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Chapter: Automation, Production Systems, and

Computer Integrated Manufacturing - Product
Design and CAD/CAM in the Production System

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CAD System
Hardware
The hardware for a typical CAD system consists of the
following components: (1) one or more design
workstations, (2) digital computer, (3) plotters, printers.
and other output devices.

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CAD SYSTEM
HARDWARE

The hardware for a typical CAD system

consists of the following components:
(1) one or more design workstations, (2)
digital computer, (3) plotters, printers.
and other output devices. and (4) storage
devices. The relationship among the
components i, illustrated in Figure
24.S.ln addition, the CAD system would
have a communication interface to
permit transmission of data to and from
other computer systems. thus enabling
some of the benefits of computer
integration

Design Workstations. The

workstation is the interface between
computer and user in the CAD system.
Its functions are the following: (1)
communicate with the CPU. (2)
continuously generate a graphic image.
(3) provide digital descriptions of the
image, (5) translate user commands into
operating functions, and (5) facilitate
interaction between the user and the
system.

The design of the CAD workstation

and its available features have an
important influence on the convenience,
productivity. and quality of the user's
output. The workstation must include a
graphics display terminal and a set of
user input devices. The display terminal
must be capable of showing both
graphic~ and alphanumeric text. It is the
principal means by which the system
communicates with the user. For
optimum graphics display, the monitor
should have a large color screen with
high resolution.

The user input devices permit the

operator to communicate with the
system. To operate the CAD system, the
user must be able to accomplish the
following: (1) enter alphanumeric data,
(2) enter commends to the system (0
perform various graphics operations, and
(3) control the cursor position on the
display screen. To enter alphanumeric
data, an alphanumeric keyboard is
provided. A conventional type writer like
keyboard allows the designer to input
numerical and alphabetic characters into
the system. The alphanumeric

keyboard can also be used to enter

commands and instructions to the
system. However. other input devices
accomplish this function more
conveniently. Special function keypads
have been developed to allow entry of a
command in only one or two keystrokes.
These special keypads have from 10 to
50 function keys, depending on the
system. However, each key provides
more than one function, depending on
the combination of keys pressed or
which software is being used. Another
input device for entering commands to a
CAD system is the electronic tablet, an
electronically sensitive board on which
an instruction set is displayed, arid
commands arc entered using a puck or
electronic pen.

Cursor control permits the operator to

position the cursor on the screen to
identify a location where some function
is to be executed. For example, to draw a
straight line on the screen, the endpoints
of the line can be identified by locating
the cursor in sequence at the two points
and giving the command to construct the
line. There are various cursor control
devices used in CAD, inducting pucks,
mouse’s, joysticks, trackballs,
thumbwheels, light pens, and electronic
tablets. An input device for entering
coordinates from an existing drawing
into the CAD system is a digit/t.er,
which consists of a large flat board and
an electronic tracking element such as a
puck that can be moved across the
surface of the board to record x and y-
coordinate positions.

Digital Computer. CAD applications

require a digital computer with a high-
speed central processing unit (CPU),
math coprocessor to perform
computation intensive operations, and
large internal memory. Today's
commercial systems have 32bit
processors, which permit high-speed
execution of CAD graphics and
engineering analysis applications.

Several CAD system configurations

are available within the general
arrangement shown in Figure 24.5. Let
us identify three principal configurations,
illustrated in Figure 24.6: (a) host and
terminal, (b) engineering workstation,
and (c) CAD system based on a personal
computer (PC).

The host and terminal was the original

CAD configuration in the Ig70s and
early 1980s when the technology was
first developing. For many years, it was
the only configuration available. In this
arrangement, a large mainframe
computer or a minicomputer serves as
the host for one or more graphics
terminals. These systems were
expensive, each installation typically
representing an investment of a million
dollars or more. The powerful
microprocessors and high-density
memory devices that are so common
today were not available at that time.
The only way to meet the computational
requirements for graphics processing and
related CAD applications was to use a
mainframe connected 10 multiple
terminals operating on a timesharing
basis. Host and terminal CAD systems
are still used today in the automotive
industry and other industries in which it
is deemed necessary to operate a large
central database.

An engineering workstation is a
standalone computer system that is
dedicated to one user and capable of
executing graphics software and other
programs requiring high-speed
computational power. The graphics
display is a high-resolution monitor with
a large screen. As shown in our figure,
engineering workstations are often
networked to permit exchange of data
files and programs between users and to
share plotters and data storage devices.

A PC-based CAD system is a PC with a

high-performance CPU and medium to
high resolution graphics display screen.
The computer is equipped with a large
random access memory (RAM), math
coprocessor, and large capacity hard disk
for storage of the large applications
software packages used for CAD. PC-
based CAD systems can be networked
10 share file" output devices, and for
other purposes. Starting around 1996,
CAD software developers began offering
products that utilize the excellent
graphics environment of Microsoft
Windows NT, thus enhancing the
popularity and familiarity of PC-based
CAD.

When the engineering workstation is

compared with the PC-based system, the
former is superior in terms of most
performance criteria. Its capacity to
efficiently accomplish 3D geometric
modeling and execute other advanced
software exceeds that of a PC, and this
makes the workstation more responsive
and interactive than a PC-based CAD
System. However, the performance
characteristics of PCS are improving
each year, and the prices of engineering
workstations are dropping each year, so
that the distinction between the two
types is becoming blurred.

Plotters and Printers, The CRT display

is often the only output device physically
located at the CAD workstation. There is
a need to document the design on paper.
The peripherals of the CAD system
include one or more output devices for
this purpose. Among these output
devices are the following

Pen plotters. These are .x y plotters of

various types used to produce high
accuracy line drawings.

Electrostatic plotters. These are faster

device, based on the same technology as
photocopying. The resolution of the
drawings from electrostatic plotters is
generally lower than those made by a
pen plotter.

Dot-matrix printers. In the operation of

these printers, small hammers strike an
ink ribbon against the paper to form a
drawing consisting of many ink dots.

Inkjet printers. These arc similar to dot-

matrix printers except that the dots arc
formed by high-speed jets of ink
impacting the paper.

Storage Devices. Storage peripherals

are used in CAD systems to store
programs and data files. The storage
medium is usually a magnetic disk or
magnetic tape, Files can be retrieved
more quickly from magnetic disks,
which facilitates loading and exchange
of files between CPU and disk. Magnetic
tape is less expensive, but more time is
required to access a given file due to the
sequential file storage on the tape. His
suited to disk backup, archival files, and
data transfer to output devices.

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