STEP (STandard for the Exchange of Product data) is the name given to the ISO 10303 family of standards. STEP has 'integrated resource' parts covering many different areas of product data, such as:
A STEP Application Protocol (AP) is a part of STEP, which specifies how the integrated resource parts are used together for a particular engineering application. An AP defines a neutral file format which can support all the product data required by the application. The neutral file format can be used for exchange between CAD, CAE and PDM (Product Data Management) systems, and for the long term archiving of product data.
Application protocols |
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STEP is now widely used in the automotive and aerospace industries. There is also growing use in the shipbuilding and process industries.
Software support |
It is up to software vendors to provide a STEP import/export capability for their products. Software vendors should specify which STEP APs their products support. If a software package does not have an import/export capability, then there may be a translator between the native format and STEP, provided by a third party vendor. Information about STEP implementations and translators can be obtained from your national STEP centre. |
The International Industry STEP Centers association has been formed to promote the worldwide use of STEP. Some of the major national or regional STEP centres are:
NOTE - PDES Inc. also has French members. A merger between PDES Inc. and GOSET is being discussed.
An introduction to STEP is also available from UKCeB (United Kingdom Council for Electronic Business).