Standards

Standards related to CAD/CAM/CAE

STEP (ISO 10303)

• STandard for Exchange of Product model data
• A very complex standard for everything from simple drafting to NC machining. Widely used.

Official references

• http://www.tc184-sc4.org/SC4_Open/SC4%20Legacy%20Products%20(2001-08)/STEP_(10303)/

Other references

• Wikipedia article
• List of STEP (ISO 10303) parts
• STEP-NC

Software

• Open
  • STEP Class Library (There are patches to make the code more up-to-date.)
  • Step Toybox
  • STEP-NC Toolkit
  • Part 21 Parser Generator
• Proprietary
  • ST-Developer by STEP Tools, Inc.

G-code (RS-274)

• The last official version of the standard, RS-274D, was published in 1980. The many variations of G-code in use today have diverged significantly from that standard.

References

• Wikipedia article
• An excellent tutorial

IGES

• Initial Graphics Export Specification

STL

• STereo Lithography format, originally for rapid prototyping machines
• Defines a mesh of triangles approximating the surface of a model. Widely used despite its lossy nature.