CAD is the creation of designs using computer technology, while CAM uses computers and software to guide machines to produce mass-produced parts. They are often used together in fields such as industrial design and animation. CAM usually depends on CAD, and both are part of computer aided engineering. The main difference is who implements the technology, with CAD users being engineers and CAM users being skilled machinists. Both processes require advanced computer training.
Computer-aided design (CAD) is the process of creating a design, known as a draft, using computer technology. Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) is the use of computers and computer software to guide machines to produce something, usually a mass-produced part. The relationship between CAD and CAM is shaped to work and they are often used together. CAD creates the design and CAM builds it.
The use of CAD, also sometimes referred to as computer aided drafting and drafting (CADD), is used in several different environments, some of which overlap with CAM. CAD is used a lot when simple drafting would be too complex, such as in the design of automobiles, airplanes, ships and many other fields of industrial design, and these are all fields where CAM is also often used. In recent years with the proliferation of computerized film effects, CAD is used with many forms of animation and computer design.
Although CAD has many functions that do not necessarily coincide with the use of CAM, the converse is generally not true and CAM usually depends on CAD. Using designs created with CAD provides an easy way to enter information into a CAM software system. Designs done by a CAD device are often put through another program that will use computer aided analysis (CAA) and then to a computer running the CAM software. CAM and CAD are both referred to as part of an overall process known collectively as computer aided engineering (CAE).
Both CAD and CAM offer similar benefits. They can render objects in two dimensions (2D) or three dimensions (3D), and both offer fast processing and production of a design. Many CAM machines have built-in CAD software, although not all designs require the use of a CAD-created design.
One of the main differences between CAD and CAM is who implements the technology. While both use computers to increase efficiency, they still require a human to do the processing or input. A CAD user will typically be an engineer trained in CAD software, while a CAM user will usually be a skilled machinist. These types of machinists are highly skilled and are comparable to a computer programmer or mechanical engineer.
The technology used in both processes has become very advanced. Where once there was a difference between the training of the operators of the respective technologies, today the type of training takes place mainly on the computer. This makes for roughly the same level of skills needed to operate CAD and CAM.
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