Computer Aided Design and Manufacturing

Computer Aided Drafting (CAD) is a way of using a specialised computer programs to draft or technically draw plans to enable a product or environment to be manufactured or build. These programs allow designers of all fields to create, modify and reproduce instrumental drawings with speed and pinpoint accuracy. CAD programs also provide designers with the drawing standards to ensure that all aspects of their drawings are in accordance to International Standards (ISO).

CAD programs often specialise in a particular field of design such as architecture, engineering, or packaging. This enables specialised designers to use industry specific tools and features. For example, some engineering packages work on the idea of reverse engineering. This means that the designer is able to model or build a full scale 3-dimensional representation of the part or product that they are designing. The CAD package can then generate the orthogonal views from the 3D model or the model and be outputted to a 3D printer to create a prototype. In addition, CAD programs can also allow designers to assign materials to the digital 3D model. This enables the model to be placed under simulated stress, forces and wind tunnels to judge if the finished product will suit its intended use.

Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) varies slightly from CAD in that it is used to further a CAD model so that it can be manufactured more easily. That is, a manufacturer can assign what features of the part will be made by what machine and then use the CAD model information to program the different machines that will manufacture those features.