Industry-Developed STEP Capabilities:

AP-203, Configuration Control for 3D Design of Mechanical Parts and Assemblies, gives a very robust mechanical parts product model geometry transfer capability. This capability has been slow down in coming. The solid model capability and high numerical geometric precision probable in AP 203 (and all of the STEP models) needed many of the CAD/CAM vendors to push the technology edge of their system's capability. Now CAD vendor's AP-203 geometry transfer capability quality level is high sufficient that translated solid models are readily being utilized to construct NC operations driver files. AP-203, along AP-224, Mechanical Parts Definition for procedure Planning Using Machining Features, has had an important cost savings impact on mechanical parts manufacturing. AP-224 described a set of basic solids utilized for pick-and-place composite solid model structuring that greatly facilitated parts design & generative procedure planning (GPP). GPP utilizes the underlying basic solid shapes of the composite solid to conduct extensive cost-reduction trade-off analysis over the various processing options typically available in a given machine shop.

Cost-reductions of 30 percent are rather commonplace for GPP process planning relative to the traditional variant procedure planning. Basically variant process planning consists of using a procedure plan for a similar old part. Most of the older parts in DoD's inventory have not been run through a GPP trade-off analysis or anything near to its cost optimization procedure.