Using views for product data exchange

Proprietary data structures complicate data sharing by making it difficult to save a product model from one software tool and load it directly into another tool. Engineers may want, for example, to verify with an analysis tool that all design constraints have been met or to prepare a design for manufacturing. In such cases, software developers must find a means of moving the product model from the proprietary data structures of a CAD system to those of the analysis system and the manufacturing system, with minimal loss of information. A database view, used in conjunction with data exchange standards, can facilitate the sharing of product model data between software tools in design and manufacturing computing environments.