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STEP-NC is the next generation of data models between CAD/CAM and CNC systems and it aims at providing a digital thread for CNC manufacturing. After more than a decade of investigation, the STEP-NC technology is still underdeveloped. As the industrial robots are getting more and more capable of taking on machining operations, it is necessary to couple the robot for machining towards new STEP-NC standards. The paper presents an indirect method of industrial robot programming for machining tasks by applying standard ISO 10303–238. A methodology has been established to enable programming and simulation of industrial robots for machining, where information on the machining project is saved at a high information level in the STEP-NC format, which can be readily exchanged between different users for machining, either on machine tools or robots for machining. The methodology also includes the developed robot language converter for STEP-NC programme translation to robot programming language for machining tasks. Developed programming method verification has been performed by simulation in STEP-NC Machine environment using configured virtual robot and after that through several real experiments of drawing the toolpath in 3-axis machining tasks on available vertical articulated robot. © 2018, © 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.