Quality Control for CAD

Abstract
A technical drawing is a foremost requirement for manufacturing a machine or a part in
metal or plastic. If not accurate, the outcome and eventually results in loss of time and
money. Therefore, quality control for CAD drawing is a must. Every CAD service provider
must have a quality control program. The following are the importance of quality control for
CAD drawing.

Testing and inspection

Quality control for CAD drawings must focus on inspection and testing. Though these two
procedures are performed manually with the use of equipment or testing apparatus,
computer-aided inspection, and computer-aided testing have to be performed using the
latest and advanced CAD programs. The basis of CAD drawing services has to be an
improvement in the quality of product, and reduction in the manufacturing lead times.
Prototyping
The most important thing about CAD drawing for manufacturing parts is ease in
prototyping. With the help of advanced CAD software, mechanical engineers can view the
graphical presentation of a product with proper functions. The presentation can be in 2D
and 3D. The simulation feature in the CAD software also provides a facility to analyze if the
product functions as expected or whether the drawing needs some correction before taking
up manufacturing. The mechanical drafting services can also help in assessing the life-span
of a product and delivering client’s demands within an expected time frame.

Integrated quality control and manufacturing

In a traditional manufacturing method, quality control of a product is done by a separate
department that performs inspection and testing. But in computer-aided quality control,
inspection and manufacturing process can be integrated along with the production line. The
computerized process inspects and tests the product there itself. And since the need to shift
or move the product to a quality control department is eliminated, the manufacturing
process is quicker.

Limited manual intervention

Traditional manufacturing method involves manual intervention since the product to be
inspected requires placing it on an inspection desk. With computer-aided quality control, the
inspection process is handled by non-contact sensors. That means products are inspected
without actually touching it. The non-contact sensors placed in the production line inspect a
product in a fraction of sections. So with effective quality control procedure, drafting
services can help original equipment manufacturers improve design and productivity.

Proficient quality control system for CAD drawing can help manufacturers in prototyping
and determining if the drawing is good for taking production or needs some tweaking. It
could also help in speeding the manufacturing process
From a CAD point of view, we can break down the Deming Cycle as:
1. Plan. Think about new ways you can better use CAD tools to accomplish all your design and
documentation tasks, then standardize and train your staff according to the plan.
 
2. Do. Use your plan to execute a project.
 
3. Check. Analyze how your new plan performed in actual use; note anything that could have worked
better.
 
4. Act. Act on the findings of your study to create an even better plan for the next project.

A new taxonomy of issues related to CAD model quality is presented, which distinguishes between
explicit and procedural models. For each type of model, morphologic, syntactic, and semantic errors
are characterized. The taxonomy was validated successfully when used to classify quality testing
tools, which are aimed at detecting and repairing data errors that may affect the simplification,
interoperability, and reusability of CAD models. The study shows that low semantic level errors that
hamper simplification are reasonably covered in explicit representations, although many CAD quality
testers are still unaffordable for Small and Medium Enterprises, both in terms of cost and training
time. Interoperability has been reasonably solved by standards like STEP AP 203 and AP214, but
model reusability is not feasible in explicit representations. Procedural representations are
promising, as interactive modeling editors automatically prevent most morphologic errors derived
from unsuitable modeling strategies. Interoperability problems between procedural representations
are expected to decrease dramatically with STEP AP242. Higher semantic aspects of quality such as
assurance of design intent, however, are hardly supported by current CAD quality testers.

Keywords: Quality Assurance, CAD Model Quality Testing