180 likes | 298 Views
Communication of computerised information. Dr. Norman Swindells CEng, FIMMM Ferroday Limited DEPUIS Workshop ENEA, 2008-04-14. Engineering properties. Design. FEA. Process plan. NC- machine codes. Cutting tools. Digital manufacturing. An engineering problem.
E N D
Communication of computerised information Dr. Norman Swindells CEng, FIMMM Ferroday Limited DEPUIS Workshop ENEA, 2008-04-14
Engineering properties Design FEA Process plan NC- machine codes Cutting tools Digital manufacturing
An engineering problem • The integration of different computer systems and operations causes problems of communication • Different programs organise the same data in different ways – everyone makes their own nuts and bolts • The content of a data file is not directly usable by another program
Examples of human communication problems • Does the time of ‘half-nine’ mean: • 30 minutes after 09 00 (U.K.)? • 30 minutes before 09 00 (Germany)? • Does a date of ‘3/5/2002’ mean: • Third day of May 2002 (U.K.)? • 5th day of March 2002 (U.S.A.)? • We need more than data items to achieve communication of information without ambiguity or uncertainty
Information specifications : an engineering solution • To communicate information we always need: • the data items that represent the information • a specification to define the data structure – e.g. a sentence in a natural language • a dictionary to define the meanings of the data items • Everyone in a communication process must use the same specification and the same dictionary • A specification for information is called an information model
Types of information models • Two main ways of specifying information about objects in a complex world: • Classification models (used in biology, zoology, etc) • Object-relationship models (used in model based software engineering) • For computer–computer communications the information models and their dictionaries also have to be computer-processable
Information model • Specifies the structure for the location of the data items that convey the information for a real world situation • the syntax of the information: • Specifies the meaning of the information • the semantics of the information • Result is a complete information representation • A representation can have several presentations • If the representation is written in a computer sensible language then the model is computer-processable
ISO TC184/SC4 • ISO TC184/SC4 is the power house that has developed the engineering solutions for information communication by R&D • More than 25 countries participating • Most global manufacturing sectors • Hundreds of engineers and software specialists • 25 years of effort • ISO Lawrence D Eicher Award 2007 • Result is product data technology • Application is information engineering
Information engineering • An engineering solution to an IT problem • Specifies engineering information by using computer-processable information models • The information models are: • International standards developed by global collaboration • Determined by industrial needs • Independent from any computer system • Computer-understandable within an engineering domain
ISO Standards for information engineering • ISO 10303 Product data representation and exchange (STEP) • Information models for all aspects of an individual product and for all stages of the life-cycle • ISO 13584 Parts libraries (Plib) • Information model for collections of products (catalogues, parts lists) and data dictionaries • ISO 15926 Data reference library for chemical plant, oil & gas
Structure of ISO 10303 (STEP) Representation Part 43 Product Part 41 Process Part 49 Generic Resources - for any product Geometry Part 42 Materials Part 45 Application protocols – Specialisation of generic resources for an engineering need STEP data file Part 21 Engineering software Engineering software
Engineering properties ISO 10303-235 ISO 10303-203 ISO 10303-209 3D- Design FEA ISO 10303-238 Process planning ISO 13399 NC- codes Cutting tools ISO 10303-224 Standards for digital manufacturing
Why is this important • The costs of system integration and information exchange can be very high • Equal to gross profits for one small UK company • Estimate of $1bn p.a. for U.S. auto supply chain • Cost of correcting problems is 15 times the cost of avoiding them
Advantages of SC4 Standards • Regain control of information from proprietary software vendors • Reduce inter-operability costs • Increase: • flexibility of collaboration and integration • choice of partners • reliability and longevity of information • combination of data from different sources
ISO 13399 Cutting tool data representation and exchange • Part 1 Information model for any tool assembly-based on ISO 10303-214 • Parts 2-5, 50, 60 Dictionaries of parts of tool and their properties-using ISO 13584 • Part 100 Specification for developing and maintaining dictionaries • Part 150 Usage guide
Conclude • Product data technology using SC4 standards is a global success for manufacturing • Reducing costs, increasing data reliability, supporting supply chains • DEPUIS project is showing how to use the SC4 standards for life-cycle management