prostep ivip and NAFEMS Expand Cooperation with LOTAR

Darmstadt, June 20, 2019 - NAFEMS, prostep ivip, PDES, Inc. and AFNeT on behalf of LOTAR and CAE-IF have signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate in assisting Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) solution providers to accelerate the development and implementation of the Standard for the Exchange of Product model data (ISO 10303, usually referred to as STEP) to capture engineering analysis and simulation (EAS) information for long term archiving and retrieval (LOTAR).

The parties that have signed the MoU are organizations funded by member subscriptions that will continue to work together to:

• Continue the outreach to CAE solution providers for collaboration in support of:

o   Developing additional features for the STEP AP209 interfaces that are underway and further defining recommended practices for their use

o   Validation of the STEP AP209 interfaces via the CAE-IF as they mature

• Expand the LOTAR standards for simulation and analysis to include more technical domains and extensions of STEP or other industry standards for data exchange

• Extend the industry outreach beyond aerospace and defense regarding LOTAR of EAS data via regional conferences, websites, publications, etc.

• Provide a means of communicating with representatives of CAE solution providers that are members of their respective organizations

• Engage with technical working groups within each other’s organization

• Collaborate in educating users and suppliers of LOTAR best practices for EAS data.

LOTAR International is a project being conducted by leading OEMs and suppliers in the aerospace and defense industry under the joint auspices of ASD-STAN and AIA with the objective of developing, testing, publishing and maintaining standards for long-term archiving (LTA) of digital data, such as 3D CAD and PDM data.

The CAE Implementor Forum (CAE-IF) tests the interoperability of STEP files between different CAE software systems for performing CAE (such as FEA). The CAE-IF is based on the CAx Implementor Forum (CAx-IF) that has been in existence for nearly 20 years in testing interoperability of STEP files produced by translators for major CAD systems (e.g., AP203, AP242, etc.). PDES, Inc., prostep ivip and AFNeT represent a community of manufacturers, academia and government in supporting these forums and the LOTAR project. Initial efforts of the CAE-IF have focused on fostering the development of interfaces for the ISO STEP AP209 edition 2 “Multidisciplinary analysis and design” standard.