Computer Aided Design (CAD) is a design process using computers to create models and prototypes. It was originally developed for engineering drawing and drafting, but has expanded to other industries. CAD allows for efficient design, endless variations, and simulations to test feasibility. It can be used by professionals and casual users, but advanced programs require extensive training.
Computer Aided Design (CAD) is a form of design where people work with computers to create ideas, models and prototypes. CAD was originally developed to assist people with engineering drawing and drafting, but has expanded to include numerous other potential uses. A variety of software products designed for CAD can be found on the market, many of which target a specific application or industry.
Drafting and technical drawing can be very painstaking and require some special skills. Using CAD for drawing still requires many of the same skills, but by working with a computer rather than on paper, people can be much more efficient. They can also play with ideas much more easily, moving design elements around and running the design through software programs that can determine if the design is structurally feasible. For example, an architect working on a bridge can test the design in simulations to see if it will withstand the load he will have to carry.
CAD can be used to design structures, mechanical components, and molecules, among other things. One benefit of using CAD is that people don’t have to make prototypes to demonstrate a design and its potential, as they can use a three-dimensional modeling program to show people how something might look. CAD also allows for endless variations and experiments to show how the look and feel of something can be altered, and these can be done at the click of a button, rather than painstaking drafting.
Sometimes casual users like to play with CAD for things like deciding how to arrange their furniture or design a garden. They can drag and drop elements and play with the space in various ways and generate a configuration that will be suitable and aesthetically pleasing. CAD is used by professionals in numerous sectors of the manufacturing industry and can also appear in some surprising places, such as forensic labs, where researchers recreate crime scenes on a computer to explore the scenarios.
Advanced CAD programs usually require extensive training from their users, as they can be very complex and challenging to work with. More casual programs can be learned in shorter periods of time, with some designed to allow people to work immediately within the program, learning as they go. Sometimes simple programs can even have their functionality augmented with expansion packs designed to provide additional functionality, so that people can work within a familiar program when they want to develop more complex projects.
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