The main purpose of this post is to introduce us to what C.A.D is all about.
AREAS TO BE DISCUSSED
MEANING OF COMPUTER AIDED DESIGN
¡COMPUTER AIDED DESIGN is the application in which some
software are used in creating precise drawings
(these drawings includes
Engineering, Architectural, Surveying, Mechanical, Civil, Electrical , Geology,
e.t.c )
CAD
software are used to create 2D and 3D drawings and animations e.g
floor plans of a building, maps, survey,
location map, drawings for Automobile
parts.
In
CAD, the computer is the principal tool of the drafter's workstation. It
replaces manual drafting tools such as
drawing board, pencils, scale rule, and
templates. The drafter or designer can create layout and design on a
computer
screen using the command of a computer program. Points are choosing with an
electronic pointing
devices such as mouse, original drawing data to a plotter
or printer for an inked original.
Some procedures are to be followed
when using CAD applications. These procedures includes;
(1)
DRAWING PLANNING
(2)
CREATING AND USING DRAWING STANDARD
(3)
PLANNING YOUR WORK
(4)
SYSTEM MANAGEMENT
¡When to store
drawings on floppy disk, when to store it on hard disk or other magnetic media
¡How names are
assigned to drawings so that people understands the meaning.
¡When and how to make
a back-up copy of drawings and store them in a safe place
(5)INTERRACTIVE PROCESS
(6)
COMPUTER LAB HYGIENE
¡Keeping computer out of dusty area and
away from chalk board
¡Keeping food and drinks away from
computer system. E.t.c
HISTORY OF CAD
¡American Ivan Sutherland Invented CAD in 1961 when he
described a computerized
sketch pad in a doctoral thesis while attending the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
¡He designed CAD to replace the traditional drafting
board and other tools drafter used
such as the ink pen, plastic stencil,
electric erasers e..t.c .
¡Early CAD software ran on large expensive computers but
today, Engineers can run CAD
software on PERSONAL computers or LINUX
workstation.
ADVANTAGES OF CAD OVER MANUAL DRAFTING
¡ACCURACY – The use of Computer in CAD produces very
accurate and neat drawings.
Once the system is set to work properly by the
operator, it will always work correctly
without any error while in manual
drafting, so many errors may occur due to poor
handling of instrument, poor use
of pen, tiredness and lack of concentration.
¡STORAGE CAPACITY – A computer used in CAD has capacity
to store and process huge
amount of information. Huge amount of drawings can be
saved on computer system
without being tampered for a long period of time once
it is saved very well unlike manual
drafting in which you might lose your
drawings due to carelessness like allowing water to
pour on your drawing,
getting your drawing sheet dirty, dirt arising from erasing drawings
over and over again
¡FLEXIBILITY – Computer can adapt to changes like upgrade
of software and drawings.
The project saved several years ago can be updated by
editing the drawings. Drawing in
CAD is easier, speedy and accurate. Computer
easily accommodate changes to drawings
unlike manual drafting where any changes
to be made will involve drawing it allover
again.
¡VERSATILITY – CAD software can be used for so many
things, in CAD, you can produce
just any design provided you can figure it out
the way the design suppose to be.
CAD SOFTWARE EXAMPLES
Software used in CAD are numerous, choosing the one to
use depends on your field, your projects, time
management, quality,
productivity and graphics presentation. These software are for different
purposes. There
are some software which can perform basically everything needed
as a CAD drafter, they can produce 2D
designs, 3D models, rendering, animations
and some basic structural calculations. Example of this software
includes ArchiCAD, 3D studiomax, Artlantis studio e.t.c.
Some are meant for a
specific purpose like some can produce rendering alone example of software like
this is
Artlantis RENDER, it only
render images and animation rendering.
AutoCAD can be used
for 2D drawings and 3D design but using AutoCAD for 3D modeling is a little bit
complex and time consuming therefore so many people make use of AutoCAD for
their 2D design alone,
transfer the 2D to software like Revit, ArchiCAD, 3D studiomax, Sketch up, Chief Architect e.t.c
Choice of software is based on profession and your
personal preferences, it
enables drafter
to select the ones which are best for their field and the one
which can make them
more productive. Though some software can be used in almost
every profession. E.g
3D studiomax, Architect,
Builders, Structural engineers, Civil Engineers, Town planners,
Industrial
Artist, Game developers, e.t.c make use of this
software for various design.
Choosing the CAD
software to use determines the one you need to learn. For people in
the field
of Environmental Science and Engineering , the following software are good and
efficient to use. AutoCAD, ArchiCAD, Chief Architect,
Sketch up, Artlantis, 3D studiomax.
3D home design, Chief
Architect, Civil 3D, Dynamite VSP 4, Pro Engineer, e.t.c.
Generally, all
these software work together for the purpose of achieving what you want
as a
CAD drafter. You might find yourself using more than 3 CAD software on a
project and
some third party software for post processing of your design.
APPLICATION OF CAD IN VARIOUS FIELDS
USE OF CAD IN CAM
MACHINES
CAM
means computer aided manufacturing. CAM machines are those ones that controls
the
manufacturing of objects such as parts which are often made of metal,
plastic or wood, the
manufacturing operation includes milling, drilling,
lathing and polishing with the assistance of
CAD software. CAM software selects
the best cutting material and set the most effective
cutting speed. The CAD
software generate image called the tool path display, that shows how
the CAM
tool will cut the material much as print preview in word-processing program
display
page before it is printed. The tools path has three stages, the
containment area, beyond which
the tool may not cut, the surface finish cut,
which remove gouges, produce a smooth finish and
cleans up the part. Examples
of industries where CAM machine and CAD software are used
include; Automobile
company like FORDS MOTOR, LEYLAND NIGERIA PLC.
ARCHITECTURE
Architect use 2D software to
produce basic 2D drawing from the sketch drawn by hand
stating out all element
in the brief, this 2D drawings includes floor plans, elevations,
sections,
details E.t.c. This 2D drawing is then produced in 3D format with 3D software,
this 3D drawings shows the real life view of a design, it shows detail
pictorial views which
can also be used by other professional working on the
same projects. E.g. a 3D drawing
can be used for presentation when meeting the
client to give him the concept of how the
building is going to look like in the
future, prepare designs for the horticulturist, shows
structural engineers some
basic structural drawings in 3D format
E.t.c. The drawings below
explain basic way in which
architect make use of CAD software.
USEOFCAD BY ENGINEERS
Electrical
– they use it to produce different drawings for electrical analysis in
buildings,
Automobile wiring and some machine parts that make use of
electricity. The drawings below
shows electrical drawings of a BUIDING drawn
in AutoCAD.
Structural Engineer
Structural engineers make use of CAD software in producing
detail drawings for building
structures and sometimes for correction of
structural problem on site. The following drawings
shows structural drawings of
a building design.
USE OF CAD BY LAND
SURVEYORS
Surveying
– In land surveying, surveys are made
to establish boundaries of land areas by
setting corner markers or monuments,
to ascertain coordinates of these corners, and to
obtain boundary and area
information required for record-deed descriptions and for
plotting parcels of
real property. Property surveys are accomplished with a degree of
precision
depending on the value of the land involved, and permanent visible and
recoverable monuments are set at the corners. These markers are desirable for
public
record and to ensure correct title for the rightful owner of the land.
The plotted survey on
site is then transferred into neat drawings with the help
of CAD software.
In
Topographic surveys,
surveyor make use of three-dimensional
drawings to express
what is plotted on site, this is gotten by 3D modeling
software. They employ the
techniques of plane surveying and other special techniques
to establish both horizontal
and vertical control. The relief or configuration
of the terrain and the natural or artificial
features are located by
measurement and depicted on a flat sheet to form a topographic
map. Contour
lines, connecting points of the same elevation, are used to portray
elevations
at any one of various intervals measured in meters or feet. Example of the type
of surveys mentioned above are shown in
the drawings below
USE OF CAD IN ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY
¡Some game developers , animators and film graphic
designer make use of CAD software
for their works. Game developers use CAD
software like 3D studiomax with some
programming software for the purpose of game simulations and creation.
Animators
make use of software like 3D studiomax, Maya, Cinema 4D, Artlantis e.t.c for the purpose
of animations. In film
production, places where effect are needed might be represented
with the help
of CAD software like maya, 3D studiomax and cinema 4D. For example, 3D
studiomax was used in creating
some animated scenes and film effects in TERMINATOR 4,
AVATAR, 2012 (the dooms
day) and ALLIENS.
THE SIX STEPS OF ART TO PART
¡The first two steps after you have gotten your brief are
the use of sketching software to
capture the initial design ideas and to
produce accurate engineering drawings. The third
step is rendering an accurate
image of what the part will look like. Next, the engineers
uses analysis
software to ensure the part is strong enough. Step five is Application which
involves the production of the prototype or Model in Block form. In the final
stage, the
CAM software controls the machine
that produce the part. Example of
this can be seen in
milling, drilling, lathing and polishing which are
processes used in metal, plastic and wood
making industry but Using Architecture
as an example, this can be discussed with the
following drawings shown here.
BENEFITS OF LEARNING CAD
¡A lot
of designers run through many sheets of paper in order to come up with concepts
that they want to bring to life. People incessantly complain of not only the
time it takes
to design such components but the lack of flexibility in such
designs. On the completion
of such projects they also have to create real life
models in other to text for aesthetics as
well as the functionality of their
designs.
¡With Computer Aided Design you can come up with varying
level of designs by using a
computer and a specialized input device. The
resulting design will be flexible and can
easily be turned into a 3D model
whose aesthetics and functionality can easily be tested
for on the computer
without having to spend additional time creating a real life model.
¡CAD is beneficial to engineers, designers as well as
architects, as can be clearly seen from
the description of what it provides for
these people. The flexibility and the ease at which
they can create easily
maneuverable models and diagrams that they can test for
aesthetics as well as
functionality. You can also easily modify any diagrams that you
create without
having to create entirely new drawings from scratch. The overall benefits
that
are derived from CAD drawing make the very concept and usage of paper drawings
somehow outdated and unnecessary. Furthermore learning how to use CAD will save
you
from most of the stress of other methods of conceptualization.
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