CIS/1
CIMsteel Integration Standards
(CIS), product
model based standards for exchanging information relating to structural
steelwork.
This site was established during the CIMsteel Project.
What are the CIMsteel Integration
Standards?
The CIS are a set of information specifications.
They provide standards against which the vendors of engineering applications
software can develop and implement translators. These translators enable the
users of such software to export engineering data from one application and
import it into another.
Potentially the CIS are applicable to any
application which involves engineering information concerning a steel framed
building. This information is exported from one application in the form of a
data exchange file, within which, the engineering information is structured in
a logical and standardized way. Irrespective of vendor, other compliant
applications are able to read such a file and extract that information which is
relevant to them. Thus, the CIS can be used to transfer "product
data" (information about a specific steel frame) between applications
software, be they located within the same company or in different companies. As
this implies, the CIS are informatics standards with the potential to modify
the mode of working within a company, and the interactions between companies
involved in the production and use of steel framed structures.
The CIS are one result of the Eureka CIMsteel Project, and are a precursor to AP230 - the STEP Application Protocol
currently under development.
Supplier's
and Manufacturer's Questions
Deploying the CIMsteel Integration
Standards (Presentation)
A Preview of the CIS/2 Product Model (Presentation)
Understanding the STEP Generic Resources (Presentation)
The CIS were formally launched in Europe at the
DTI in the London on the 28th Sept 1995. They were also introduced to the USA
at an AISC meeting in Chicago on the 2nd Nov 1995.
An overview of the CIS can be found on this Web
site. For further informal information contact A.S.Watson. To
apply for the CIS/1 documentation please complete the CIS
Registered Developer Form.
Further details on 'Deploying the CIMsteel
Integration Standards', were presented at the 3rd European
Conference on Product Data Technology, held at CICA, Sophia Antipolis, France,
in April 1997.
Release 1.1 of the CIMsteel
Integration Standards (CIS/1.1) was issued to CIS Registered Developers in
February 1997.
CIS/2
CIS/2 is currently
under development at Leeds University, a preview of the underlying product
model is available on this web site.
As CIS/2 uses many constructs from the STEP Generic Resources, a guide to them
is also available on this web site.
The CIMsteel Multimedia CD-ROM
In April 1997,
CIMsteel published version 1 of the CIMsteel Multimedia CD-ROM, focusing on the
CIS. This was distributed in Singapore and the USA (AISC Conference). Version 2
will address the full project, with increased CIS coverage. It is planned to
distribute over 17,000 copies world wide via "The Structural
Engineer" (The magazine of The Institution of Structural Engineers, UK).