Integration planning model of IDEF0 and STEP product data representation methods in a CMM measuring system

The measuring process using a CMM involves a large amount of data. It is ne cessary to understand and clearly define the data required by the measuring process and the relationships of these data before incorporating automatio n into a CMM system. This paper uses the IDEF0 model to analyse the measuri ng function requirements for solving the problem of ambiguous internal info rmation flow and material flow during the measuring process. A data module for the CMM measuring system was developed using the EXPRESS language in ST EP, to support the IDEF0 function process module. An information flow desig n model was also established, which integrated the IDEF0 process requiremen ts analysis model and the EXPRESS data module. The objective is to enhance the efficiency of the development of measuring systems by system designers, and to provide a basis for future development of measuring information sys tems using STEP data formats.