Introduction To Cad Software: Chapter One

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION TO CAD
SOFTWARE
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION TO CAD SOFTWARE
CAD was born in December 1982, when most people thought

that personal computers weren’t capable of industrial-
strength tasks.
The acronym stands for Computer-Aided Drafting, Computer-

Aided Design, or both.
Designers generally use drawings to represent the object

which they are designing, and to communicate the design to
others. Of course they will also use other forms of
representation — symbolic and mathematical models, and
perhaps three-dimensional physical models — but the
drawing is arguably the most flexible and convenient of the
forms of representation available. Drawings are useful
above all, obviously, for representing the geometrical form of
the designed object, and for representing its appearance.
Hence the importance in computer-aided design (CAD) of the
production of visual images by computer, that is computer
graphics.
CHAPTER ONE
Computer-aided Drafting is a technique where engineering

drawings are produced with the assistance of a computer
and, as with manual drawing, is only the graphical means of
representing a design.
Computer-aided drafting, however, is a technique where the

attributes of the computer and those of the designer are
blended together into a problem-solving team.
When the term CAD is used to mean computer-aided design it

normally refers to a graphical system where components and
assemblies can be modelled in three dimensions. The term
design, however, also covers those functions attributed to the
areas of modelling and analysis.
The acronym CADD is more commonly used nowadays and

stands for computer-aided drafting and design; a CADD
package is one which is able to provide all drafting facilities
and some or all of those required for the design process.
CHAPTER ONE
Two-dimensional (2D) computer drawing is the

representation of an object in the single-view format which
shows two of the three object dimensions or the multi-view
format where each view reveals two dimensions. In both
cases, the database includes just two values for each
represented coordinate of the object. It can also be a pictorial
representation if the database contains X, Y coordinates only.
Three-dimensional (3D) computer drawing is the coordinate

format. Three dimensional computer aided drawing allows
the production of geometric models of a component or
product for spatial and visual analysis.
CHAPTER ONE
The variety of drawings that are utilized in engineering are too
numerous to illustrate individually here. A few examples from
engineering disciplines will demonstrate the versatility of
modern CAD systems.
• Aerospace: Layout drawings, part drawings,

subassemblies, assemblies
• Chemical: Process schematics, process plant layout

drawings
• Civil, Construction: Structural detail drawings, site plan

drawings, construction drawings, road -use plans
• Electrical, Computer: Circuit board design, very large

system integration (VLSI) design
• Industrial and Manufacturing: Manufacturing plant

layout drawings, subassemblies, assemblies
• Mechanical : part drawing, subassemblies, assemblies

CHAPTER ONE
The advantages of using CADD systems:
 constant quality drawing - the quality of lines,

dimensions, symbols, notes, etc., are independent of the
individual skill of the draughtsman;
 creation of database - which is the collection of useful

information that may be retrieved by draughtsmen and
accessed by other processors;
 creation of library - of commonly used electrical,

hydraulic, welding, etc., symbols standard components
such as nuts, bolts, screws, bearings, etc., projection
symbols, parts of drawings, etc., can be stored in the
memory and recalled when needed and additionally they
can be positioned anywhere on the screen and redrawn to
any scale and angle of inclination.
CHAPTER ONE
 use of layers - the drawings may be drawn on any one of

a number of available layers, which may be considered as
a stack of transparent sheets and any separate sheet can
be selected for drawing construction lines, grids,
dimensions, notes, hatching, etc., but to make up together
a complete drawing when required.
 saving on repetition - repetitive work on similar features

or drawings and the resulting tiredness and boredom is
replaced by automatic redrawing, hence attention and
interest are maintained with the consequent marked
increase in speed and productivity;
 greater accuracy - due to computer mathematical

accuracy, a high level of dimensional control is obtained
with reduction in the number of mistakes resulting in
accurate material and cost estimates;
CHAPTER ONE
 multicolour drawings - visualisation of drawings relates

directly to the projection used, pictorial projections are
easier to understand than orthographic projection and the
different colours obtainable by computers enhance the
understanding even further;
 editing functions - the powerful editing functions of

correcting mistakes, deleting and inserting new features,
copying, moving, translating and rotating features, scaling,
etc., is only made possible with the use of computers.

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CHAPTER ONE

CAD was born in December 1982, when most people thought

The acronym stands for Computer-Aided Drafting, Computer-

Designers generally use drawings to represent the object

Computer-aided Drafting is a technique where engineering

Computer-aided drafting, however, is a technique where the

When the term CAD is used to mean computer-aided design it

The acronym CADD is more commonly used nowadays and

Two-dimensional (2D) computer drawing is the

Three-dimensional (3D) computer drawing is the coordinate

• Aerospace: Layout drawings, part drawings,

• Chemical: Process schematics, process plant layout

• Civil, Construction: Structural detail drawings, site plan

• Electrical, Computer: Circuit board design, very large

• Industrial and Manufacturing: Manufacturing plant

• Mechanical : part drawing, subassemblies, assemblies

 constant quality drawing - the quality of lines,

 creation of database - which is the collection of useful

 creation of library - of commonly used electrical,

 use of layers - the drawings may be drawn on any one of

 saving on repetition - repetitive work on similar features

 greater accuracy - due to computer mathematical

 multicolour drawings - visualisation of drawings relates

 editing functions - the powerful editing functions of

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