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Dear Per-Arne Carlsson,<br>
<br>
Thank you for your kind words on STEP-NC. We have been working very
hard to establish the standard.<br>
<br>
There are many useful applications for STEP-NC data including line
balancing. <br>
<br>
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. <br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
In addition for tools such as web browsers we have put starter tools
onto our web site including a Java tool path viewer.<br>
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.steptools.com/products/stepncwrite/javaview.html">http://www.steptools.com/products/stepncwrite/javaview.html</a><br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="ftp://ftp.steptools.com/private/NIST/closed_loop/Modular_Foundry_Language.pdf">ftp://ftp.steptools.com/private/NIST/closed_loop/Modular_Foundry_Language.pdf</a><br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
Martin Hardwick<br>
President STEP Tools, Inc.<br>
Team Leader STEP-Manufacturing<br>
Professor and Acting Head of Computer Science, RPI<br>
<br>
On 6/10/2010 7:58 AM, Carlsson Per-Arne wrote:
<blockquote
cite="mid:AB09DF3E1CFD8C4FBBEEEA63809D99DC3A1EE87F@SEGOTC5150-CCR.vcn.ds.volvo.net"
type="cite">
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<div dir="ltr" align="left"><span class="891214605-08062010"><font
face="Arial"><span class="595344114-08062010"> </span>Dear Mr Hardwick,</font></span></div>
<div> </div>
<div><span class="891214605-08062010"><font face="Arial">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. </font></span></div>
<div><span class="891214605-08062010"></span> </div>
<div><span class="891214605-08062010"><font face="Arial">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.</font></span></div>
<div><span class="891214605-08062010"></span> </div>
<div><span class="891214605-08062010"><font face="Arial">I continuous
follow your work and have an ongoing dialog with Magnus. We work
together<span class="595344114-08062010"> </span>to achieve Feature
Based Operation Planning based on STEP-NC and standards. T<span
class="595344114-08062010">his to </span> achieve <span
class="595344114-08062010"> an </span>efficient work in the plants <span
class="595344114-08062010"> with </span>the <span
class="595344114-08062010"> process, </span>Operation Planning, <span
class="595344114-08062010"> O</span>ptimized NC-information and <span
class="595344114-08062010"> M</span>achine <span
class="595344114-08062010"> B</span>alancing<span
class="595344114-08062010"><font color="#0000ff"> , </font></span> <span
class="595344114-08062010"> witch </span>is very important. </font></span></div>
<div><span class="891214605-08062010"></span> </div>
<div><span class="891214605-08062010"><font face="Arial">Magnus have
made some very good example with the Boxy model and it's STEP-NC <span
class="595344114-08062010"> information </span>, 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<span
class="595344114-08062010"> according to available AP;s </span> but
to access it we need special software to select and present the<span
class="595344114-08062010"> selected </span> information.</font></span></div>
<div><span class="891214605-08062010"></span> </div>
<div><span class="891214605-08062010"><font face="Arial">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. <span
class="595344114-08062010"><font color="#0000ff"> <font color="#000000">Some
example show this (</font> <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://spri.kshell.com/docs/index.xhtml">http://spri.kshell.com/docs/index.xhtml</a> </font><font
color="#000000">)</font></span>There are also tools that check the
validity of the XML-code (</font><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.w3.org/"><font face="Arial">http://www.w3.org/</font></a><font
face="Arial">) witch make it usable in any web browser.</font></span></div>
<div><span class="891214605-08062010"></span> </div>
<div><span class="891214605-08062010"><font face="Arial">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.</font></span></div>
<div><span class="891214605-08062010"></span> </div>
<div><span class="891214605-08062010"><font face="Arial">Ther<span
class="439343111-10062010"><font color="#0000ff"><font color="#000000">e</font> </font></span>
will be an huge market if the STEP-NC file are open as it is today<span
class="439343111-10062010"><font color="#0000ff"><font color="#000000">,</font> </font></span> <span
class="439343111-10062010"> the file </span>can <span
class="439343111-10062010"><font color="#0000ff"><font color="#000000"> be created</font>
</font></span>by the different AP <span class="439343111-10062010"> and </span>can
carry information supporting many different processes (machining,
measure, planning, balancing, flow simulation etc).<span
class="595344114-08062010"><font color="#0000ff"> <span
class="439343111-10062010"> </span></font></span></font></span></div>
<div><span class="891214605-08062010"><font face="Arial"><span
class="595344114-08062010"><font color="#000000">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. </font></span></font></span></div>
<div><span class="891214605-08062010"></span> </div>
<div><span class="891214605-08062010"><span class="595344114-08062010"><font
face="Arial">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.</font></span></span></div>
<div><span class="891214605-08062010"></span> </div>
<div><span class="891214605-08062010"></span> </div>
<div><span class="891214605-08062010"><font face="Arial">What your
view of this?</font></span></div>
<div><span class="891214605-08062010"></span> </div>
<div><span class="891214605-08062010"></span> </div>
<div><span class="891214605-08062010"></span> </div>
<div><span class="891214605-08062010"></span><span lang="sv"><font
face="Monotype Corsiva">Best regards / Med vänlig hälsning,</font><i> </i></span><br>
<span lang="sv"><i><font face="Century Schoolbook">P-A Carlsson</font></i></span><span
lang="en-us"></span> <br>
<span lang="en-us"><font face="Arial" size="1">_________________________________________________</font></span>
<br>
<span lang="en-us"><b><font face="Arial" size="2">Per-Arne Carlsson</font></b></span>
<br>
<span lang="en-us"><font face="Arial" size="2">Volvo Information
Technology AB</font></span> <br>
<span lang="en-us"><font face="Arial" size="2">Dept 9511, Geo.
loc. VAKV-D1</font></span> <br>
<span lang="en-us"><font face="Arial" size="2">SE-405 08 Gothenburg,
Sweden</font></span> </div>
<p><span lang="en-us"><font face="Arial" size="2">Telephone: +46 31
32 22 696</font></span> <br>
<span lang="en-us"><font face="Arial" size="2">Mobile Phone +46 73 90
22 696</font></span> <br>
<span lang="en-us"><font face="Arial" size="2">E-mail:</font> <font
face="Arial"><a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:per-arne.carlsson@volvo.com">per-arne.carlsson@volvo.com</a></font></span> </p>
<div> </div>
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