Do manufacturers still need CAD?
Computer-aided design (CAD) has long been used in the manufacturing industry to revolutionise the way products are designed and developed. First used at MIT in the1950s, CAD has been continually developed now enabling us to generate accurate 3D design models for digital testing, detailed evaluation and analysis, simulation before prototyping or production stages.
But is CAD still relevant amid the advanced capabilities of Industry 4.0 technologies?
In short, yes! The product development process still relies on CAD, engineering designers and software. Together, they help manufacturers speed up the design process and achieve a higher level of performance in a product’s fit, form and function.
CAD files can be viewed and edited from multiple angles, using a whole raft of CAD library elements to help accelerate this part of the process too. Thanks to cloud technology, CAD files can also be shared with and worked on by multiple parties, no matter where they are based.
Industry 4.0 technologies are, in fact, enhancing the design process but not replacing it. More accurate physical prototypes are being created care of virtual and augmented reality. Virtual prototyping is being used by manufacturing businesses to put CAD designs through digital tests or to place them in the relevant environment to see how they look and perform, rather than wasting time and effort on creating physical models.
Couple this with the evolution of smarter CAD software that can predict and suggest changes to fix any potential problems to make a design more accurate to bring it to the protype stage must faster, then the blend of CAD and Industry 4.0 technologies looks very positive.
The challenge is trying to find experienced engineers who have the skills to use the relevant CAD software effectively. There are also multiple CAD software platforms and versions to master, while each version needs to be updated regularly and requires serious processing power to run effectively.
Furthermore, designers often do not have enough of the right experience for designing and developing parts, components and full assemblies. Designers who work in isolation, with no understanding on how these parts are to be manufactured, often fall at the first hurdle.
It is vital for any part design to utilise latest Design for Manufacturing (DFM) techniques to understand how it will be manufactured in detail, and we work closely with production and quality engineers during the initial design phase.
We have worked with multiple manufacturing businesses to meet their engineering design and CAD needs, while also providing reverse engineering and finite element analysis services.
Caddology seamlessly integrates with your design and production teams to ensure an effective solution is delivered. We can offer support at all levels bringing all our expertise and software licences with us, plus human and PC processing power!
If you need CAD or engineering design support, please not hesitate to contact us at info@caddology.co.uk
