CAD - Computer Aided Design
CAD is the use of computer technology to aid in the design of a product. Current packages range from simple 2D vector base drafting systems to advenced 3D solid and surface modellers.
CAD is used to design, develop and optimize products, which can be goods used by end consumers or intermediate goods used in other products. CAD is also extensively used in the design of tools and machinery used in the manufacture of components, and in the drafting and design of all types of buildings, from small residential types (houses) to the largest commercial and industrial structures (hospitals and factories).
CAD is mainly used for detailed engineering of 3D models and/or 2D drawings of physical components, but it is also used throughout the engineering process from conceptual design and layout of products, through strength and dynamic analysis of assemblies to definition of manufacturing methods of components.
CAD has become an especially important technology, within the scope of Computer Aided technologies, with benefits such as lower product development costs and a greatly shortened design cycle. CAD enables designers to lay out and develop work on screen, print it out and save it for future editing, saving time on their drawings.
CAD can be used for example in
- Architecture (Construction, Roads and Highways, Railroads and Tunnels, Factory Layout)
- Mechanical (MCAD) Engineering (Automotive - vehicles, Aerospace, Consumer Goods, Machinery, Ship Building, Bio-mechanical systems
- Electronic design automation (EDA) (Electronic and Electrical - ECAD, Digital circuit design)
- Electrical Engineering (Power Engineering or Power Systems Engineering, Power Systems CAD, Power analytics)
- Manufacturing process planning
- Industrial Design
- Software applications
- Apparel and Textile CAD (Fashion Design)
- Garden design
- Lighting Design
Originally software for CAD systems were developed with computer language such as Fortran, but with the advancement of object-oriented programming methods this has radically changed. Typical modern parametric feature based modeler and freeform surface systems are built around a number of key C programming language modules with their own APIs. A CAD system can be seen as built up from the interaction of a graphical user interface (GUI) with NURBS geometry and/or boundary representation (B-rep) data via a geometric modeling kernel. A geometry constraint engine may also be employed to manage the associative relationships between geometry, such as wireframe geometry in a sketch or components in an assembly.
Advanced capabilities of these associative relationships have led to a new form of Prototyping called Digital Prototyping. In contrast to physical prototypes, which entail manufacturing time and material costs, digital prototypes allow for design verification and testing on screen, speeding Time-to-market and decreasing costs. As technology evolves in this way, CAD has moved beyond a documentation tool (representing designs in graphical format) into a more robust designing tool that assists in the design process
CAD software may be find in Engineer Software section on this site.