CAD/CAM is the tightly integrated Engineering process that goes from
idea to design to drawing to construction to finished part and
mass production. There's some confusion as to which words are actually
assigned to the acronyms, but really all of these are applicable and part of the process.
- Computer Aided Drafting
- use of software to assist in the creation of architectural, mechanical, electrical or industrial engineering drawings
- Computer Aided Design
- use of software to design a building, part, mechanism, assembly, system, circuit, or factory
- Computer Aided Drawing
- use of software to create an image or drawing
- Computer Aided Analysis
- use of software to analyze the functional and structural integrity of a design; this may include (for example) analysis of stress, strain, vibration, transient, steady state, obstruction detection, heat dissipation, turbulence study, and functional simulation; two (of many) methods include FEA and BEM. This usually involves some heavy theory coupled with some even heavier number crunching.
- Finite Element Analysis (FEA)
- analysis of the properties and behavior of a part as a whole by subdividing and calculating on smaller pieces, usually arranged in a surface or solid mesh
- Boundary Element Analysis (BEM)
- Analysis of the properties and behavior of a part by examining interactions that occur at the internal and external boundaries of regions of the part. Where FEA is 2d or 3d, BEM tends to be 1d or 2d for similar problems. BEA interpolates interior behavior of homogenous regions after calculating the behavior of the boundary around each region
- Computer Aided Engineering (CAE)
- use of software to draw, design, and analyze, and build (i.e., everything listed here)
- Computer Aided Machining
- use of a computer to assist in creation of a part, usually from metal
- Computer Numerical Control (CNC)
- automatic, computer controlled carving (machining) of metal blocks into parts
- Computer Aided Manufacturing
- use of a computer to assist in creation or mass production of a design at a factory (and possibly the design of the factory too)
- Rapid Prototyping
- process of going directly from CAD model to prototype part via some fast automatic process so that the prototype design can be seen, held, and possibly tested; the rapid prototyped part is frequently not made of the correct material (i.e., plastic or wax instead of metal or composite) or is not full scale, and so isn't the final part
- Rapid Manufacturing
- process of going directly from CAD model to finished part; frequently involves a rapid prototyping process to create a sintered or injection molded part. Sometimes the rapid prototyped part can be used as the finished part, and sometimes the finished part can be made from the RP part with a few additional steps.
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