U.S. Product Data Association (US PRO)

The U.S. Product Data Association (US PRO) was a nonprofit membership organization established by industry in 1992 and active through December 31, 2006. US PRO provided the management functions for the IGES/PDES Organization (IPO) and its related activities, including the U.S. Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to ISO TC184/SC4. US PRO was accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to support the development, publication, and distribution of the IGES and PDES standards in the U.S. To facilitate these activities, US PRO coordinated and managed multiple standards meetings in the U.S. each year.

By supporting these initiatives, the association helped remove barriers that inhibited the exchange of product data and its flow across the supply chain linked to product design, manufacture, and support. Advancement of Product Data Exchange technology is dramatically improving U.S. and global competitiveness.  Participation in US PRO ensured that critical requirements for member businesses and industries were addressed in order to meet their Product Data Exchange needs.

Membership in US PRO was open to organizations that participated in activities sponsored by US PRO, the IGES/PDES Organization, the U.S. TAG to ISO TC184/SC4, and the various national product data exchange user groups. Membership contributions supported the operation of all programs and activities sponsored by US PRO.

The US PRO consortium was managed by the Advanced Technology Institute from 1997 until US PRO closed as a corporation in 2006.  ATI builds international consortia to develop and implement innovative solutions for manufacturing, aerospace, automotive, maritime, metals, and healthcare industries. A private, non-profit research corporation with principle operations in Charleston, SC, ATI is an affiliate of SCRA.

US PRO's primary activities included hosting the ISO/IPO standards development meetings held in the U.S. each year, support for the U.S. TAG as required to maintain accreditation with ANSI, publication and distribution of the standards documents developed and approved as a result of these activities, as well as education and training, marketing, and communications efforts. These activities served both U.S. industry and government agencies by providing a national forum for participation by all interested parties from industry, government, and academia.

"Participation in US PRO is an investment in the development and use of product data exchange technology in the United States. This commitment helps ensure that U.S. industry remains competitive in the global marketplace."
- Bob Kiggans, US PRO Board of Directors 

U.S. TAG to ISO  TC184/SC4

US PRO managed the U.S. Technical Advisory Group to ISO Technical Committee 184, Sub-Committee 4 from 1997 through March 31, 2007.  This responsibility was transitioned to the Electronic Commerce Code Management Association (ECCMA) effective April 1, 2007.  For more information, please see the U.S. TAG website or contact the TAG Administrator.

IGES/PDES Organization (IPO)

Product Data Exchange using STEP (PDES)

Product Data Exchange using STEP (PDES) is an adoption of the International Standard for the Exchange of Product Model Data (STEP). STEP has been approved by more than 20 countries worldwide including all major U.S. trading partners.

U.S. Efforts Led by IPO
STEP is based on the development effort initiated in the mid-1980s by the IPO. Named the Product Data Exchange Specification at that time, the specification was forwarded to the international community in 1988 and adopted as the basis for ISO 10303. This set of ISO standards is also referred to as STEP, and the name PDES evolved to Product Data Exchange using STEP.

In May 1994, twelve STEP documents were approved as International Standards (IS). These International Standards have subsequently been adopted as American National Standards under the name of PDES. As 1996 came to a close, two additional STEP standards were approved as IS. It is the intent of the IPO to process these, and all subsequent additions to the set of STEP standards, for approval as ANSI standards.

Extensible across Industries
STEP is a series of related parts that define resources, languages, models and application protocols (APs) that make up the standard. Through the implementation of APs, STEP is extensible across a wide variety of applications and industries. 

The Initial Graphics Exchange Specification (IGES)

The Initial Graphics Exchange Specification (IGES) defines a neutral data format that allows for the digital exchange of information among computer-aided design (CAD) systems. CAD systems are in use today in increasing numbers for applications in all phases of the design, analysis, manufacture and testing of products. Since it is common practice for a designer to use one supplier’s CAD system and for the contractor and subcontractors use different systems, there is a need for the ability to exchange data digitally among all CAD systems.

IGES provides a neutral definition and format for the exchange of specific data. Using IGES, a user can exchange product data models in the form of wire frame or solid representations as well as surface representations. Applications supported by IGES include traditional engineering drawings as well as models for analysis and/or various manufacturing functions. In addition to the general specification, IGES includes application protocols in which the standard is interpreted to meet discipline specific requirements.

IGES (Formerly identified as an American National Standard)
Version 1.0 of the IGES specification was adopted as an American National Standard (ANS Y14.26M-1981) in November of 1981. Subsequent versions have followed as ANS specifications with version 5.2 approved and adopted by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) in 1993. The current version, IGES 5.3, was approved by ANSI under the new guidelines of the U.S. Product Data Association (US PRO) in September 1996 and remained an American National Standard known as ANS US PRO/IPO-100-1996 through September 2006. 

Future Development of IGES
Updates to the IGES specification were developed through the IGES project activities of the IGES/PDES Organization (IPO). IGES version 6.0 had been slated to be the next and final release of the standard, and the IGES Project had posted a list of the Edit Change Order extensions approved for 6.0. However, it became impractical to continue development efforts of IGES 6.0.  IGES 5.3 remains the most current official version of the standard, and it is available for free download here.

The latest available draft if IGES 6.0 (1999-01-12) has been renamed by its developers as IGES 5.x, and it is available for download as a hyperlinked 4.3MB PDF file with color figures from http://www.iges5x.org/archives/version5x/.  The Wikipedia provides a definition of IGES and another link to IGES 5.x: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IGES.

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