Towards cloud-based STEP-NC to enhance interoperability in global manufacturing

Abstract

STEP-NC has been under research for several years, and its manufacturing interoperability is still considered in its infancy. Until recently, seldom STEP-NC compliant CAD/CAM/CNC systems were commercially materialized. The reasons why the CAD/CAM and CNC vendors have not been interested in becoming STEP-compliant are diverse. One of the major is the unmatured interoperability in handling uncertainty in highly dynamic production contexts. STEP-NC requires enormous manufactured data being exchanged among different STEP-compliant systems, whereas little lack of consistency may course the failure of final manufacturing results. The low-volume volatile component production and the complexity of STEP-NC data bring much more risks of uncertainty and unforeseen events, which generally propagate across the different stages of production. The authors believe that the combination of STEP-NC and cloud manufacturing will be the key solution for dealing with the current dilemma of STEP-NC and can promote the intelligent manufacturing into reality. This research proposes a framework of the STEP-NC compliant manufacturing in a cloud environment.