Computer-Aided Design (CAD) + Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM)

What is it? Computer-Aided Design (CAD), also known as Computer-Aided Drafting, is the use of computer software and systems to design and create 2D and 3D virtual models of goods and products for the purposes of testing. It is also sometimes referred to as computer assisted drafting. Computer aided manufacturing is part of computer aided engineering it is using machines such as computers to aid the user in manufacturing their product. It can be in 2D or in 3D depending on what program is used this means that any product can be manufactured in this way.

What does it do? CAD is very useful as it can help calculate measurements; project a 3-Dimensional image of the product and be used by to run virtual stress tests using computer-aided design and simulate the conditions to be tested in. This presents a reduction of costs and time-consumption. CAM allows the user to produce anything that they can create using computer aided design (CAD) this means it is very useful. The better your design in CAD then the better your final product will be when it is produced by CAM.

How is it used? It can be used to make modifications and improvements to the original design instantly, as well as reverse-engineering other products to find out how they work. Focus groups can be presented with virtual mock-ups of new products more quickly than would be possible with physical prototypes, and alterations can be made based on their feedback almost instantly. It is used by a lot of companies when they need to produce lots of the same product accurately, this is because it varies from really easy to really complex so it doesn’t matter if the user is well educated in the software or if there not very confident with it. This means that very complex designs can be produced if the user knows how to use it correctly or if they don’t really know what they’re doing then they can still produce something of a decent quality.

Who is it used by? Computer-Aided Design is used by practically all businesses and enterprises that create their own products, especially engineering companies. It can be used to design components of a greater design like a plane as it has many complicated parts that often need to be designed separately. CAM is used by lots of engineers all over the world in big and small companies. It is used in lots of businesses such as the medical industry they use it to produce very accurate fake limbs or other products that need to be very precise because they could be used by someone in their everyday life.

What features make it more suitable for its function? CAD programs have tools that perform the function of physical work tools, such as drills, saws, milling machines, etc… They can also download templates off of the internet or other products that have been uploaded to it. The reason CAM is so good is because it can produce lots of the same product and they will all be identical to each other this is because it can produce lots of the same product within a very low tolerance. It is also very quick when it is used for low scale production of the same product. Finally over the long run it is cheaper than any other method of producing large quantities of a product at a high quality.