Implementation of Standardized Shareable Product Databases

The Standard for the Exchange of Product model data (STEP, or ISO 10303) is a family of standards aimed to represent a product's information throughout its entire life cycle. STEP comprises several classes of documents organized in a database-like architecture. This paper focuses on STEP Implementation Methods and their application on the implementation of shareable product databases. File exchange, the simplest STEP Implementation Method, is described. SDAI, a language-independent application programming interface for access and manipulation of STEP data, is discussed, together with an outline of its application on the integration of network interoperable product databases.