The Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory of the National Institute of Standards and Technology is proud to announce its recent book publication, "STEP the Grand Experience." The book summarizes the development of a significant international standard for digital product data exchange. Plans are already underway by the STEP Research and Awareness Committee of the Japan STEP Center to translate the book into Japanese to further international awareness of STEP. The standard itself is known formally as the International Standard 10303, Industrial automation systems and integration - Product data representation and exchange (ISO 10303); however, throughout its history, as it is today, it is most popular by its informal name, STEP - STandard for the Exchange of Product model data. The book starts with a background history recapping earlier standardization efforts for product data exchange and introduces the developmental history of STEP itself. Several of the remaining chapters highlight various innovations contributing to the end product of STEP, as well as contributing toward the way standardization is done today. Interspersed throughout the book are anecdotes from several of those who have been involved these many years. During the making of STEP, NIST has played many important leadership, technical, and facilitation roles, working along side industrial representatives from around the world. Today, STEP is used in production by companies in the aerospace and automotive industries. All of the top ten leading computer-aided design vendors support STEP in their commercial software application products

For further information, contact Sharon Kemmerer, (301) 975-.