STEP Tools Presents "STEP-NC Momentum In the USA" at the IMS STEP-NC Meeting in Aachen, Germany on February 12, 2003
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contact: Belinda Jones, 860-767-9506
HiTech Marketing LLC
belinda.jones@hitechmarketing.com
Troy, New York - February 10, 2003 -
STEP Tools, Inc. announced today
Dr. Martin Hardwick, president and CEO of STEP Tools, will participate
in the IMS STEP-NC Meeting in Aachen, Germany, on February 12, 2003.
Dr. Hardwick will present a paper on "STEP-NC Momentum in the USA",
and describe technical advancements gained in the past six months.
He will also discuss activities and the progression of STEP-NC within
the Phase One Implementer groups currently working with STEP Tools.
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.
Hardwick will also cover late-breaking developments shown at their
6th Industrial Review Board (IRB) Meeting co-hosted with NASA Jet
Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, CA on January 29-30, 2003.
During a series of demonstrations, STEP Tools rapidly converted
AP-203 (STEP) models into AP-238 (STEP-NC) with tolerances using
JPL Crib sheets. They also used an automated set-up wizard to define
setup and fixtures. Using JPL crib sheet data, they performed tool
selection and strategy selection. Several JPL parts were cut on
multi-axis CNC milling machines.
"At the JPL meeting, we showed what a typical manufacturing scenario
would be like using STEP-NC," states Dr. Hardwick. "Machinists will receive
a STEP-NC part via the web or traditional means, program the job with a
logical step-by-step "wizard-like" approach, and in return get feedback
on production schedules, machining strategy, tool selection, tolerances,
and areas of particular complexity. I will be reporting to the international
community about the great strides being made here in the United States. Our
manufacturing community is ready for a new era of manufacturing in terms of
productivity, safety, reliability, and CNC machine tool usability and
interoperability."
STEP (Standard for Product Data Exchange) is a comprehensive ISO
standard for CAD design data. STEP-NC, the manufacturing extension
of this standard, annotates the design information with manufacturing
data. STEP became a full ISO standard in 1994, and since then, all of
the leading CAD software vendors have implemented STEP data translation.
It is estimated that more than one and a half million CAD stations now
contain STEP data translators.
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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