Product information platform based on STEP

Abstract

The international standard ISO 10303, called STEP, has been used to deal with problems in the exchange of product models and the associated data between different computer-aided systems. A platform based on STEP for managing product information is presented. This platform includes three components: a product geometry information model, a product feature model and a product visualization model. An information extracting pattern, in which information is extracted from low level elements to high level ones, is adopted in establishing the product geometry information model. Relative elements lists are created based on the extracted product information. With the traversing of these lists, feature extraction methods are proposed, which take advantage of boundary information in product model and avoid the determination of concavity and convexity of curves. Information correlating to features is stored in a structure named as feature block and the product visualization model is founded from it. The feature block is used in the platform for information communication and synchronous update among the three components.

Keywords

ISO 10303 standard / STEP / feature extraction / feature block

References

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