NIDDESC—Enabling Product Data Exchange for Marine Industry

The use of computer-aided design (CAD) technology in the U.S. Navy and marine industry has evolved from a drafting-based design tool to a three-dimensional (3D) product-oriented information base, used for design, production and service life support. One of the most significant enhancements to current CAD technology has been the incorporation or integration of non-graphic attribute information with traditional graphics data. This expanded information base or product model has enabled the marine industry to expand CAD use to include such activities as engineering analysis, production control, and logistics support. While significant savings can be achieved through the exchange of digital product model data between different agents, current graphics-based CAD data exchange standards do not support this expanded information content. The Navy/Industry Digital Data Exchange Standards Committee (NIDDESC) was formed as a cooperative effort of the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) and the National Shipbuilding Research Program to develop an industry consensus on product data and to ensure these industry requirements are incorporated into national and international data exchange standards. The NIDDESC effort has resulted in the development of a suite of product model specifications or application protocols (APs) defining marine industry product model data. These APs have been submitted for inclusion into the next generation of data exchange standards.