STEP Tools Participates in STEP-NC/OMAC Meeting at IMTS 2002

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contact: Belinda Jones, 860-767-9506
HiTech Marketing LLC
belinda.jones@hitechmarketing.com

STEP Tools Participates in STEP-NC/OMAC Meeting at IMTS 2002
“The Latest Developments in STEP-NC” presented by Dr. Martin Hardwick

Troy, New York - September 17, 2002 - STEP Tools, Inc., the forerunner in developing STEP and STEP-NC software solutions for the global marketplace, announced today its president and CEO, Dr. Martin Hardwick was a guest speaker at the STEP/OMAC Meeting held at International Machine Tool Show (IMTS) held at McCormick Place (Chicago, IL) on September 9, 2002. The general STEP-NC/OMAC meeting was held to review the plan to collaboratively build a pilot program that demonstrates machining a part using STEP-NC (AP 238). The project is intended to generate live metrics that prove the merits and cost savings of the STEP-NC programming language.

Dr. Hardwick presented “The Latest Developments in STEP-NC” at the conference. His presentation described how STEP-NC works as a new-to-the-market data input standard for Computerized Numerical Control (CNC) systems. He also reviewed STEP Tools' products that help manufacturers integrate STEP and STEP-NC into CAD and CAM systems. Dr. Hardwick is the international team leader of the STEP Manufacturing group and spearheads the development efforts of the Super Model Project in the United States. During several Q&A sessions, he answered technical questions about a wide range of STEP-NC and manufacturing integration topics.

Hardwick also discussed the progress being made by the Phase One STEP-NC Implementers. This group is comprised of industry-leading firms who will be the first to implement the new STEP-NC technology in systematic phases into their manufacturing operations, and ultimately into their supply chain. In the past twenty years, Dr. Hardwick has authored numerous papers and articles on engineering database systems, concurrent engineering, and STEP. He has traveled internationally to conduct public lectures on these topics at trade shows, symposiums, conferences and more.

About STEP Tools, Inc.
STEP Tools, Inc. is a leading international supplier of professional STEP software toolsets (based on ISO standards) for application software developers, design firms and manufacturing companies in diverse industries. The STEP Tools product line is used by the world's foremost firms to leverage STEP and STEP-NC technology to facilitate the sharing of engineering product information. Over one million end users utilize product data applications built with ST-Developer, the company's flagship product. The company offers ten software solutions in several languages that provide four key benefits: 1) the flexibility of EXPRESS information modeling language, 2) integration with existing tools and database systems, 3) cross-platform portability, and 4) ease-of-use for streamlined development.
For late-breaking information, contact STEP Tools, Inc. by calling (518) 687-2848, email: info@steptools.com or visit www.steptools.com.