A set of protocols originally devised by a group of US manufacturers of mechanical engineering products. This original group was later expanded to include other parties, and the protocols became ISO OSI (open systems interconnection) standards. The protocols were intended to facilitate the exchange of data relevant to mechanical-engineering design and manufacture. They cover not only the problems of process control and assembly within a single manufacturing plant, but also the exchange of design and manufacturing data between a main contractor and his subcontractors. The standardization effort was abandoned in 2004.