Abstract
The main aim of this paper is to explain how the application of Simultaneous Engineering methodologies can facilitate the design and development of structural parts. The paper focuses in how to improve the integration of the various partners that are involved in the complete manufacturing chain: component design, material data, simulation and testing, manufacturing and assembly. The main means used to achieve this integration is the application and use of the technology of the ISO 10303 Product data representation and exchange STEP.
The paper covers two main parts:
1. Explaining the SE based work method and the data model.
2. Explaining the IT System that implements the SE based work method and architecture, trough the exchange of STEP files (based on the STEP model) among the different partners involved.
The application of the SE is specially interesting in this area, since firstly the whole development cycle of this kind of parts comprises a high number of interdependent phases, for example: style design, basic design, analysis, detailed design, prototypes and tests, manufacturing of production tools, production and inspection of parts, etc.; and secondly it involves several separate partners.
The common link between these members is that they all need a common collection of information, like the properties of the material from which the component is to be manufactured, since this properties influence the design and also the efficient processing and final performance of the part. It is generally accepted that a generic data model is required to achieve integration between different systems in these circumstances and at present there is not a complete data representation, computer-understandable and independent of any particular system.
The global problem of data representation is being addressed by the development of standardised data models in the ISO 10303 STEP. The technology of STEP has so far been applied mainly to the representation of the shape and geometry of components. However, whit the completion of the Integrated Resource Models ISO 10303-45: Materials and ISO 10303-49 Process Structure and Properties, all the characteristics of a product can now be represented in a data structure that can be implemented in a software application.
From the point of view of information technology, a software application is needed to facilitate the SE work method and to implement the STEP models. This application comprises:
- Workflow Management Application: this interfaces whit the commercial applications used and allows launching actions as response to the events performed by the users (based on the SE work method), also allows to visualise the geometric information of the different parts.
- STEP distributed Data Base comprised of the following tools: middleware tool that contains the different layers of the STEP model, the STEP distributed database management system and the SDAI interfaces for the CAX systems and the workflow application.