Using ontologies and STEP standards for the semantic simplification of CAD models in different engineering domains

We present in this article an Ontology based compression system that uses STEP compliant standards for the compression and design review visualization of large CAD data sets. Our approach is orthogonal to the traditional techniques applied in the field as we complement previous works introducing semantic criteria along with algorithms for the categorization, simplification and user-oriented adaptation of the engineering components described by domain specific standards. As an example we have implemented two test cases in two specific domains -ISO-STEP 13013-AP227 in the case of industrial Plant Design and CIS/2 in the case of Steel Detailing Design (Structures Design).