STEP Interface

Purpose

Advanced globalization requires software that can integrate all business processes, employees and business partners throughout the entire logistics chain. During the engineering process, the engineer needs data that comes from various sources. However, suppliers or customers also require engineering data. Due to the large number of parts and component suppliers, the SAP data has to be exchanged with numerous systems.

STEP ( St andard for the E xchange of P roduct Model Data) is frequently used as a description for the ISO 10303 Product Data Representation and Exchange and includes a range of standards that enable a cross-system description of product data.

On the basis of this product description, you can carry out the following business processes:

  • Exchange of product data between various application systems

  • Saving product data to the database or to archiving

Application protocol

The standard formats for data describing a product are cumulated, for the various industry sectors, in ISO application protocols (Application Protocols, AP ). Via the STEP interface from SAP you can transform the product data from the following application protocols:

  • ISO 10303-214 for Automotive Business Solution

The standard format ISO 10303-214 Core data for automotive mechanical design process (abbreviation: AP214 ) describes the product model for the SAP System Automotive Business Solution .

  • CC6 Product data management without shape representation

  • CC8 Configuration controlled design without shape representation

  • PDM profile

Product data, important for several industry sectors (such as air and space travel, or the automobile industry), from different application protocols, is summarized in this profile.

The PDM data was selected from the following application protocols by the PDM Round Table, a group of processor manufacturers and users (see: http://www.pdm-if.org):

  • AP 203 Configuration Controlled 3D Designs of Mechanical Parts and Assemblies

  • AP 210 Electronic Assembly, Interconnection and Packaging Design

  • AP 212 Electrotechnical Design and Installation

  • AP 214 Core data for automotive mechanical design process

  • AP 232 Technical Data Packaging Core Information and Exchange

Integration

In Customizing STEP (Standard for the Exchange of Product Model Data) you make the settings that are necessary for communication between the SAP System and the STEP processor:

  • In the mapping model you determine how data from the source system is displayed in the target system.

Also see: Model for semantic mapping

  • The data conversion between the SAP System and the STEP data occurs within a STEP processor that is implemented as the server module. The data exchange between the SAP System and the STEP server is carried out using a RFC destination.

See also:

Architecture of the STEP interface

Setting up the STEP processor

Features

The following overview displays the options for data exchange using the SAP System STEP interface.

Direction of the data exchange

Process Flow

Export

Export of data from the SAP System into the target profile of the STEP server

  • First step:

    The internal system data is first mapped from the SAP System onto the SAP data model SAP_objects . This data model presents a user orientated view of the relational database profile.

  • Second step:

    The contents of the SAP data model SAP_objects is mapped into the structure specified by the application protocol.

Import

Import of data from a STEP file into the database of the SAP System

  • First step:

    The data mapped in the application protocol is transformed in the SAP data model SAP_objects .

  • Second step:

    The contents of the SAP data model SAP_objects is transferred into the SAP database.