STEP
The information generated about a product during its design, manufacture, use, maintenance and disposal is used for many purposes during its life cycle. The use may involve many computer systems, including some that may be located in different organizations. In order to support such uses, organizations need to be able to represent their product information in a common computer-interpretable form that is required to remain complete and consistent when exchanged among different computer systems.
STEP (Standard for the Exchange of Product data), otherwise known as ISO 10303, provides a mechanism that is capable of describing product data throughout the life cycle of a product, independent from any particular system. The nature of this description makes it suitable not only for neutral file exchange, but also as a basis for implementing and sharing product databases and archiving.
For example, the Advanced Technology Institute, USA, states that the ISO 10303 family of standards is enabling major paradigm shifts in industry today. For decades, manufacturing industries struggled to implement more efficient and effective approaches to design and manufacturing that relied on seamless information flow among disciplines and functional areas. Concepts such as concurrent engineering, collaborative product development, and integrated product process development are achievable using ISO 10303. The pursuit of effective data exchange using STEP has led to improvements in CAD (Computer-aided design) system core modelling algorithms, model development practices, and overall product data quality. Furthermore, data exchange using the international STEP standard has helped to foster global collaborations, as well as improve communications with supply chains. Industry continues to invest in the development of STEP, and industry will continue to benefit from this "most valuable" standard.
STEP is used by leading organizations in aerospace, the automotive industry, shipbuilding, and the Department of Defense, including companies such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, IBM, BAE Systems, Newport News Shipbuilding, Electric Boat Corporation, Rockwell, and NASA.
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