Companies take first step in developing an integrated software standard

Wood & Wood Products, Oct, 2002 by Karen M. Koenig

WINstep could become the woodworking industry's new standard for open architecture, integrated communication between design and manufacturing software packages.

Woodworkers challenged by the problems associated with integrating proprietary design and manufacturing software may soon have a solution. At a meeting planned for this month, several machinery and software companies will take the first step toward developing a standard for open architecture product data exchange.

Coined "WINstep," the standard would incorporate a common computer language which will combine all data into a standardized format compatible with any system, explains Jerry McCall, Software Group manager at Stiles Machinery.

"WINstep is not a product," McCall emphasizes. "It is simply a (write to read) open-industry standard."

WINstep--Wood Industry STEP--is loosely based on the ISO 10303 Standard for the Exchange of Product (STEP) Model Data, which details how to represent and exchange digital product information. (See sidebar) This standard is used in many industries, including metalworking.

"The actual format we'll use for the woodworking industry will morph as more companies become involved," McCall says.

Linking Islands' of Technology

Customer demand spurred has the need for open architecture, says Robert Gowen, president of Pattern Systems International. A long-time advocate of open architecture, Gowen defines the system as a data structure in which specifications are public. It encompasses the entire manufacturing process, from the initial product design, to order entry, to creating the G-codes for machining--typically derived from diverse software products.

"No product in the marketplace today allows users to stuff an order in at one end and pop out detailed instructions for every machine," says Gowen. "Software products can be (likened) to individual islands. (Open architecture) would link these islands together so there would be no problem going from program A to program B, and from program B to program C.

"A standard would enable companies to interface the software programs without reinventing the wheel," Gowen adds.

Stiles began working on the WINstep concept two years ago, McCall says. "Obviously the technical details still need to be fully developed by the industry. For existing equipment, we should be able to have a generic WINstep processor which would translate WINstep to the local machine's language," he adds. Stiles is advocating the use of an XML-based standard.

Participating software companies have indicated they will begin writing data to this new format, Gowen says. "As the older software programs become obsolete, (woodworking) manufacturers will update their programs to those with open architecture."

In addition to Stiles and Pattern Systems, software vendors publicly supporting the WINstep concept include 20-20 Technologies, MasterCAM, Bath Software, Building Blocks, CADCode and VSI. Machinery companies participating in a consortium held during IWF include Holz-Her U.S., CMS and SCM Group.

In a recent statement, 20-20 CEO Jean Mignault stated, "The results of the WINstep initiative will allow the small cabinetmaker to benefit from a fully-integrated, best-of-class set of applications for all his business needs. WINstep will help avoid all the data re-entry and conversion required today as work moves down the chain from designers to manufacturers."

The Next Step

Two steps are critical in order for WINstep to become a standard, McCall says: government involvement and active machinery and software vendor participation.

"An ISO standard has to be submitted by government, not by a private company," McCall says. However, the problem is that the woodworking industry as a niche, unlike metalworking, is considered too small for the government to become involved.

"What we do need," McCall continues, "is for the companies active in the woodworking industry to commercially adopt and promote the standard. It costs money to promote, and the charter companies, like Stiles, will have to help fund this promotion. But we believe, in the long picture of things, that this is what's best for the customer."

"There's a definite groundswell for this," Gowen adds.

"People want a choice. And in the long term, this is what makes sense."

For more information on creating a woodworking software standard, contact Jerry McCall, Stiles Machinery, at (616) 698-7500 or Bob Gowen, Pattern Systems, at (973) 770-3800.

RELATED ARTICLE: The STEP Standard and STEP-NC

STEP, the Standard for the Exchange of Product Model Data, is a multi-part ISO standard (10303) for the representation and exchange of digital product information. Adopted in 1994, the STEP Standard covers a range of operations, from CAD systems, bills of material systems, etc., to stand-alone translators or packages.

According to David Loffredo, vice president of product development for STEP Tools Inc., data is categorized into various Application Protocols: the Application Activity Model, which describes the lifecycle of the product; the Application Reference Model, which details the pieces of product information needed for the activities; and the Application Interpreted Model, which ties together the information in the reference model with pre-existing definitions.