Explainer
S1000D Illustrated Parts Data (IPD), Explained
The Answer
The Parts Catalog, as Data Modules
Illustrated parts data (IPD) is the S1000D data module type for parts catalogs. Each IPD data module pairs an illustration with a numbered list of the parts it shows: part numbers, quantities, and where each part can be used. Its information code is 941, and it has its own schema, ipd.xsd.
That separate schema is the important part. A descriptive or procedural module holds prose and steps; an IPD module holds a parts structure the schema can check, item by item. Publish a set of them and you have what aviation calls an illustrated parts catalog, the Navy and Air Force an illustrated parts breakdown. The same data, assembled into a publication.
The Structure
What an IPD Module Contains
The content of an IPD module is one illustratedPartsCatalog. These are its working parts, with the element names from the Issue 7 schema:
- figure
- The illustration: a title, one or more graphics identified by ICN (with optional hotspots), and an optional legend.
- catalogSeqNumber
- One numbered position in the figure. Required: a two-character figure number, a three-digit item number, and an indenture level from 1 to 9. Optional: the SNS codes it belongs to.
- itemSeqNumber
- One part that can fill that position. A position can hold several, for alternate or applicability-dependent parts.
- quantityPerNextHigherAssy
- How many of the part the next higher assembly takes. Required on every item.
- partRef
- The part itself, identified by part number and manufacturer code. Both are required.
- partSegment
- Descriptive and procurement data: the part description, procurement data, technical data.
- applicabilitySegment
- Where the part can be used: usable-on codes for equipment and assemblies, interchangeability, and restricted operation notes.
The Numbers
Figure, Item, Indenture
A technician finds a part by pointing at it. The figure number and item number are what the pointing resolves to: figure 01, item 010 is one callout on one exploded view. In the schema they are attributes of the catalog sequence number, together with the indenture, the part's level in the assembly from 1 to 9. Indenture is how a flat list says that a washer belongs to a bracket that belongs to an assembly.
The catalog sequence number can also carry the system, subsystem, sub-subsystem, and assembly codes of the SNS, tying each catalog position to the same product breakdown the procedures use. The illustration itself is referenced by its ICN, with optional hotspots, so an interactive viewer can make the callout clickable.
Each position then holds one or more item sequence numbers: the actual parts. More than one is common, for alternates, and for parts that differ by configuration. That is where applicability earns its keep: usable-on codes and interchangeability live on the item, so one catalog can serve every variant of the product.
Upstream
Where the Parts Data Comes From
IPD is rarely authored from nothing. In the S-Series, provisioning data under S2000M is described as the database from which illustrated parts catalogs are produced, while S1000D governs how the catalog is produced and presented. The IPD schema reflects the handoff: it carries an initial provisioning project element alongside the figures.
The practical consequence is that catalog accuracy is decided upstream. A wrong quantity or a missing alternate in provisioning arrives in the IPD intact. Teams that treat IPD as a publishing task, rather than a view of provisioning data, end up correcting the same errors twice. Shared part details can also be held once in a parts common information repository and referenced, rather than repeated in every module.
The structure has been stable for a decade: the core elements of ipd.xsd are the same from Issue 4.2 through Issue 7, which makes IPD one of the safer parts of a program to carry across an issue upgrade.
FAQ
Questions We Hear
What is IPD in S1000D?
Illustrated parts data: the S1000D data module type for parts catalogs. It has its own schema, ipd.xsd, and pairs each illustration with a numbered list of the parts it shows, with part numbers, quantities, and applicability. Publications built from it are what aviation calls an illustrated parts catalog.
What information code is used for illustrated parts data?
941, "Illustrated parts data". Note that the schema itself does not enforce it: ipd.xsd only requires a valid three-character information code, so using 941 consistently is a business rules matter.
What is the indenture in an S1000D parts list?
The level of a part in the assembly hierarchy, from 1 to 9. It is what lets a flat list of items show that a bolt belongs to a bracket that belongs to an assembly, the way an exploded view does visually.
Has the IPD schema changed in Issue 7?
Not in substance. The core elements of ipd.xsd (figure, catalog sequence number, item sequence number, part reference, applicability segment) are the same from Issue 4.2 through Issue 7; changes since have been small additions such as optional reference attributes.
Where does IPD data come from?
Usually from provisioning. The S-Series positions S2000M as the database from which illustrated parts catalogs are produced, with S1000D governing how the catalog is produced and presented. The ipd.xsd schema even carries an initial provisioning project element for that link.
Get In Touch
Converting a Parts Catalog to S1000D?
We help programs convert legacy IPCs and IPBs into IPD data modules, and connect them to the provisioning data they should come from.