Abstract: Data for a 3D sheet metal part model is stored in a file. The stored data includes features of the part and manufacturing information. When different manufacturing processes are used, different geometry can be created. The file can store multiple processes for manufacturing the part and the geometry associated with each process. Thus, when manufacturing the part, the user can view information for multiple stored processes because all of the information is stored together. In addition, both 2D and 3D data is stored for the part.