject to human error.  By centralising the source model and ensuring automatic transfer to the various applications, the verification of the model is a simpler process.

Contents

1.                  Introduction

1.1                          Data exchange scenarios
1.2                          History of data exchange standards

1.2.1                    IGES
1.2.2                    SET
1.2.3                    VDA/IS and VDA/FS
1.2.4                    CAD*I
1.2.5                    PDES

2.                  STEP

2.1                          EXPRESS
2.2                          Clear text encoding of the exchange structure
2.3                          Standard Data Access Interface – SDAI
2.4                          NIAM
2.5                          IDEFO
2.6                          STEP Parts
2.7                          Shape classification

2.7.1                    Constructive solid geometry
2.7.2                    Boundary representation
2.7.3                    Geometric models

3.                  Research in implementation techniques

3.1                          The MARITIME AP Factory
3.2                          Using EXPRESS database technology for accessing NCBI Genomic Data
3.3                          Modelling of Association in EXPRESS-R
3.4                          EXPRESS-M- A schema mapping language
3.5                          EXPRESS now models the world in data, relations and rules
3.6                          The Mapping between EXPRESS and traditional DBMS Models
3.7                          Semantic Modelling in CIM using EXPRESS and Conceptual Graphs
3.8                          EXPRESS Drive Data Translation
3.9                          Checking EXPRESS constraints in a heterogeneous database environment
3.10                      The Semantics of Subtypes and Supertypes
3.11                      Parallel validation of STEP files
3.12                      EXIME, an EXPRESS orientated information
3.13                      Shared editing of information models
3.14                      Object-orientated approaches to the implementation of EXPRESS based systems
3.15                      Using EXPRESS, COBRA and ODL to create Open Engineering Databases

4.                  Other related STEP design and analysis projects

4.1                          ESPIRIT project 322 CAD*I
4.2                          ESPIRIT project 1062 ACCORD
4.3                          ESPIRIT project 2165 IMMPACT
4.4                          ESPIRIT project 2195 CADEX
4.5                          ESPIRIT project 2486 DYNAMO
4.6                          ESPIRIT project 2614 IRO
4.7                          ESPIRIT project 2626 AUTOCODE
4.8                          ESPIRIT project 5172 IDAM
4.9                          ESPIRIT project 5524 MDS
4.10                      ESPIRIT project 5606 PRO-DATIS
4.11                      ESPIRIT project 5620 ADONIS
4.12                      ESPIRIT project 6040 PRODEX
4.13                      ESPIRIT project 6041 MARITIME
4.14                      ESPIRIT project 6212 PROCESS BASE
4.15                      ESPIRIT project 6874 MASS
4.16                      ESPIRIT project 6876 PISA
4.17                      ESPIRIT project 6911 3D-SCAN
4.18                      ESPIRIT project 7280 ATLAS
4.19                      ESPIRIT project 7294 MIDAS
4.20                      Epistle
4.21                      POSC

5.                  STEP Toolkits

5.1                          ProSTEP toolkit
5.2                          NICOGRAPH toolkit
5.3                          PRODEX toolkit
5.4                          International TechneGroup Incorporated toolkit
5.5                          Epee toolkit
5.6                          STEP TOOLS toolkit
5.7                          NIST toolkit
5.8                          PMshell toolkit
5.9                          EXPRESS Data Manager

6.                  Data transfer between dissimilar systems

6.1                          Shape based transfer
6.2                          Topological conversion
6.3                          Downward conversions
6.4                          Upward conversions
6.5                          STEP to STEP Geometric conversion
6.6                          STEP to LOCAL geometric conversion
6.7                          STEP to LOCAL topological conversion

7.                  STEP Data transfer between Design and Analysis

7.1                          The information content of the design model
7.2                          The information content of the analysis input model
7.3                          The information content of the analysis results model
7.4                          The information set back to design
7.5                          Compound boundary representation
7.6                          Model Abstraction
7.7                          Abstractions for analysis models
7.8                          Change of dimensionality
7.9                          Deletion of unwanted geometry and topology
7.10                      Topology building
7.11                      Conversion to a meshable topology
7.12                      Sending data back to the Computer aided design department after abstraction

7.12.1                Manually maintaining a dual representation
7.12.2                Automatically maintaining a dual representation
7.12.3                Automatically building topology