Workflows for the Exchange of Specialized CAx Data

The exchange of CAx data, for instance between a construction and planning department and a calculation and simulation department, with standard tools is well established and documented. Methods for the transfer of CAD data to FEM simulations have long been available and refined in recent years: examples range from (automatic) CAD geometry idealization to methods for mesh model simplification by feature recognition. There are promising approaches and solutions, such as a CAD/CAM/CNC toolchain using STEP-NC or ISO 14649. Well-defined procedures are used for such typical exchanges. However, as demonstrated by more recent publications, procedures that are seemingly standard can still be improved. They can be part of well-integrated development environments, such as Siemens NX® and ANSYS® Workbench, or be realized using separate tools with clearly defined interfaces. These integrated environments and the interfaces for separate tools support frequently occurring interactions, and thus the corresponding procedures are also well established. However, tool support is often insufficient for novel applications and projects addressing individual aspects with low reusability, as is often the case in one-off developments. Machine and plant engineering is an area where one-off developments often occur.