Computer Study Lesson No.8 CAD/CAM programs

CAD/CAM programs

CAD programs

In computer-aided design (CAD), a computer is used to help people design things. Computer are ideal instruments for design work, compared with pencil and paper, because changes to a design can be made without re-drawing the entire design. Also it is much easier to create THREE-DIMENSIONAL (3D) representations of a product in two dimensions using a computer. There are even free CAD applications that can be used to design 3D models-try Google sketch Up

Features of CAD programs include:

Ù  Creation of 3D design drawings using vector graphics, so that drawings can resized
Ù  Importing existing drawings in PDF format or 3D laser scan data
Ù  Standard objects such as nuts and bolts or electronic components can be stored in library file and inserted as many times as required
Ù  Surface, mesh and solid modeling tools
Ù  Zooming in to work on fine detail
Ù  Features of CAD programs include:
Ù  2D cross-sectional views with materials
Ù  3D views ranging from ‘wire frame’ , with or without ‘wires’ representing hidden edges, to rendering(drawing surface) with light and shade and applying ‘materials’ to see the of different visual textures.
Ù  Multiple views available simultaneously and rotation to see views from all sides
Ù  3D navigation tools to ‘walk’ or ‘ fly’ through a model to gain an impression of moving through it
Ù  Stereoscopic display to enable a user to view a 3D image
Ù  Features of CAD programs include:
Ù  Calculation of masses, surface areas and volumes to estimate the costs of materials, coatings and manufacture
Ù  Performance of stress, strain, resonance, buckling, toppling and thermal analysis of the model and exporting of reports and video to document the analyses
Ù  Automatic optimisation of routing of conductive tracks on printed circuit boards or of cables or hoses within a vehicle engine compartment
Ù  Validation of a design against the original requirement`s specification
Ù  Verification of design against design specification, engineering and safety standards; include kinematic checking, using a simulation of moving parts in machines to check that they will not collide, or electronic circuit function testing using simulation to test its behavior before a prototype is built
Ù  Output directly to a 3D printer for creating a 3D model
Ù  Exporting of files in PDF format or in a suitable format for computer-aided manufacture(CAM)

CAM programs

       When the design has been finalised, it can sometimes be passed to computer-controlled machines, which can make the product automatically from the design. This second stage is known as computer-aided manufacture(CAM)

Features of CAM programs include:

Ù  Creation of programs by specialist programmers or machinists to control CAM machinery
Ù  Tools to manage planning of production, transportation, storage of raw materials, components and products
Ù  Importing of data from CAD systems
Ù  Output directly to CAM machinery