What Is CAD Software? – Simply Explained
According to Autodesk, computer-aided design (CAD) is “technology for design and technical documentation that replaces manual drafting with an automated process.” While this definition is fairly accurate, CAD software has a much broader role than simply replacing time-consuming hand-drawing design.To get more news about https://www.gstarcad.net/cad/ cad computer aided design, you can visit shine news official website.
Nowadays, CAD software is widely used for conceptual design and spatial visualization throughout the entire product development phase. The automated process of CAD allows instant changes to models and constitutes a powerful communication tool between project members. In other words, the arrival of CAD software has enabled collaborative work, offering a shared platform among creatives, from engineers to designers, all across the globe.
CAD has had such a profound impact on our world that it’s hard to imagine life without it. To that end, most architecture and engineering schools don’t even hold classes on hand drafting anymore. So many of the physical aspects in our reality, from products to buildings, are designed with CAD.
In this article, we’ll be covering the most important aspects of CAD software: the different types, advantages, drawbacks, and best programs out there. But first, let’s find out how this important tool came to be.The history of CAD software can be traced back to the early 1960s, with the development of Ivan Sutherland’s Sketchpad at MIT. It was arguably the first commercial graphic computer software and it’s considered the origin of all CAD programs. Sketchpad brought the basic principles of technical drawing to a computer program and used what’s known today as a light pen as the input tool.
The first CAD applications were restricted to the automotive and aerospace industries, with big companies like Renault and Lockheed pioneering its use. While the 70s saw the arrival of 3D solid modeling, it was often used simply for producing 2D drawings that were merely a replacement of handmade designs. Later, CAD software started to reach a broader public since personal computers were becoming increasingly affordable.
By the following decade, some of the most popular CAD software we know and use today was developed. Dassault Systèmes released the surface modeler Catia, while the young Autodesk announced it’s most famous 2D software: AutoCAD. In 1987, Pro/Engineer (now Creo) changed the CAD market by introducing its solid modeling technique, shifting the design focus towards the 3D environment.
From that point on, it was pretty clear that CAD software was going to drive profound changes in the way designers, engineers, and architects would work in the future.
