Representation of data in industrial systems using STEP: a case Study

Resumo

One of the actual problems identified in industrial systems is the representation of data related to heterogeneous devices with different proprietary characteristics. A data model designed to provide a common view of information associated to various types of devices is strongly required. An immediate advantage of such an issue would be a common view of data for activities that regard installation, configuration, maintenance, and management of the devices in a system. This paper describes the Distributed Data Repository (DDR) model that aims to provide a uniform perspective for the distributed components of an industrial system, independent of any implementation detail. To achieve this goal, STEP standard has been used. The specification of the conceptual model is based on STEP AP 212 that defines the elements necessary to describe an industrial system. The paper presents an object-oriented implementation approach that makes use of STEP Part 21 file format and STEP Standard Data Access Interface.