STEP Tools Rolls Out ST-Plan v1.0, First Commercial Software Product Available to Produce STEP-NC Data

Troy, New York -- July 21, 2003 -- STEP Tools, Inc. announced today the introduction of ST-Plan? V1.0, a fast, efficient software product for creating machine independent CNC control files from STEP (AP-203 or AP-214) data. Based on years of research supported by the U.S. government, ST-Plan incorporates the best strategies for recognizing manufacturing features and generating Process Plans. With ST-Plan, manufacturers can rapidly plan and optimize part programs for a wide range of machines and take advantage of productivity enhancements using feature and process recognition. STEP Tools spearheads the development of STEP-NC effort in North America, and is a highly visible participant in the global STEP community of over 200 independent product data specialists.

"ST-Plan is the first-to-the-market software package dedicated to STEP-NC, eManfacturing, and a new level of automation," states Dr. Martin Hardwick, president and CEO of STEP Tools. "STEP Tools has successfully demonstrated machine tools driven by full fidelity STEP-NC data. Our STEP-NC Implementers programs are moving forward progressively, and now with our launch of ST-Plan, machine shops and CNC programmers can also affordably evaluate and begin the process of creating and exploring STEP-NC data."

How does ST-Plan Work? 

ST-Plan creates machine independent CNC control files via a simple STEP In, STEP-NC out approach. The program essentially defines tolerances, features, processes, and tool requirements needed for the machining process. STEP Tools has developed ST-Plan in conjunction with Honeywell FM&T. ST-Plan offers a variety of benefits such as feature recognition technology from Honeywell, integrated graphics, advanced database technology, geometric healing and much more. All of this functionality is captured in an easy-to-use, no learning curve user interface.

In a nutshell, ST-Plan creates highly intelligent product data and lays the foundation for "next generation" manufacturing. Feature recognition and the STEP-NC data format make it possible to expedite the path planning process, and at the same time, significantly reduce CNC programming time for 3D CAD models. ST-Plan prepares full fidelity machining data for any CNC machine tool thus eliminating post processors. The program is ideal for simple parts, and highly effective on complex parts such as aerospace multi-surface models as shown in a recent demonstration at NIST.

The optimal Process Plan is computed when the required tolerances for the geometry of the part are known. STEP-NC makes use of the same inspection quality tolerances as the STEP data standard. ST-Plan lets users also define tolerances using a module called Feature Based Tolerances. STEP Tools has also demonstrated how users can rapidly set tolerances using the crib sheet data of a machine shop at a recent event held at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California.

System Requirements 

ST-Plan requires 170mb of hard disc space for installation. The 40mb installer can be removed once the installation is complete. Minimum RAM requirement: 256MB. The software package supports Windows operating systems: Windows 98/NT4.x/2000/XP.

About STEP and STEP-NC Standards 

STEP (STandard for Exchange of Product model data) is a comprehensive ISO standard for CAD design data. STEP-NC, the manufacturing extension of this standard, annotates the design information with manufacturing data. STEP became a full ISO standard in 1994, and since then, all of the leading CAD software vendors have implemented STEP data translation. It is estimated that more than one and a half million CAD stations now contain STEP data translators. STEP-NC is on its way to becoming a Draft International Standard in 2004.

About STEP Tools, Inc. 

STEP Tools, Inc. is a leading international supplier of professional STEP software toolsets (based on ISO standards) for application software developers, design firms and manufacturing companies in diverse industries. The STEP Tools product line is used by the world's foremost firms to leverage STEP and STEP-NC technology to facilitate the sharing of engineering product information. Over one million end users utilize product data applications built with ST-Developer, the company's flagship product. The company offers a suite of software solutions in several languages that integrate with existing tools and database systems, and also provide cross-platform compatibility and ease-of-use for streamlined development. The emerging STEP-NC technology is yielding process improvements including a 35% reduction in path planning time, a 75% reduction in paper drawings generated for the shop-floor, and a 50% improvement in machining time for small to mid-sized job lots. 

www.steptools.com

 

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