CAD/CAM in Practice

Little more than a decade ago computer-aided design and manufacture (CAD/CAM) was a very esoteric field indeed, not one that was of much practical concern to a manager or industrialist unless his business was on the scale of, say, a major automobile manufacturer or in a field of high technology such as aerospace. Like so much else, this situation was revo­ lutionized by the invention of the silicon chip, the arrival of the micro­ processor and the dramatic fall in the cost of computer hardware. Today, CAD/CAM has spread down the market, and down the price scale, to the point at which it is both a feasible and an affordable technology for a wide range of small-and medium-sized companies in areas as various as architec­ ture and general engineering, plastic moulding and consumer electronics. But the explosion - there is no other word for it - in the variety and capabilities of CAD/CAM systems, and their spectacular climb to the top of the hi-tech hit parade, has placed the potential purchaser and user of the new technology in a difficult position. On the one hand he is assured, not least by the manufacturers of CAD/CAM equipment, that a failure to invest in it will leave his company stranded in the industrial Stone Age.

1: CAD What is it All About? . - Concepts and descriptions. - The design process. - The origins of CAD. - Automated drafting: creating a model. - Representations and simulations. - Analytical programs: simulating performance. - Summary: CAD defined. - 2: CAM An Introduction. - Design and manufacture: two processes or one? . - Numerical control: the basis of CAM. - Computer-assisted part programming. - Direct numerical control. - Computer numerical control. - The future of numerical control. - Flexible manufacturing systems. - Computer-integrated manufacturing. - Group technology. - Summary: from CAD/CAM to CADAM. - 3: The Elements of a CAD System. - From mainframe to mini. - Enter the micro distributing `intelligence . - Memory and storage devices. - Machine communicates with man: the graphics display. - Stroke-writing display systems. - Raster display systems. - Man communicates with machine: menus and input arrangements. - Light pen input. - Cursor steering input devices. - Graphics tablet input. - Choosing an input system. - Plotters and other hard copy devices. - 4: Principal Types of CAD System. - Two-dimensional modellers. - Wire-frame modellers. - Surface modellers. - Solid modelling I: boundary representation. - Solid modelling II: constructive solid geometry. - Summary: making a choice of modelling system. - 5: The Software What CAD Can Do. - Basic drafting. - Macros. - Parametrics. - Graphic conventions. - `Drafting with primitive solids. - Transformations. - Taking things apart sectioning. - Putting things together segmentation and assembly. - Moving things about simulated operations. - Automatic dimensioning. - Testing things analytical programs. - 6: A Look Ahead. - Towards standardization? . - Horses for courses: tailor-made CAD. - Extending CAM computer-aidedeverything. - Building-in more knowledge expert systems. - Trends (and limitations) in hardware development. - New roles for CAD. - Near relations: computer graphics and simulators. - 7: Justifying CAD/CAM. - The fallacy of productivity. - Not-so-simple arithmetic. - Saving waste consistency of information. - Saving time availability of information. - Saving trouble analysis of information. - Doing what could not be done before. - 8: Identifying the Needs of a Company. - Who should conduct the feasibility study? . - Geometrical information the vital commodity. - Where does the information originate? . - How is information stored, communicated and used? . - The place of CAD/CAM in the information structure. - Setting identifiable goals. - 9: Choosing a System and Persuading the Company to Buy It. - `Turnkey systems. - Assembled systems. - Sources of information. - The politics of CAD. - Making a shortlist. - Benchmarking. - The `best system? . - Ready, get set. . . . - 10: Buying and Installing a System. - Implementation: the role of the CAD manager. - Planning the installation: physical factors. - Planning the installation: psychological and organizational factors. - Selling CAD to the users. - Training. - The first six months. - Appendix I: Glossary of terms and acronyms used in CAD/CAM. - Appendix II: Checklist for potential purchasers of CAD systems. - Appendix III: Suppliers of turnkey CAD systems in the UK and USA. - Select bibliography.