Standard for the Exchange of Product Model Data (STEP) is an international product data standard (ISO 10303) to provide an complete, unambiguous, computer-interpretable definition of the physical and functional characteristics of a product throughout its life cycle. It is a mucher broader standard than data interchnage standards such as IGES since it is intended to support product data throughout the lifecycle of a product including engineering, manufacturing and support data. The nature of this description makes it suitable not only for neutral file exchange, but also as a basis for implementing and sharing product databases and archiving.
In today’s environment, the data for a product are managed in many different systems, often with little integration and with a great deal of data redundancy. For example, engineering drawings may be maintained in a proprietary CAD system format, whereas the information on CAE analysis (FEA, CFD, etc.), product structure, tooling requirements, tool design, manufacturing processing (process plans, CAM, etc.), and configuration management are contained in different systems stored in different formats. STEP can alleviate this problem by providing a single product data storage standard that integrates the data.
The numbering of the parts of this International Standard reflects its structure:
Current STEP Parts are shown on STEP on a Page.