The world of design by computer has exploded so much in recent years that it is impossible to imagine anyone sitting down at a drawing board and working on anything manually. Computer aided design was around in the 1990s in it’s early stages of coming onboard as the norm for manufacturing companies who had their own in house drawing office or technical manual departments. Maybe the company had a manufacturing base elsewhere but the technical side was handled separately. Every single part on a machine needed to be laboriously sketched and then a programme designed to convert that sketch into the working plan. Specialised software creates, modifies, and optimises designs – completely replacing manual drafting operations. The accuracy is so much higher, there is no room for error as the machine works to much finer parameters. Cost effective development of all products has been the result. It enables 2D or 3D modelling and these days offers real-world conditions with directly integrating systems with manufacturing tools for 3D printing.

Key areas of CAD include mechanical and engineering design allowing for the design of very detailed 3D models of parts and assemblies. This allows for virtual testing and simulation of stresses and strains to identify weaknesses before building of prototypes. Another area in which these innovations are now critical would be architecutre and building. The use of building information modelling to design 3D structures allow for collaboration to eradicate or at least reduce, construction clashes. The advances in our design and manufacturing capabilities are beyond imagination.