CAD / Computer-Aided Design

CAD / Computer-Aided Design
Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computer programs to create two- or three-dimensional
(2D or 3D) graphical representations of physical objects. CAD software may be specialized for specific
applications. CAD is widely used for computer animation and special effects in movies, advertising,
and other applications where the graphic design itself is the finished product. CAD is also used to
design physical products in a wide range of industries, where the software performs calculations for
determining an optimum shape and size for a variety of product and industrial design applications.
In product and industrial design, CAD is used mainly for the creation of detailed 3D solid or surface
models, or 2D vector-based drawings of physical components. However, CAD is also used throughout
the engineering process from conceptual design and layout of products, through strength and dynamic
analysis of assemblies, to the definition of manufacturing methods. This allows an engineer to both
interactively and automatically analyze design variants, to find the optimal design for manufacturing
while minimizing the use of physical prototypes.
Benefits of CAD
The benefits of CAD include lower product development costs, increased productivity, improved
product quality and faster time-to-market.
• Better visualization of the final product, sub-assemblies and constituent parts in a CAD system speeds
the design process.
• CAD software offers greater accuracy, so errors are reduced.
• A CAD system provides easier, more robust documentation of the design, including geometries and
dimensions, bills of materials, etc.
• CAD software offers easy re-use of design data and best practices.
Computer-aided design is one of the many tools used by engineers and designers and is used in many
ways depending on the profession of the user and the type of software in question.
CAD is one part of the whole Digital Product Development (DPD) activity within the Product
Lifecycle Management (PLM) processes, and as such is used together with other tools, which are either
integrated modules or stand-alone products, such as:
•Computer-aided engineering (CAE) and Finite element analysis (FEA)
•Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) including instructions to Computer Numerical Control (CNC)
machines
•Photo realistic rendering and Motion Simulation.
•Document management and revision control using Product Data Management (PDM).
CAD is also used for the accurate creation of photo simulations that are often required in the
preparation of Environmental Impact Reports, in which computer-aided designs of intended buildings
are superimposed into photographs of existing environments to represent what that locale will be like,
where the proposed facilities are allowed to be built. Potential blockage of view corridors and shadow
studies are also frequently analyzed through the use of CAD.
CAD has been proven to be useful to engineers as well. Using four properties which are history,
features, parameterization, and high level constraints. The construction history can be used to look back
into the model's personal features and work on the single area rather than the whole model. Parameters
and constraints can be used to determine the size, shape, and other properties of the different modeling
elements. The features in the CAD system can be used for the variety of tools for measurement such as
tensile strength, yield strength, electrical or electro-magnetic properties. Also its stress, strain, timing or
how the element gets affected in certain temperatures, etc.
Computer-aided manufacturing
Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) is the use of computer software to control machine tools and
related machinery in the manufacturing of workpieces.[1][2][3][4][5] This is not the only definition for
CAM, but it is the most common;[1] CAM may also refer to the use of a computer to assist in all
operations of a manufacturing plant, including planning, management, transportation and storage.[6]
[7] Its primary purpose is to create a faster production process and components and tooling with more
precise dimensions and material consistency, which in some cases, uses only the required amount of
raw material (thus minimizing waste), while simultaneously reducing energy consumption.[citation
needed] CAM is now a system used in schools and lower educational purposes. CAM is a subsequent
computer-aided process after computer-aided design (CAD) and sometimes computer-aided
engineering(CAE), as the model generated in CAD and verified in CAE can be input into CAM
software, which then controls the machine tool.
Overview[edit]
Traditionally, CAM has been considered as a numerical control (NC) programming tool, where in two-
dimensional (2-D) or three-dimensional (3-D) models of components generated in CADAs with other
“Computer-Aided” technologies, CAM does not eliminate the need for skilled professionals such
as manufacturing engineers, NC programmers, or machinists. CAM, in fact, leverages both the value of
the most skilled manufacturing professionals through advanced productivity tools, while building the
skills of new professionals through visualization, simulation and optimization tools.
Machining process
Most machining progresses through many stages,[10] each of which is implemented by a variety of
basic and sophisticated strategies, depending on the material and the software available. The stages are:
Roughing
This process begins with raw stock, known as billet, and cuts it very roughly to shape of the final
model. In milling, the result often gives the appearance of terraces, because the strategy has taken
advantage of the ability to cut the model horizontally. Common strategies are zig-zag clearing, offset
clearing, plunge roughing, rest-roughing.
Semi-f
This process begins with a roughed part that unevenly approximates the model and cuts to within a
fixed offset distance from the model. The semi-finishing pass must leave a small amount of material so
the tool can cut accurately while finishing, but not so little that the tool and material deflect instead of
sending. Common strategies are raster passes, waterline passes, constant step-over passes, pencil
milling.
Finishing
Finishing involves a slow pass across the material in very fine steps to produce the finished part. In
finishing, the step between one pass and another is minimal. Feed rates are low and spindle speeds are
raised to produce an accurate surface.
Contour milling
In milling applications on hardware with five or more axes, a separate finishing process called
contouring can be performed. Instead of stepping down in fine-grained increments to approximate a
surface, the workpiece is rotated to make the cutting surfaces of the tool tangent to the ideal part
features. This produces an excellent surface finish with high dimensional accuracy.

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