Technology and Communication Assignment

How can CAD assist in a ‘product becoming a reality?’

Uses of CAD

The use of CAD has became a very popular tool in many businesses around the world,
Primarily used by Engineers, Architects, construction and Interior designers to name a
few. It is used to create blueprints, floor plans and 3D models of the required object.

Two types of modelling are solid modelling and surface modelling.

Solid modelling

Solid modelling is the exact size, volume and shape of the said object. It can also give
you the true geometric information. From this we can gather;

Volume, Weight, Centre of Gravity and Density to name a few

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solid_modeling

Other benefits of solid modelling are the ability to add or remove material from the
object itself, the ability to combine two solid objects by joining, subtracting or
intersecting the objects from each other to create the desired resulting shapes also the
ability to define the wall thickness for the entire object.
Solid modelling is primarily used for designs that require a combination of fillets
along multiple edges, constant wall thicknesses or contain drafted surfaces.
http://www.develop3d.com/uploaded_images/p2figure1-772731.png
Surface modelling

Surface modelling defines the objects exterior with a thin skin made up by lofts,
NURBS curves and sweeps. Surfaces are defined by guide poles or curves.
Surface modelling was mainly used in the aerospace and automotive industry for
creation of technical surfaces like a plane wing or an aesthetic surface like a car
bonnet things that require more curvature.
With surface modelling you can accurately model the true size and shape of the parts
skin, also the ability to manipulate and modify the surface skin.
Surface models do not have any mass or volume to them unlike solid modelling.
When drawings are far complex to be drawn from solid modelling they are created
using surface modelling and then converted into solid models. Nurb surfaces can be
incorporated into an existing solid model by stitching the Nurbs surface to the solid
model.

AutoCAD drawing of an aeroplane using a surface model design.

https://d2t1xqejof9utc.cloudfront.net/screenshots/pics/46616ae77d8d3def34b75c7fdcf5e065/medium.jpg
Both the solid and surface modelling can be used in aerodynamics e.g., a car
simulation in a wind tunnel, from the information that is provided the manufacturers
are able to see the exact down force on the road the car will have in certain road
conditions. They can the manipulate the structure of the car body to produce the best
possible results,

Results of a CFD program show external aerodynamics of a particular body configuration.

Catia V5 provided the original 3D CAD model.
http://machinedesign.com/article/3d-cad-cfd-give-nascar-shop-a-winning-edge-0110

Uses of CAD in business;

Sales and Marketing

Sales and customers benefit from the use of CAD because if a customer wants to
know if we can manufacture a certain part of specific requirement then usually they
would send over a specific CAD drawing which would also include a parts list of the
required parts needed to complete said project. Sales also can use our (company’s)
own CAD drawings to entice more business and show future customers what service
we are able to offer.

Engineering

Once the sales team have dealt with exactly what the customer requires then it is
passed onto engineering to determine if we are able to manufacture said product. If
there needs to be any changes made to the product engineering will be able to use
CAD and alter the 3D drawings in order for the product to become production able.
They can then send over the new, updated drawings back to the customer for
authorisation. This is much quicker than before when everything was drawn out by
hand, if any changes were needed then a whole new drawing had to be done then sent
over to the customer, this would go on until the final designs was authorised.

Production

CAD is used widely in production, mainly in build process specifications. In the

industry I work in we make a lot of helmet cables for the Eurofighter aircraft, the
CAD drawing come in very useful because they a printed out and placed onto pin
boards, measured to the correct length and within tolerance, this makes things much
easier because rather than having to measure everything out by had you are able to lay
the cable onto the pin board to check whether the desired length has been met. CAD
drawings also hold very useful information on certain objects and their tolerances.
Test

CAD drawings are also used in test, because they can stipulate orientations of certain
objects and also specific test specifications.

Inspection

Just like the use in production CAD drawings used in inspection are greatly relied on,
inspection is the last check before the product goes out the door for the customer so it
is vital that the object/cable is check thoroughly. The use of pin boards come in very
handy for this as previously stated, not only does it help the inspector measure the
tolerances but it also saves lots of time therefore being able to inspect more products
daily. CAD drawings are also use in goods inwards especially on parts that need
measuring against its technical specification which is vital in some industries
especially if the part in question has a long lead time to save any future problems that
may arise from incorrect spec, the CAD drawing states every detail regarding the
certain object such as dimensions, tolerances, material and surface finish.

References and research

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-the-different-uses-of-autocad.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solid_modeling
http://icadd.blogspot.co.uk/2009/06/3d-modeling-in-workplace.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeform_surface_modelling
http://www.xmlcreate.com/NCGuide/Workshop/solids.html
http://fireuser.com/articles/solids_vs_surface_modeling_what_and_why_you_need_to
_know/