ISO 10303 is an ISO standard for the computer-interpretable representation and exchange of product manufacturing information. It is an ASCII-based format. Its official title is: Automation systems and integration — Product data representation and exchange. It is known informally as "STEP", which stands for "Standard for the Exchange of Product model data". ISO 10303 can represent 3D objects in Computer-aided design (CAD) and related information. Overview The objective of the international standard is to provide a mechanism that is capable of describing product data throughout the life cycle of a product, independent from any particular system. The nature of this description makes it suitable not only for neutral file exchange, but also as a basis for implementing and sharing product databases and archiving. STEP can be typically used to exchange data between CAD, computer-aided manufacturing, computer-aided engineering, product data management/enterprise data modeling and other CAx systems. STEP addresses product data from mechanical and electrical design, geometric dimensioning and tolerancing, analysis and manufacturing, as well as additional information specific to various industries such as automotive, aerospace, building construction, ship, oil and gas, process plants and others. STEP is developed and maintained by the ISO technical committee TC 184, Automation systems and integration, sub-committee SC 4, Industrial data. Like other ISO and IEC standards STEP is copyright by ISO and is not freely available. However, the 10303 EXPRESS schemas are freely available, as are the recommended practices for implementers. Other standards developed and maintained by ISO TC 184/SC 4 are: ISO 13584 PLIB - Parts Library ISO 15531 MANDATE - Industrial manufacturing management data ISO 15926 Process Plants including Oil and Gas facilities Life-Cycle data ISO 18629 PSL- Process specification language ISO 18876 IIDEAS - Integration of industrial data for exchange, access, and sharing ISO 22745 Open technical dictionaries and their application to master data ISO 8000 Data quality STEP is closely related with PLIB (ISO 13584, IEC 61360). History The basis for STEP was the Product Data Exchange Specification (PDES), which was initiated during the mid-1980's and was submitted to ISO in 1988. The Product Data Exchange Specification (PDES) was a data definition effort intended to improve interoperability between manufacturing companies, and thereby improve productivity. The evolution of STEP can be divided into four release phases. The development of STEP started in 1984 as a successor of IGES, SET and VDA-FS. The initial plan was that "STEP shall be based on