The good old drawing board was once: computer-aided design, better known by the abbreviation CAD, has changed the work of entire industries. Computer-aided design of 2D and 3D models has become an indispensable part of today’s working world, because it facilitates and accelerates the creation of technical drawings and plans of all kinds. one of the most popular CAD programs for mechanical design is autodesk inventor. In this blog article, we’ll show you exactly what CAD is, where it’s used, and what autodesk inventor can do for you.
Computer-aided design: an indispensable part of today’s world
Architects use it, urban planners cannot do without it, and it is also indispensable in the construction of building components. We are talking about computer-aided design, or in german computer aided design (CAD for short). Whereas in the past the above-mentioned professions had to produce their drawings by hand and laboriously incorporate changes, today this process is not only much faster but also much easier thanks to suitable CAD software. That is why the use of CAD programs has become indispensable in today’s industry.
CAD programs are used to develop representations of a component. Whereas in the past only two-dimensional representations were possible, it is now also possible to represent the components in 3D. The software is used in a wide range of industries, for example in mechanical engineering, architecture and civil engineering. CAD is also an integral part of work processes in product design, interior planning, dentistry and video game programming. There is hardly an area in which CAD is not used. This shows how important computer-aided design will continue to be in the future.
Advantages and disadvantages of CAD
The advantage is obvious: computer-aided design not only facilitates the planning process enormously. Not only is the creation and incorporation of changes much easier than with the original methods such as z. B. The drawing board. In addition, information such as material properties can be stored in the programs, the respective model can be viewed from different perspectives and changes can be made to the scaling. CAD also eliminates several steps in the manufacturing process. For example, machines receive information directly from the computer on how to produce a particular component. This not only saves a lot of time, but also money.
However, it should not be forgotten that computer-aided design usually accompanied by high investment costs per workstation. In addition, personnel must be adequately trained in the use of the complex software. training may also be required at regular intervals for any software updates. In addition, the projects in the CAD programs are often so complex that they are difficult for outsiders to understand.
In practical use, however, the advantages of programs for computer-aided design generally outweigh the disadvantages, which is reflected not least in the large variety of CAD software available. Due to the different applications, there are a large number of programs that are specially adapted to the respective field of application. Depending on the intended use, the programs offer a wide range of functions and can be priced somewhere between free and premium. In addition, CAD software is available in every price range and for every level of experience.
The autodesk inventor
One of the best-known CAD programs for mechanical design is autodesk inventor. It is mainly used in the fields of mechanical engineering, plant engineering, toolmaking and sheet metal processing. autodesk inventor is a 3D CAD software developed by autodesk and released in the late 1990s.
In practice, autodesk inventor is used, for example, for motion simulation, pipeline design, tool and mold making, subassembly design or the design of plastic parts.
With autodesk inventor, fewer physical prototypes need to be built because a product can be represented in its entirety digitized. So the products can be designed, visualized and simulated on the computer.