STEP Tools Translator in Japan

Troy, New York, May 28, 1999 - A STEP translator built using STEP Tools software is available for the Grade/Cube II mold-making tool produced and marketed by Hitachi Zosen Systems in Japan. Hitachi Technologies licensed the ACIS translation libraries from STEP Tools, Inc. in the summer of 1997. During 1997, they used these libraries to build translators for the AP-203 (Configuration Controlled Design) and AP-214 (Automotive Design) data exchange standards. The translator is being tested in the Japanese market.

The ACIS translation library is a set of function calls for translating STEP geometry to ACIS geometry and vice versa. The product has been on the market since 1995 and is included in the STEP translators of CADKEY 98, Visionary Design Systems IRONCAD, Newport News Vivid and numerous private systems. Martin Hardwick, President of STEP Tools, Inc., stated that the "inclusion of a STEP Tools translator in Grade/Cube II demonstrates that Computer Aided Manufacturing systems can use STEP Tools software to implement STEP translators".