[step-manufacturing] STEP-NC and XML as standard

[Martin Hardwick]

Dear Per-Arne Carlsson,

Thank you for your kind words on STEP-NC. We have been working very hard 
to establish the standard.

There are many useful applications for STEP-NC data including line 
balancing.

When we started to implement STEP-NC we adopted Part 28 XML as our 
primary data format to make the new data more open while continuing to 
support Part 21 ASCII so that we could continue to work with the STEP 
legacy.

In addition we adopted several conventions about how we write the Part 
28 XML. The most important being that we  insert many comments into the 
files to make them easier to understand and process using languages like 
XSLT. This has been invaluable to us as we have built and debugged our 
STEP-NC applications and we would suggest that it or something similar 
should be adopted across STEP to make applications more open.

In addition for tools such as web browsers we have put starter tools 
onto our web site including a Java tool path viewer.

http://www.steptools.com/products/stepncwrite/javaview.html

Finally for those willing to trade their money for someone elses time, 
there is a high level API for STEP-NC included in the STEP-NC Machine 
product. This API includes functions to rapidly find or compute most of 
the attributes you would need in a line balancing application and it is 
our intention to keep extending it until the API has all the functions 
that industry needs.

ftp://ftp.steptools.com/private/NIST/closed_loop/Modular_Foundry_Language.pdf

We would be glad to talk to you or Magnus about what is needed in this 
API for line balancing. We can also talk about adding more attributes to 
the XML comments, such as the current estimated execution time of an 
operation, that will make line balancing applications easier to write. 
The nice thing about comments is that they are optional, so we do not 
have to worry about the data being necessary and sufficient for the 
standard (timing attributes would actually be redundant because they can 
be computed) or our software.

Martin Hardwick
President STEP Tools, Inc.
Team Leader STEP-Manufacturing
Professor and Acting Head of Computer Science, RPI

On 6/10/2010 7:58 AM, Carlsson Per-Arne wrote:
> Dear Mr Hardwick,
> I am Per-Arne Carlsson and have been involved in STEP-NC and its 
> evolution since it started as an end user. I work with Virtual 
> Manufacturing in a company at the AB Volvo group.
> It takes time to establish a new standard and I am impressed what you 
> and your colleagues have done in the States so far. We are following 
> the work done in the STEP-Manufacturing Team and in the cooperation 
> with BOING, SANDVIK, NIST and KTH where Magnus Lundgren participate. I 
> also participate when I have time, now in the recession there is no 
> time or money any more. I hope it will change soon.
> I continuous follow your work and have an ongoing dialog with Magnus.  
> We work together to achieve Feature Based Operation Planning based on 
> STEP-NC and standards. This to achieve  an efficient work in the 
> plants  with the  process, Operation Planning,  Optimized 
> NC-information and  Machine  Balancing ,  witch is very important.
> Magnus have made some very good example with the Boxy model and it's 
> STEP-NC  information , showing how information can be extracted from 
> the STEP-NC file that exist today. It means that we are able to manage 
> and store the information in STEP-NC  according to available AP;s but 
> to access it we need special software to select and present the  
> selected information.
> STEP-NC is based on XML. There is possibility to extract and transform 
> the information we need for balancing from the STEP-NC file (if the 
> file is following XML-standard)  by using XSLT. It is a way of adapt a 
> specific style sheet on the XML code and also make a transform of the 
> information without specific programming tools etc. Some example show 
> this ( http://spri.kshell.com/docs/index.xhtml )There are also tools 
> that check the validity of the XML-code (http://www.w3.org/) witch 
> make it usable in any web browser.
> From a end user company we would like to see an evolution of STEP-NC 
> in this open direction so we and other companies can extract and 
> format the information they need from STEP-NC based information files 
> depending on their needs and system.
> There will be an huge market if the STEP-NC file are open as it is 
> today,  the file can  be created by the different AP  and can carry 
> information supporting many different processes (machining, measure, 
> planning, balancing,  flow simulation etc).
> Tomorrows user at the shop floor is today's boys and girls grown up 
> with internet, the web approach is a must if we in any way 
> will have any attention from them.
> We are also interested to test and demonstrate how this can be done by 
> standard browsers on a part like Boxy for evaluate operation planning 
> and balancing information with STEP-NC as a information base.
> What your view of this?
> Best regards / Med vänlig hälsning,/ /
> /P-A Carlsson/
> _________________________________________________
> *Per-Arne Carlsson*
> Volvo Information Technology AB
> Dept 9511, Geo. loc. VAKV-D1
> SE-405 08 Gothenburg, Sweden
>
> Telephone: +46 31 32 22 696
> Mobile Phone +46 73 90 22 696
> E-mail: per-arne.carlsson at volvo.com
>
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