STEP Tools, Inc. Convenes with Shipbuilding Industry at the ISPE Meeting, November 19-20, 2002;
ESTEP, INTOP Meetings at Carderock Naval Surface Warfare Center, November 20 -21, 2002
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contact: Belinda Jones, 860-767-9506
HiTech Marketing LLC
belinda.jones@hitechmarketing.com
STEP-NC and ISO-STEP Standards to Increase Shipbuilding Profitability and Productivity
Troy, New York - November 18, 2002 -
STEP Tools, Inc. ,
the forerunner in developing STEP and STEP-NC software solutions for the global marketplace,
announced today it will join prominent companies involved in the shipbuilding industry's Integrated
Steel Processing Environment (ISPE) Project for a two day symposium to be held at NG Ship Systems,
in Pascagoula, MS, from November 19-20, 2002. The ISPE project is managed by the National Shipbuilding
Research Program (NSRP) led by a coalition of eleven U.S. shipyards, working as a team with government,
industry and academia. The organization manages and focuses national shipbuilding research and development
funding on technologies that will reduce the cost of warships to the U.S. Navy, and establish international
competitiveness for the United States. Participants in the ISPE program include Northrop Grumman
Ship Systems (NGSS) Avondale Operations, NGSS Ingalls Operations, NG Newport News, Electric Boat, NGIT/DES,
Sigmatek, AeroHydro, NIST, and STEP Tools, Inc.
Dr. Martin Hardwick, president and CEO of STEP Tools, will convene with ISPE members to discuss the potential
of STEP-NC technology for pipe bending and cutting operations that are specific to shipbuilding. Dr.
Hardwick is the STEP Manufacturing leader in the international STEP community of over 200 independent
product data specialists.
Two other key meetings related to shipbuilding initiatives, ESTEP and INTOP, will take
place at the Carderock Naval Surface Warfare Center, Bethesda, MD, on Nov. 20 and 21, 2002.
The meetings will focus on shipbuilding design issues. Dr. David Loffredo, and Mr. Blair Downie,
both top management executives at STEP Tools, will participate in the program and discuss STEP-related issues.
STEP Tools is involved in two other high profile National Shipbuilding Research Programs:
1) the Harvest program to complete STEP application protocols for ship structures, ship molded forms
and ship arrangements, and make them full international standards, and 2) the Navy WSME project that
will produce a web-based data management framework for ship design and manufacturing. STEP Tools will retain the intellectual property rights for their innovations, which hold commercialization potential in both military and commercial markets.
About the Integrated Steel Processing Environment (ISPE) Project
The Integrated Steel Processing Environment (ISPE) Project proposes to develop
technologies and integrate a pilot system enabling a CAD-neutral interchange of steel
fabrication work packages among associate shipyards. From a research perspective, the
requirements will focus effort on high-payoff extensions of emerging STEP data standards and
application protocols for shipbuilding and create explicit representations of yard-specific
manufacturing rules. ISPE technology will capture definition of steel manufacturing data and
information in a digital form that is neutral with respect to: 1) the design/CAD system used
to develop the ship's structural design, 2) yard-specific cutting and fabrication processes,
3) and the machines used to cut the steel.
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 a suite of software
solutions in several languages that integrate with existing tools and
database systems, and also provide cross-platform compatibility and
ease-of-use for streamlined development. The emerging STEP-NC
technology is yielding process improvements including a 35% reduction
in path planning time, a 75% reduction in paper drawings generated for
the shop-floor, and a 50% improvement in machining time for small to
mid-sized job lots. For late-breaking information, contact STEP
Tools, Inc. by calling (518) 687-2848, email: info@steptools.com or visit www.steptools.com.
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