The IGES format was originally developed by the United States Air Force and released in 1980. The format is a product of the Integrated Computer-Aided Manufacturing (ICAM) project, which aims to reduce manufacturing costs by integrating operations. IGES files are designed to allow aerospace-related designs to be transferred across different platforms with minimal data loss.
Before the advent of the IGES format, there was little compatibility between CAD and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software applications created by different companies. Developers of different programs have no incentive to support another organization's file format because it would make it easier to use a competitor's platform.
This makes it difficult to transfer designs from one company's software to another design or manufacturing application. Even if the design can be sent to another program, the model often does not have all of its functionality because the data is not interpreted correctly.
The IGES format is vendor-neutral, so users can send certain digital assets from a CAD program to a CAM program regardless of who developed the application. For a while, the U.S. Department of Defense only signed application design contracts that supported the IGES format, forcing developers to come on board.
1. Capabilities of IGES
Although it is older than formats such as STEP and STL, the IGES format is very powerful.
First and most importantly, IGES can store a large amount of different CAD data, including circuit diagrams, wireframe designs, freeform surfaces and solid 3D models. Even compared to the latest proprietary CAD formats, the IGES format can store and transfer large amounts of different types of CAD data between multiple CAD and CAM applications. However, it is worth pointing out that