Abstract
To exchange CAD data between heterogeneous CAD systems, we generally use a neutral format especially STEP, which is the international standard (ISO-10303) for product model data exchange. AP214 (Application Protocol) for the automotive industry not only takes into account geometry and organizational data, but also provides a classification mechanism for product modeling. When reading a STEP file during a design process that is exported from other CAD systems, it is a burden to a designer to go through the tedious process of removing duplicate or non-manifold entities, adjusting parts, and rearranging text. We analyze the structure of AP214 and develop a healing tool to solve the following problem. Without the assembly information in the Master workspace of CATIA, or to read a STEP file from Pro/Engineer, a designer should do a repetitive process of disintegrating an assembly into parts one by one. We have developed a post-processing tool for STEP AP214 that separates out a part from an assembly model and adjusts superfluous or useless entities using the ACIS kernel.
