What is CAD

What is CAD

• Category: Design
• Date 17-06-2020

CAD: Computer-aided-Design | CADD: Computer-aided-Design & Drafting.

This simply means performing designing activity by using a computer & software.

The world before the Computer:

• As we used to hear our Old aged engineers saying, “What you are making today by using software, we used to do by using paper, pencil & drafter.
• A time when no manufacturing or the engineering firm was complete without a room full of drafters focused towards creating drawings.

• Before the world of CAD, we have some Engineering innovations like the Ford engine, Airplane, Cloth machines, Telephone, etc.  

• By considering this, we can’t say that without computers, we cannot design any components. But if we dig deeper & look deep inside the product development, we will get the below points:

      × The process of making drawing was too time-consuming.

      × We agree that old age engineers had better visualization than today’s engineers, but with complex design, they also had to suffer & follow Trial & error method for product development.

      × As it was trial & error, so we can expect the fact that they had to face more problems of Design accuracy resulting in more rejected parts than accurate pieces.

      × Involved manufacturing physical prototype & capital expenses.

      × The drawings remained unchanged for centuries until the introduction of CAD. 

We need to thank the advent of Industrial revolution in laying the foundation & this transition gave birth to modern Engineering Design & Drafting - CAD software, 2D software.

2D software world:

• After 1960, we saw the development of various 2D software like Sketchup, Autocad. This software helped you give a graphical representation of your ideas and imaginations. A kind of ‘Man-Machine graphical communication system’.
• Things which we used to be done by hand, was now done on computers using the software.

• This definitely replaced the pen-paper & drafter. Now Engineers can use computer screens to do design work, where they can make anything as they want, & can even remove as they want.

• It saved a lot of time withdrawing creation & helped to get more accurate designs, but the major problem still lies & that was- ‘3D visualization & its accuracy for complex shapes & Larges assemblies’.

3D software world:

    2D software’s was not able to give 3d graphical representation of how the component will look in 3 dimensions. Also, it was still complex for engineers to design for heavy & complex assemblies. This gave birth to 3D software’s, where all you need to do is to use given tools to shape your ideas & convert it into a graphical representation. 

    That’s what we are seeing today, all Big, MNC companies are looking for Engineers who have hands-on Software to ease their design work. We still see so many small & medium scale industries manufacturing products without 3D /2D software. There are also some industries which prefer to work on 2D software, so as they want to recover their license cost.

Categories of CAD software : 

×  2D CAD software’s: Autocad, ZW cad

× 3D CAD software’s:  PTC Creo, Solidworks, Catia, Unigraphics (UG Nx), Inventor, Solidedge.

Share This