ISO 10303-513:2000

ISO 10303-513:2000 - Overview

ISO 10303-513:2000 is an Application Interpreted Construct (AIC) in the STEP family (ISO 10303) that defines an elementary boundary representation (B‑rep) for 3D product data representation and exchange. It specifies how generic integrated resources are interpreted to represent one or more manifold_solid_breps constructed from elementary geometry (lines, conics, polylines, elementary_surfaces) with explicit topology. This AIC is application‑domain independent and intended for neutral, system‑independent exchange of B‑rep solid models.

Key topics and technical requirements

• Elementary B‑rep definition: A shape_representation composed of one or more manifold_solid_breps whose faces and edges are defined by elementary geometry and explicit topology.
• Allowed geometry: Supports 3D elementary curves (lines, conics) and polylines, and elementary_surfaces (planes, spheres, cylinders, cones, toroidal variants, etc. as referenced from ISO 10303‑42).
• Unbounded geometry: Includes definitions for unbounded curves and surfaces used to define face geometry.
• Topology and bounding: Uses topological constructs (edge_loop, face_bound, connected_face_set, closed_shell) to bound geometric entities and define manifold solids.
• EXPRESS schema: The AIC provides an EXPRESS schema (aic_elementary_brep) and defines the high‑level entity elementary_brep_shape_representation with formal WHERE rules restricting items to allowed types (manifold_solid_brep, mapped_item, etc.).
• Scope exclusions: Explicitly excludes 2D geometry, bounded curves other than polylines, bounded surfaces, and offset curves/surfaces.

Practical applications and users

ISO 10303-513 is useful where precise, portable 3D B‑rep models made from elementary geometry are required:

• CAD/CAM/CAE data exchange between heterogeneous systems using STEP as a neutral format
• Product lifecycle management (PLM) and archival of solid models with explicit topology
• Interoperability for machining, simulation, inspection workflows that rely on analytic curve/surface representations
• Software vendors, systems integrators, and standards implementers creating STEP import/export, translators, or validation tools
• Quality assurance and test-suite authors implementing AIC conformance checks

Related standards

• ISO 10303‑1 (overview and principles)
• ISO 10303‑41 (product shape representation)
• ISO 10303‑42 (geometric & topological resources)
• ISO 10303‑43 (representation structures)
• ISO 10303‑514 (advanced boundary representation)
• ISO 10303‑11 / -12 (EXPRESS language references)
• ISO 10303‑202 (AIC terminology)

Keywords: ISO 10303-513, STEP, elementary B‑rep, boundary representation, manifold_solid_brep, elementary geometry, topology, EXPRESS schema, polylines, conics, 3D geometry.