What is a technical data package (TDP)?

A technical data package (TDP) is a comprehensive set of documents that facilitates the communication of requirements and necessary information for the procurement, production, engineering, and use of military design hardware. It serves as a means of conveying technical data in various forms such as models, drawings, specifications, standards, assemblies, and sub-assemblies of a product.

What is Mil-Standard 31000B?

Mil-Standard 31000B is a military standard that defines the requirements for TDPs based on existing guidelines like VDA 4953-2. It provides the technical description of an item intended for purchase orders, contract data requirements lists (CDRL), and Military Interdepartmental Procurement Requests (MIPRs). The TDP can include a variety of information specific to each product, such as product description and architecture, components, measurements and annotations, operating scenarios, 2D drawings, 3D models, manufacturing information (PMI), and meta-data.

Using a TDP ensures standardized communication of design data according to established guidelines like Mil-Standard 31000B or VDA 4953-2. By requiring suppliers to adhere to these standards when sharing product data through TDPs, it enables authoritative technical descriptions that are concise and accurate. PROSTEP offers Technical Data Packages that utilize PDF containers containing 3D CAD data with PMI structured data and other meta-information from your PLM system. These container files can adhere to standards from CAD and PLM systems in an automated way.

As each product is different, TDPs can include any or all of following information:

• product description and architecture
• product components, assemblies and sub-assemblies
• requirements, measurements and annotations
• operating and usage scenarios
• 2D drawings
• 3D models
• product manufacturing information (PMI)
• meta data

Why use a technical data package?

Do you need to communicate design data in a standardized way, based on existing guidelines such as VDA 4953-2 or Mil-Standard 31000B?

If so, TDPs help share your product data by requiring suppliers to adopt to the Mil-Standard 31000B. Doing so provides an authoritative technical description which is standardized, concise and accurate.

Download these technical data packages from PROSTEP:

What challenges does the technical data package solve?

The challenges solved by TDPs include improving communication flows down the lifecycle by standardizing the communication of design data using MIL-Standard 31000B. They also help minimize effort in implementing paperless processes and contribute to becoming a digital enterprise.

How can PROSTEP’s TDP solution help you?

PROSTEP’s TDP solution helps you create comprehensive Technical Data Packages by integrating 3D models, metadata, and product information into PDF containers that adhere to industry standards. These PDF containers can be read universally through the free Adobe Reader, making product models easily accessible. PROSTEP has a long-standing cooperation with Adobe in the development and marketing of 3D PDF technology, providing solutions for digitalizing various business processes.

As defined within VDA Recommendation 4953-2, one form of this container is based on a PDF/A-3 compliant document and contains various attachments including a JT file for 3D representation as well as a STEP AP 242 file for metadata.

You can also generate PDF/E-compliant container files with active 3D PDF content. PROSTEP’s solution creates the PDF container files in line with standards from CAD and PLM systems in a fully automated way.

Integrating 3D models, metadata and product information into a data package makes it easier for you to create documentation and uphold compliance regulations.

PDF technology makes your product models universally available since PDFs can be read in the free Adobe Reader.

Drawingless Process in Accordance with MIL-STD-31000 or VDA 4953-2

Adobe and PROSTEP have expanded their long-standing cooperation in the field of 3D PDF technology in order to provide companies with optimum support when it comes to establishing drawingless processes in accordance with the VDA guideline 4953-2 or MIL-STD-31000.

Under the new agreement PROSTEP is now also able to offer customers the option of creating PDF-based technical data packages (TDP) containing any kind of 3D representations. The licensed functionality for flattening 3D models and generating PDF/A-3-compliant containers are part of a separate TDP module that expands PROSTEP’s PDF Generator 3D. The new module is now available.

Adobe and PROSTEP have been working closely together on developing and marketing 3D PDF technology for ten years now. Based on the original technology from Adobe, the Darmstadt-headquartered PLM experts provide their customers with a comprehensive portfolio of 3D PDF-based solutions for the digitalization of various business processes from preparing offers to creating spare parts catalogs.

The core component of these solutions is PDF Generator 3D, which allows 3D models from all leading CAD systems, 2D drawings and other documents to be automatically merged in 3D PDF documents.For licensing reasons, it was not previously possible to create PDF containers without dynamic 3D PDF content but with file attachments in JT format and with STEP AP 242 metadata, as provided for in the VDA guideline for drawingless processes for example, instead.

In light of this fact, Adobe has extended the terms of its cooperation agreement with PROSTEP to allow PROSTEP to utilize the features in the AEM Forms product suite that enable dynamic 3D PDFs to be converted into static and PDF/A-3-compliant containers with 3D file attachments.

This means that PROSTEP will in the future be able to provide its customers with optimum support when it comes to establishing drawingless processes in accordance with the VDA guideline 4953-2 or MIL-STD-31000.

“Support for current industry standards is a prerequisite for the sustainable digitalization of business processes and the elimination of media discontinuities at the interface to long-term archiving,” says Peter Pfalzgraf, head of the Products business unit at PROSTEP. ” Thanks to the expansion of our cooperation with Adobe, we are now able to automatically fill PDF containers with all the information our customers need to digitalize their business processes.

Exclusive Webinar Featuring Technical Data Packages

About the webinar:

The digital manufacturing landscape normally consists of a distributed set of systems resulting in siloed data across your supply chain. In turn, this results in poor product development and collaboration. Your challenge lies not only in providing efficient communication with up-to-date product data down the supply chain but also in exchanging data from different systems and databases. The technical data package helps solve this by providing design configuration to ensure product development accuracy.

This session focuses on leveraging technical data packages to ensure data consistency and effective and efficient collaboration down your supply chain.

What You’ll Learn

• What is a technical data package and how can you benefit from using them?
• What challenges does the technical data package solve?
• What framework will help you standardize cross-enterprise change/release process with Teamcenter?

About Your Presenter

Robert Beverly, Key Account Executive, PROSTEP INC

With over 20+ years experience in product development and technical management, Bob Beverly brings a wealth of experience from industries including automotive, defense and aerospace. As a Key Account Executive at PROSTEP INC, Bob educates new and existing users on implementing digital thread initiatives, model-based enterprise and design engineering lifecycle management.