Manufacturing Data Exchange Standards Interoperability Testing and Optimization Tool

The International Standard for the Exchange of Product Model Data (STEP) offers a platform for a seamless flow of information from product design though product planning and product manufacture. However, the current information flow is strongly biased in the direction of design to planning to manufacture. A closed loop feedback system is desirable to achieve optimum design through manufacturing conditions. The same feedback system would be a powerful testing tool to ensure that the model and data exchange between different Standards and their implementations are correct. The part representation in each of the three major domains (design, planning and part manufacture) will be placed within two common model formats: a populated B-Rep model that contains pointers from low level B-Rep entities to high level STEP features and which would have particular advantages for 2.5D parts and a volumetric model which is particularly facile in testing surface information and errors, making it highly suitable for free form parts. Representing the part in a common language across different domains will assist in comparing the resulting part models for each domain and in providing the closed loop/up-stream feedback that is a requirement for a fully optimized design to manufacturing system.