EPM provides key to Australian Defence Market

The key to exploiting this marketplace is electronic commerce using technical data exchange. But for most Australian companies wanting to share complex technical data, much of the promise of technical data exchange remains unreal-ized. Technical data (from sophisticated computer-assisted design (CAD) and computer-assisted manufacture (CAM) and Product Data Management (PDM) systems) is a crucial resource for all Australian Defence Industries and is often captive to the software system in which it was first created. This prevents many companies from participating in a global market-place or forces them to support multiple software systems so as to be able to form partnerships with other local or overseas companies.

SPIDER Project

The solution to many of these problems can be found by using the STEP standards (Standard for the Exchange of Product Model Data). STEP software enables companies to effectively ex-change and share product information with their partners, regardless of where they are on the globe. The SPIDER project has been devised to test and promote the use of STEP and supporting technologies to allow information exchange and sharing.

The SPIDER project is a two-part project. The first stage, which has just been completed, was a feasibility study to identify the scope of the second stage. The second stage will consist of the exchange of STEP based information between the various participants supporting a range of business cases.

The Feasibility Study began on July 1 2000 and was completed in March 2001. The second stage of the SPIDER project is expected to start in a few months.

EPM will be providing all required infrastructure and framework solutions to make the second phase a success, and will be working in close relation with CSIRO, the Australian Govern-ment's scientific and industrial research organization.

For more information:
www.ausdec.com.au/spider_project_info.htm