Which data standards actually connect your MBD workflows?
The Data Standards Playbook gives manufacturers recommended standards for Model-Based Definition (MBD) manufacturing, a gap analysis of what exists today, and practical guidance for improving data interoperability.
THE PROBLEM
Overlapping standards break the connection between design and the shop floor.
Manufacturers integrating engineering, manufacturing, and quality systems face a landscape of overlapping and inconsistently applied data standards. That overlap creates rework, fragile connections between tools, and barriers to true interoperability across the supply chain.
Action Engineering completed an MxD-funded project examining how data standards can be applied to Model-Based Definition manufacturing workflows relevant to the U.S. Department of Defense and the broader manufacturing base. The project was executed with team members Rubypoint, Capvidia, and Lockheed Martin.
PROJECT SCOPE
Five real-world MBD manufacturing workflows
The team used these workflows to identify use cases, define requirements, map the current state of applicable data standards, and disseminate the outcomes.
DESIGN →
DOWNSTREAM
Ballooning
Characterizing MBD design models so features and characteristics can be tracked from design and engineering through downstream manufacturing and quality activity.
QUALITY
CMM
Coordinating digital metrology consumption of MBD so inspection programs can be generated with a high degree of automation.
FEEDBACK TO DESIGN
Virtual Assembly
Feeding as-built product data back into tolerance analysis and cost estimation software to improve design based on real production results.
FEEDBACK TO MACHINE
Adaptive CNC
Feeding as-built product data back to machine tools so programs can be updated automatically based on actual dimensional information.
SHOP FLOOR → PLM
Connected MES
Gathering shop floor and inspection data through MES while maintaining traceability to the master model and characteristics in PLM.
RESULTS
What the project produced.
Data Standards Playbook
Recommended data standards for MBD manufacturing, a gap analysis of existing standards, and actionable guidance for improving interoperability.
Workflow Demonstration Video
Real-world application of the standards across a working tool chain, including QIF and STEP.
WHAT THE INTERVIEWS SHOWED
The hardest problems were not technical.
The workflows most affected by model-based adoption are design authoring and manufacturing work instructions and CAM, with quality and first article inspection following closely.
People and culture
- Two-dimensional habits carried into three-dimensional work
- Workforce turnover and training gaps
- Uneven GD&T knowledge
- Effort lands on engineering before benefits are visible downstream
Tools and standards
- Confidence in software tooling was the leading technical concern
- QIF, STEP AP242, and native CAD cited most often as standards in active use
- Established software stacks can widen existing standards gaps
Each organization interviewed approaches MBD implementation differently and applies data standards differently. That variation reinforced the value of a reference that shows what is possible across tool combinations rather than prescribing a single path.
WORKFLOW DEMONSTRATION
See the standards working across a real tool chain
The demonstration walks one combination of tools through the project workflows and highlights the alternatives available at each step.
DOWNLOAD
Get the Data Standards Playbook
A reference for manufacturing organizations deciding which standards to apply, and for OEMs encouraging suppliers to adopt standards-based MBD workflows.
- Recommended data standards by workflow
- Gap analysis of existing standards
- Practical steps for improving interoperability
- Where the standards landscape is heading next
WHAT COMES NEXT
The playbook demonstrates what is achievable. Getting there inside your own tools, schedule, and workforce is a different set of challenges. At Action Engineering, we help manufacturers turn recommended standards into an implementation roadmap: where to start, what benefit to expect and when, which technology stack fits the resources you actually have, and how to bring the workforce along.
Which of these five workflows is costing you the most?
Tell us where you are stuck and we can help with a solution.