DEVELOPMENT OF CIM APPLICATIONS FROM PDES STEP INFORMATION MODELS

This paper defines the problems associated with information storage, a nd transfer, in the creation of applications within the computer-aided engineering sphere. The PDES/STEP information modelling environment i s proposed as a possible means to solve the lack of consistent product information that abounds in this area. The paper also supports the cr eation of a manufacturing model using the EXPRESS language that will a llow manufacturing decisions to be based on current resource availabil ity. This support is shown by the development of a simple manufacturin g model to define a machine resource. The need for, and types of, othe r resources within this model are also explained. The application unde r investigation is computer-aided process planning. A description of t he possible environment of a CAPP application is provided, along with the inclusion of form features as a means of simplifying the planning process. The paper also proposes to use the information structures so created in the development of a generic query language, utilizing C++, an X-window-based toolkit, and the use of EXPRESS-G type structures, that will allow non-stop PDES/STEP users to access and query data file s, and so create computer-integrated manufacturing applications more e asily than currently possible.