STEP Tools Demonstrates Important "Firsts" in the Progression of STEP-NC Standards
at Industrial Review Board Meeting at NIST
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contact: Belinda Jones, 860-767-9506
HiTech Marketing LLC
belinda.jones@hitechmarketing.com
Troy, New York - June 09, 2003 -
STEP Tools, Inc.
announced today the results of its STEP-NC technology meeting cohosted
with NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) last week at
NIST headquarters in Gaithersburg, MD. Members of the STEP-NC Industrial
Review Board and attendees from major U.S. manufacturers, machine tool
companies, and software developers observed a series of "firsts" in the
progression of STEP-NC demonstrated at NIST's Manufacturing Engineering
Laboratory (MEL). NIST is a pilot member of the STEP-NC Implementers
program. STEP Tools spearheads the development of STEP-NC effort in
North America, and is a highly visible participant in the global STEP
community of over 200 independent product data specialists. Dr. Martin
Hardwick, president and CEO of STEP Tools, is the international team
leader of the STEP Manufacturing group.
The most significant advancement presented at the event was the
process of integrating complex surface models into STEP-NC (AP-238)
CNC-independent control data. The full fidelity data was successfully
used to machinea demonstration part constructed by Boeing Defense on
a multi-axis CNC machine tool. The purpose of the demonstration was
to show OEMs they can send the definition of a surface model to their
suppliers as a part of the STEP-NC file, and in turn, the supplier can
evaluate a full fidelity description of the surface on the CNC machine
tool. The benefits are twofold: 1) much greater production accuracy
because of the elimination of approximations, and 2) a vastly reduced
data volume, because a surface's functional STEP-NC definition is very
small as compared to megabytes of outmoded G & M codes.
Also debuting at the demonstration was an ST-Machine plug-in for
Mastercam software (CNC Software, Tolland, CT), which was used for
toolpath generation. For the first time, STEP Tools presented the
definition of G D & T tolerancing in STEP-NC using their ST-Plan
software. The audience was given a tour of the new STEP Index Library
(STIX), a C++/COM library of useful functions for creating and modifying
applications using STEP-NC (AP-238) machining data. This free, downloadable
library gives developers of Open Architecture Controls and other applications
easy access to the NC data defined by STEP-NC. The software program was
created by STEP Tools to simplify and expedite AP-238 programming, lower
the learning curve for newcomers, and saving time for STEP experts.
The STEP-NC team also previewed a probing application with NIST.
This demonstration will be followed by subsequent meetings for input
to fuel further development in this area of manufacturing.
The meeting concluded with a look to the future, and an emphasis on
STEP-NC's overall theme of data integration from design through manufacturing.
STEP-NC is in the final stages of development. The STEP community is working
hard to finalize the standards with a last call to industry for enhancements
before it becomes a draft standard. This highly anticipated technology is
expected to eliminate some of the most troublesome bottlenecks to manufacturing
productivity ¾ cumbersome post processors, antiquated G & M codes, data
redundancies, multiple CAD files, and more. The international standard is
expected to usher in a new era of manufacturing automation in terms of productivity,
safety, reliability, and CNC machine tool usability and interoperability.
About STEP and STEP-NC Standards
STEP (STandard for Exchange of Product model data) 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.
STEP-NC is on its way to becoming a Draft International Standard in 2004.
About NIST
As a non-regulatory agency of the US Department of Commerce's Technology
Administration, NIST develops and promotes measurement, standards and
technology to enhance productivity, facilitate trade, and improve the quality of life.
For more information, visit the web site www.nist.gov.
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.
|
