CAD/CAM

Instructor
Asst.Prof. Radha Krushna Sahu
Department of Mechanical Engineering
GIFT,Bhubaneswar

Course Description : Computer Aided Design(CAD) & Computer

Aided manufacturing(CAM)

Prerequisites : Fundamental understanding of design and

manufacturing
Course Objectives:
 1. Acquire fundamental understanding of the
principles of CAD/CAM, including engineering
drawing, geometric and surface and feature-
based design.
 2. Math behind geometry to understand CAD
 3. Applying CAD/CAM concept to product
design and manufacturing
 4. Exposure to CAD/CAM softwares.
 5. Exposure to the knowledge of CNC, CIM,
Lean Manufacturing
Course Outcomes:
The student will be able to
 Understand engineering design concepts
 Understand the application of computer for
product design.
 Understand the application of computer for
rapid and accurate manufacturing of product.
 Understand the concept behind the 2D drawings
and 3D part models from 2D curves.
 Well understanding of working principles of
CAD-CAM softwares.
 Gain the knowledge of operation of CNC
Machines, Robots and Lean manufacturing.
Manufacturing changes:
 Manufacturing industry affect all facet of our daily life
 Companies constantly seek ways to optimize process
and decrease
 cost – Manufacturing changes
 1990’s – quality was the driving force
 2000’s – safety
 Today – environmental sustainability

All lead to internal change in manufacturing industries

• Automation ‐ old
• Automation – new – machine size & operability cost
decrease
• Robotics have become common, easy to use and
efficient
• But still human is required
CAD/CAM
 CAD/CAM is defined as Computer Aided Design and
Computer Aided Manufacturing.

 It is the technology concerned with the use of Design,

Analysis,Machining & Production by the help of
computer software and the machines controlled by
computer.
 DESIGN PROCESS
 Engineering design is the process of devising a
system, component, or process to meet desired
needs.
 It is a decision-making process in which the
engineering sciences and mathematics are
applied to convert resources optimally to meet a
stated objective.
 Among the fundamental elements of the design
process are the establishment of objectives and
criteria, synthesis, analysis, construction, testing
and evaluation.
THE DESIGN PROCESS CONSISTS THE FOLLOWING STEPS:

 1. Define the Problem

 2. Do Background Research
 3. Specify Requirements
 4. Brainstorm Solutions
 5. Choose the Best Solution
 6. Develop the Solution
 7. Build a Prototype
 8. Test and Redesign
 9. Communicate Results
• Engineers do not always follow the engineering
design process steps in order one after another.

• It is very common to design something, test it,

find a problem and then go back to an earlier
steps to make a modification or change to your
design. This way of working is called iteration.
Steps of the Engineering Design Process:
 1. Define the Problem
The engineering design process starts when we ask
the following questions about the problems that we
observe:
i. What is the problem or need?
ii. Who has the problem or need?
iii. Why is it important to solve?

[Who] need(s) [what] because [why].

We can’t find a solution until we have a clear idea

of what the problem is.
 2. Do Background Research
Learn from the experiences of others — this
can help us to find out existing solutions to
similar problems and we can avoid mistakes
that were made in the past.

So, for an engineering design project, do

background research in two major areas:
i. Users or customers
ii. Existing solutions
 3. Specify Requirements
Design requirements state the important
characteristics that our solution must meet to
succeed.

One of the best ways to identify the design

requirements for our solution is to analyze
a best example of a similar, existing product.
 4. Brainstorm Solutions
There are always many good possibilities for
solving design problems. If you focus on just one
without looking at the alternatives, it is almost
certain that you are overlooking a better solution.
Good designers try to generate as many possible
solutions as they can.
 5. Choose the Best Solution
We have to Check whether each possible solution
meets our design requirements. Some solutions
probably meet more requirements than others.
Reject solutions that do not meet the
requirements.
 6. Develop the Solution
Development involves the refinement and
improvement of a solution, and it continues
throughout the design process, often even after a
product ships to customers
 7. Build a Prototype
A prototype is an operating version of a solution.
Often it is made with different materials than the
final version, and generally it is not as polished.
Prototypes are a key step in the development of a
final solution, allowing the designer to test how
the solution will work.
 8. Test and Redesign
The design process involves multiple iterations
and redesigns of our final solution.

We will likely test our solution, find new

problems, make changes and test it again and
again before settling on a final design.
 9. Communicate Results
To complete the design project, communicate
the results to others in a final report.

Professional engineers always thoroughly

document the solutions so that it can be
supported for manufacturing.
APPLICATIONS OF COMPUTERS FOR DESIGN :

The various design related tasks which are

performed by the modern Computer Aided
Design system can be grouped into four
functional areas.
1. Geometric Modeling
2. Engineering Analysis
3. Design review and evaluation
4. Automated drafting
Geometric Modeling
 In computer Aided Design, geometric modeling
is concerned with the computer-compatible
mathematical description of the geometry of an
object.
 The mathematical description allows the image of
the object to be displayed and manipulated on a
graphics terminal through signals from the CPU.
 The basic form uses the wire frames to represent
the object.
 In this form, the object is displayed by the
interconnecting lines.
 Another enhancement of the wire frame model
involves providing a surface representation
that makes the object appear as a solid to the
viewer.
 The most advanced method of geometric
modeling is solid modeling in three
dimensions. This method typically uses solid
geometry shapes called primitives to construct
the object.
Engineering Analysis
 In the formulation of any engineering design
project, some type of analysis is required.The
analysis may involve stress-strain calculations,
heat transfer computations etc.The computer
can be used to aid in this analysis work.
 There are two important type of analysis
i) Analysis of the mass properties
ii)Finite Element Analysis(FEA)
 The analysis of mass properties provides
properties of a solid object being analyzed such
as the surface area, weight, volume, centre of
gravity(CG),moment of inertia(MI) etc.

 With the Finite Element Analysis technique,an

object is divided into a large number of finite
elements (generally rectangular or trianglar
shapes) which form an interconnecting network
of concentrated nodes.
 By using a computer with FEA software like
‘ANSYS’ the entire object can be analyzed for
stress-strain, heat transfer etc. by calculating
the behavior of each node.
 By determining the interrelated behaviors of
all the nodes, the behavior of the entire object
can be assessed.
Design review and evaluation
 Checking the accuracy of the design can be
accomplished conveniently on the graphical
terminal. The designer can zoom in part
design details and magnify the image for close
scrutiny.
 In order to enhance the capabilities of a
designer, the CAD system provides various
tools which can be effectively utilized to
complete cumbersome jobs with very less
effort. Such tools are Layering, Interference
checking and Kinematics.
 Layering involves overlaying(overlapping) of the
geometric image of the final shape of the
machined part on top of the image of a roughing
operation. This ensures that there is sufficient
material left over the part for the final finishing
operation.
 Interference checking involves the analysis of an
assembled structure in which there is a risk that
the components of the assembly may occupy the
same space.
 The Kinematics packages provide the capability to
animate motion of simple design mechanisms
such as hinged components and linkages.
Automated Drafting
 Automated Drafting involves the creation of
hard-copy engineering drawings directly from
CAD database.
 Some of the graphics features of CAD systems
lead themselves especially well to the drafting
process. These features include automatic
dimensioning, generation of crosshatched
areas, scaling of the drawing, development of
sectional views etc
 Benefits of Computer Aided Design(CAD)
 Productivity improvement in design
 Shorter lead times
 Fewer design errors
 Greater accuracy in design calculations
 Standardization of design, drafting and
documentation procedures
 More understandable drawings
 Improved procedure for engineering changes
 Improved engineering productivity
 Better and colorful designs provided
 Better communication among all levels.
COMPUTER AIDED MANUFACTURING(CAM):
 Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) can be
defined as the use of computer system to
plan, manage and control the process
operations for machining a component.
 Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) also
known as Computer-aided Machining is the
use of software to control machine tools and
related ones in the manufacturing of work
pieces.
CAM:
 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.
 Its primary purpose is to create a faster
production process and components and
tooling with more precise dimensions and
material consistency, hence the operation
uses only the required amount of raw material
(thus minimizing waste), while simultaneously
reducing energy consumption.
APPLICATION OF COMPUTER IN MANUFACTURING:
 Geometric Modeling(CAD)
 CAM(NC part programming-NC CAM software)
 Computer Aided Process Planning(CAPP)
 Computer Aided Quality Control(CAQC)
 Production Planning and Control(PPC)
BENEFITS OF CAM:
 High Accuracy in machining
 Precision machining
 Complex Jobs with less time span
 Very less wastage.
CREATING THE MANUFACTURING DATA BASE
 By using suitable CAD system, manufacturing
organizations got opportunities to develop the
data base needed to manufacture a product.
 The manufacturing data base is an integrated
CAD/CAM data base. It includes all the data on
the product generated during design
(geometry data, bill of materials and parts
lists, material specifications etc.) as well as
additional data required for manufacturing.
THE DESIGN WORKSTATION:
 Design workstations are computer systems
with adequate computing power, based on 32
or 64 bit microprocessors. Workstations are
typically divided into two broad categories:
Low-end and high-end.
 Low-end Workstations: Low-end work stations
generally consist of personal computers.
Appropriate software and special hardware
like graphics accelerator cards are added to
these for boosting the performance.
 Personal computers have the additional
advantage of being able to run a substantial
amount of software such as programs for
analysis, database management etc.
 The processing capability of personal computers
is generally enhanced by the addition of a co-
processor in the microprocessor circuit which
increases the processing speed by two or three
times.
 Special custom-built graphics boards increase
resolution and decrease drawing times. High
resolution color monitors and multifunction cards
improve the versatility of personal computers.
 High-end Workstations: High-end workstations are
designed around one or more powerful RISC processors.
Examples of such processors are PA-RISC, MIPS, and
SPARC etc.
(PA-RISC is an instruction set architecture (ISA) developed
by Hewlett-Packard. As the name implies, it is a reduced instruction
set computer (RISC) architecture, where the PA stands for Precision
Architecture. The design is also referred to as HP/PA for Hewlett
Packard Precision Architecture.)
{MIPS (Microprocessor without Interlocked Pipelined Stages) is a
reduced instruction set computer (RISC) instruction set architecture
(ISA) developed by MIPS Computer Systems,
now MIPS Technologies, based in the United States}
{SPARC (Scalable Processor Architecture) is a reduced instruction
set computing (RISC) instruction set architecture (ISA) originally
developed by Sun Microsystems.}
 Hardware in these systems generally consists
of high resolution graphics display of 1024 X
1024 pixels or more. A processor capable of 2
to 4 MIPS or more and 512 MB to 8GB core
memory and mass storage in the range of 36-
146 GB (Giga Byte) with optional magnetic
tape back up.
 Computers used for high end workstations are
optimized for engineering analysis and
graphics work. Many of them use custom-built
processors often incorporating hardware
features to boost the speed of processing.
 The CAD work stations must accomplish five
functions.
1. It must interface with the central processing unit.
2. It must generate a steady graphic image for the user
3. It must provide digital descriptions of the graphic
image.
4. It must translate computer commands into
operating functions.
5. It must facilitate communication between the user
and the system
ARCHITECTURE OF A TYPICAL GRAPHICS WORKSTATION:
 Fig. shows a block diagram of a CAD graphics
workstation
 A color (RGB) monitors with 19" screen size and
resolution of 1280 x1024 pixels is the standard. Some
workstations will have monitors with resolution of 1920 x
1200 pixels. Workstations enable the display of the
drawings in several colors.
 Selectable palette of 256 colors out of 17.6 million colors
is normally available. The hardware include a CPU board
with a RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computing)
microprocessor with Cache Memory of 2 GB RAM. Many
CAD/CAM applications require at least 256 GB or more of
disc capacity.
 Disc capacity can go up to 512 GB in a sophisticated
graphics workstation. The communication facilities
include two or more serial ports, one or more parallel
ports and TCP/IP Ethernet controller or other facilities for
networking.
INTERACTIVE GRAPHIC TERMINALS:
 Interactive graphics is an important component of
CAD providing a window through which the
communication with the computer can be realized.
Such systems which enable communication between
the human operators and the computer are called
“userfriendly”computers.
 In an interactive graphics session, the user constructs
a geometric model by specifying points, lines, arcs
and circles on the screen. When each command is
issued, the software will request additional data or
information needed.
 Technically the model is the mathematical
representation of the diagram in the computer data
base. The operator uses the display screen almost in
the same manner as a drawing board to create
various projections or views of the object.
• But unlike manual drafting, CAD incorporates several
features to speed up drafting and increase drafting
productivity. The display devices be can classified
into two groups:
i. Display devices based on CRT principle
ii. Flat screens
 Most interactive CAD systems use CRT based graphic
monitors. CRT is a glass enclosed tube in which a
finely focused electron beam is deflected to a
phosphor coated screen. The screen then glows to
produce a visible trace when excited by impinging
electrons.

The principle of operation of a monitor(Graphics Terminal)

Two basic techniques or principle of operations for the
generation of image are,
i. Display Devices based on CRT
ii. Raster scan Technique
DISPLAY DEVICES BASED ON CRT
 The position of the visible trace on the CRT screen is
controlled by a focusing system and a set of
horizontal and vertical deflection plates as shown in
Fig.
 In a color CRT, there are three electron guns, one
each for red, green and blue. The phosphor dots for
red, green and blue are arranged in a triangular
pattern. The individual beams intersect at a shadow
mask which directs a red beam to a red phosphor
dot and so on
RASTER SCAN TECHNIQUE
 The screen of a monitor can be considered to consist
of a large number of minute subdivisions called
picture elements (pixels, in short). For example, in a
typical SVGA monitor, the screen is divided
horizontally into 1024 units and vertically into 768
units. The resolution of this monitor is then 1024 x
768.
 A raster CRT graphics device can be considered a
matrix of discrete cells each of which can be made
bright. Thus it is basically a point plotting device. If a
line is to be drawn, it can be approximated by a
series of dots close to the path of the line.
 Let us assume that a line AB is to be drawn.
On a raster scan monitor, the adjacent pixels
closer to the path of the line are addressed
and the resulting “line” appears to have a
staircase like look or is said to be jagged.
However, the resolution is more, then the line
appears smooth.Vertical or horizontal lines
appear smooth, irrespective of the resolution.
OPERATOR INPUT DEVICES
 These are the devices that we use for communicating
with computer, and providing our input in the form of
text and graphics. A brief description of these devices is
given here.
1. Key Board
2. Mouse
3. Digitizers
4. Joy Stick
5. Light Pens
6. Track Ball
7. Touch Sensitive Screen
8. Scanner
 KEY BOARD
Keyboard is the most common and very popular input
device which helps to input data to the computer. The
layout of the keyboard is like that of traditional
typewriter, although there are some additional keys
provided for performing additional functions.
Keyboards are of two sizes 84 keys or 101/102 keys, but
now keyboards with 104 keys or 108 keys are also
available for Windows and Internet.
 MOUSE
Mouse is the most popular pointing device. It is a very
famous cursor-control device having a small palm size
box with a round ball at its base, which senses the
movement of the mouse and sends corresponding
signals to the CPU when the mouse buttons are
pressed.
Generally, it has two buttons called the left and the
right button and a wheel is present between the
buttons. A mouse can be used to control the position
of the cursor on the screen, but it cannot be used to
enter text into the computer.
 Digitizers
Digitizers are used to trace a sketch or other 2-D
entities by moving a cursor over a flat surface (which
contains the sketch). The position of the cursor
provides a feedback to the computer connected with
the device. There are electrical wires embedded in
orthogonal directions that receive and pass signals
between the device and the computer.
 Joystick
Joystick is also a pointing device, which is used to
move the cursor position on a monitor screen. It is a
stick having a spherical ball at its both lower and upper
ends. The lower spherical ball moves in a socket. The
joystick can be moved in all four directions.
The function of the joystick is similar to that of a
mouse. It is mainly used in Computer Aided Designing
(CAD) and playing computer games.
 Light Pens
Light pen is a pointing device similar to a pen. It is used
to select a displayed menu item or draw pictures on
the monitor screen. It consists of a photocell and an
optical system placed in a small tube.
When the tip of a light pen is moved over the monitor
screen and the pen button is pressed, its photocell
sensing element detects the screen location and sends
the corresponding signal to the CPU.
 Touch Sensitive Screens
This device is embedded in the monitor screens,
usually, in the form of an overlay. The screen senses the
physical contact of the user. The new generation of the
Laptop computers is a good example of this device.
 Track Ball
Track ball is an input device that is mostly used in
notebook or laptop computer, instead of a mouse. This is
a ball which is half inserted and by moving fingers on the
ball, the pointer can be moved.
 Track Ball
Since the whole device is not moved, a track ball
requires less space than a mouse. A track ball comes in
various shapes like a ball, a button, or a square.

 Scanner
Scanner is an input device, which works more like a
photocopy machine. It is used when some information
is available on paper and it is to be transferred to the
hard disk of the computer for further manipulation.
 Scanner

Scanner captures images from the source which are

then converted into a digital form that can be stored on
the disk. These images can be edited before they are
printed.
OUTPUT DEVICES
 Following are some of the important output
devices used for CAD purpose
Monitors, Plotters, Printers
 Monitors
Monitors, commonly called as Visual Display
Unit (VDU), are the main output device of a computer.
It forms images from tiny dots, called pixels that are
arranged in a rectangular form. The sharpness of the
image depends upon the number of pixels.
There are two kinds of viewing screen used for
monitors.
1. Cathode-Ray Tube (CRT) 2. Flat-Panel Display

Cathode-Ray Tube (CRT) Monitor

The CRT display is made up of small picture elements
called pixels. The smaller the pixels, the better the
image clarity or resolution.
A finite number of characters can be displayed on a
screen at once. The screen can be divided into a series
of character boxes - fixed location on the screen where
a standard character can be placed. Most screens are
capable of displaying 80 characters of data horizontally
and 25 lines vertically.
There are some disadvantages of CRT −
• Large in Size
• High power consumption
Flat-Panel Display Monitor
The flat-panel display refers to a class of video devices
that have reduced volume, weight and power
requirement in comparison to the CRT. You can hang
them on walls or wear them on your wrists.
Current uses of flat-panel displays include calculators,
video games, monitors, laptop computer, and graphics
display.
 Plotters
Plotters are used to plot graphical image on the paper. A
plotter can be used to produce graphical image such as
map, design, machine drawing etc. A plotter is a
specialized output device designed to produce high
quality graphics in a variety of colors. They use ink pad or
inkjet to draw graphics or drawing. For plotting, single or
multicolored pen can be employed. The pen driven by a
motor. Drawing can be prepared on paper or Mylar
(polyester film).

ADVANTAGES OF PLOTTER
I. They can print on a wide variety of flat materials.
II. Plotters can produce high-quality output on large
sheets.
DISADVANTAGES OF PLOTTERS
I. Plotters are quite large when compared to a traditional
printer.
II. Plotters are also much more expensive than a traditional
printer

TYPES OF PLOTTER
There are two basic types of plotters those that use
pens and those that do not. Drum Plotters and
flatbed plotter both uses pens. Electrostatic Plotters
do not use pens.
 Drum Plotters
In this plotter is mounted on the surface of drum.
The drum rotates back and forth to produce vertical
motion and the plotters pens are horizontally
positioned over the target are. Under the control of
the computer, the drum and the pen(s) move
simultaneously to produce the graphic or design.
Because of complex mechanism the printing speed of
this printer is slow.
 Flatbed Plotters
A flatbed plotter plots on papers that are spread and
fixed over a rectangular flatbed surface. Normally, the
paper does not move and all the motion is provide by
pen-holding mechanism. The pen mechanism moves the
pen left, right, top and bottom side.
The plot size is restricted by the area of the bed.
It is used to draw Cars, Ships, Airplanes ,Road and
highway design etc.
 Electrostatic Plotters
They use electrostatic charges to create images out of
very small dots on specially treated paper. The paper is
run through a developer to allow the image to appear.
These are faster than pen plotters and can produce
images of very high resolution.

Plotters are normally very slow motion because of

excessive mechanical movement. Hence there is a
great mismatch between the speed of the CPU and the
speed of a plotter. Because of this reason, output is
first transferred by CPU to magnetic tapes and then the
plotter is activated.
 Printers
Several types of printers are available:
(i) Impact printers:
They use small hammers or print heads containing
small pins to strike a ribbon to form dot matrix
images. Colors are introduced through the use of
multiple ribbons or single ribbons with different
color bands. Color intensity is fixed and creating
shades is almost impossible. Because of the low
resolution, copy quality is poor. Impact printers are
suitable for high speed, low cost, high volume hard
copies.
(ii) Inkjet printer: Inkjet printers produce images by
propelling fine droplets of ink on to the medium to be
printed. Droplets can be generated in continuous
streams or pulses. Some of the droplets get charged
and are returned to the reservoir, while uncharged
droplets attach to the printing surface to form graphics.
The laser jet printers are capable of giving good quality
color prints with shading at reasonable cost.
(iii) Laser printer: Laser printer is one of the most widely
used output devices. This type combines high speed
with high resolution and the quality of output is very
fine.
 Central Processing Unit(CPU)
The CPU Operates as the central ‘Brain’ of the CAD
system. It excetes all the mathematical computations
needed to accomplish graphics and other functions and
it directs various activities within the system. These
activities include:
I. Managing the design workstations (Operator inputs,
editing etc.)
II. Directing plotters in the generation of engineering
drawings.
III. Copying CAD data from Hard disc to other storage
devices(Ex.Pen drive)and vice versa.
IV. Transmitting data to and from other larger
computers.
 Central Processing Unit(CPU)
Central Processing Unit (CPU) consists of the following
features,
I. CPU is considered as the brain of the computer.
II. CPU performs all types of data processing operations.
III. It stores data, intermediate results, and instructions
(program).
IV. It controls the operation of all parts of the computer.
 CPU itself has following three components.
I. Memory or Storage Unit
II. Control Unit
III. ALU(Arithmetic Logic Unit)
Memory or Storage Unit
 This unit can store instructions, data, and intermediate
results. This unit supplies information to other units of the
computer when needed. It is also known as internal storage
unit or the main memory or the primary storage or
Random Access Memory (RAM).
 Its size affects speed, power, and capability. Primary
memory and secondary memory are two types of
memories in the computer. Functions of the memory unit
are:
I. It stores all the data and the instructions required for
processing.
II. It stores intermediate results of processing.
III. It stores the final results of processing before these
results are released to an output device.
IV. All inputs and outputs are transmitted through the
main memory
Control Unit
 This unit controls the operations of all parts of the
computer but does not carry out any actual data processing
operations.
 Functions of this unit are −
I. It is responsible for controlling the transfer of data and
instructions among other units of a computer.
II. It manages and coordinates all the units of the
computer.
III. It obtains the instructions from the memory, interprets
them, and directs the operation of the computer.
IV. It communicates with Input/Output devices for transfer
of data or results from storage.
V. It does not process or store data.
ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit)
 This unit consists of two subsections namely,
I. Arithmetic Section
II. Logic Section
Arithmetic Section
Function of arithmetic section is to perform arithmetic
operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and
division. All complex operations are done by making
repetitive use of the above operations.
Logic Section
Function of logic section is to perform logic operations
such as comparing, selecting, matching, and merging of
data.
Memory and Memory types
 A memory is just like a human brain. It is used to store
data and instructions. Computer memory is the storage
space in the computer, where data is to be processed and
instructions required for processing are stored.

 The memory is divided into large number of small parts

called cells. Each location or cell has a unique address,
which varies from zero to memory size minus one. For
example, if the computer has 64k words, then this
memory unit has 64 * 1024 = 65536 memory locations.
The address of these locations varies from 0 to 65535.
 Memory is primarily of three types −
I. Cache Memory
II. Primary Memory/Main Memory
III. Secondary Memory
Cache Memory
 Cache memory is a very high speed semiconductor
memory which can speed up the CPU. It acts as a buffer
between the CPU and the main memory.
 It is used to hold those parts of data and program which
are most frequently used by the CPU.
 The parts of data and programs are transferred from the
disk to cache memory by the operating system, from
where the CPU can access them.
Cache Memory
The advantages:
I. Cache memory is faster than main memory.
II. It consumes less access time as compared to main
memory.
III. It stores the program that can be executed within a
short period of time.
IV. It stores data for temporary use.

The disadvantages:
I. Cache memory has limited
capacity.
I. It is very expensive.
Primary Memory (Main Memory)
 Primary memory holds only those data and
instructions on which the computer is currently
working. It has a limited capacity and data is lost when
power is switched off.
 It is generally made up of semiconductor device. The
data and instruction required to be processed resides
in the main memory. It is divided into two
subcategories RAM and ROM.
Characteristics of Main Memory :

I. These are semiconductor memories.

II. It is known as the main memory.
III. Usually volatile memory.
IV. Data is lost in case power is switched off.
V. It is the working memory of the computer.
VI. Faster than secondary memories.
VII. A computer cannot run without the primary memory.
Secondary Memory
 This type of memory is also known as external memory
or non-volatile. It is slower than the main memory. These
are used for storing data/information permanently.
 CPU directly does not access these memories, instead
they are accessed via input-output routines.
 The contents of secondary memories are first transferred
to the main memory, and then the CPU can access it. For
example, disk, CD-ROM, DVD, etc.
Characteristics of Secondary Memory :
I. These are magnetic and optical memories.
II. It is known as the backup memory.
III. It is a non-volatile memory.
IV. Data is permanently stored even if power is switched off.
V. It is used for storage of data in a computer.
VI. Computer may run without the secondary memory.
VII. Slower than primary memories.