Method and apparatus for design and manufacturing application associative interoperability

A system for modeling an object, comprising:

• a first CAD application;
• a second CAD application;
• native data and a sub-set of native data relating to an object modeled on the first CAD application stored in a first memory store, the sub-set of native data derived by a first library of executable routines;
• a plug-in having a second library of executable routines and an API accessible by the second CAD application and suitable for accessing and retrieving the sub-set of native data to enable the second CAD application to create a second model of at least a portion of the object modeled on the first CAD application using a third library of executable routines without the first CAD application having to export a file containing the object.

In at least one electronic device, a method of communicating between a first CAD application and a second CAD application, comprising:

• providing a first library of executable routines accessible by the first CAD application;
• generating native data as an object is modeled in the first CAD application;
• creating a sub-set of native data utilizing the first library of executable routines;
• storing the native data and the sub-set of native data;
• providing a second library of executable routines in the form of a plug-in having an application program interface (API) and being accessible by the second CAD application;
• calling the second library of executable routines to utilize the API to retrieve the native data, filter the native data to extract the sub-set of native data, and convey the sub-set of native data to the second CAD application;
• and
• calling a third library of executable routines to create model items based on the native data and a sub-set of native data of the first CAD application.

A computer readable medium containing software suitable for executing a method of communicating between a first computer aided design (CAD) application and a second CAD application, the method comprising:

• storing native data and a sub-set of native data, the sub-set of native data derived by a first library of routines;
• providing a plug-in having an application program interface (API) and being accessible by the second CAD application;
• and
• the plug-in conveying the sub-set of native data to the second CAD application upon the second CAD application calling the plug-in to request the native data and the sub-set of native data using the API, wherein the second CAD application utilizes a third library of executable routines to recreate items based on the native data and a sub-set of native data of the first CAD application.

A computer readable medium containing software suitable for executing a method of communicating between a first CAD application and a second CAD application, the method comprising:

• providing a first library of executable routines accessible by the first CAD application;
• generating native data as an object is modeled in the first CAD application;
• creating a sub-set of native data utilizing the first library of executable routines;
• storing the native data and the sub-set of native data;
• providing a second library of executable routines in the form of a plug-in having an application program interface (API) and being accessible by the second CAD application;
• calling the second library of executable routines to utilize the API to retrieve the native data, filter the native data to extract the sub-set of native data, and convey the sub-set of native data to the second CAD application;
• and
• calling a third library of executable routines to create model items based on the native data and a sub-set of native data of the first CAD application.