Mechanical engineering project ideas | Using CATIA V5 and MASTERCAM for 3D Modeling and Virtual Manufacturing of a Machine Component.
Mechanical engineering project ideas | Using CATIA V5 and MASTERCAM for 3D Modeling and Virtual Manufacturing of a Machine Component.
The origins of CAD/CAM:
CAD had its origins in three separate sources, which also serve to highlight the basic operations that CAD systems provide.
The first source of CAD resulted from attempts to automate the drafting process. These developments were pioneered by the General Motors Research Laboratories in the early 1960s. One of the important time-saving advantages of computer modeling over traditional drafting methods is that the former can be quickly corrected or manipulated by changing a model's parameters.
The second source of CAD was in the testing of designs by simulation. The use of computer modeling to test products was pioneered by high-tech industries like aerospace and semiconductors.
The third source of CAD development resulted from efforts to facilitate the flow from the design process to the manufacturing process using numerical control (NC) technologies, which enjoyed widespread use in many applications by the mid-1960s. It was this source that resulted in the linkage between CAD and CAM. One of the most important trends in CAD/CAM technologies is the ever-tighter integration between the design and manufacturing stages of CAD/CAM-based production processes.
The development of CAD and CAM and particularly the linkage between the two, overcame traditional NC shortcomings, in expense, ease of use, and speed by enabling the design and manufacture of a part to be undertaken using the same system of encoding geometrical data. This innovation greatly shortened the period between design and manufacture and greatly expanded the scope of production processes for which automated machinery could be economically used. Just as important, CAD/CAM gave the designer much more direct control over the production process, creating the possibility of completely integrated design and manufacturing processes.
The rapid growth in the use of CAD/CAM technologies after the early 1970s was made possible by the development of mass-produced silicon chips and the microprocessor, resulting in more readily affordable computers. As the price of computers continued to decline and their processing power improved, the use of CAD/CAM broadened from large firms using large-scale mass production techniques to firms of all sizes. The scope of operations to which CAD/CAM was applied broadened as well. In addition to parts-shaping by traditional machine tool processes such as stamping, drilling, milling, and grinding, CAD/CAM has come to be used by firms involved in producing consumer electronics, electronic components, molded plastics, and a host of other products. Computers are also used to control a number of manufacturing processes (such as chemical processing) that are not strictly defined as CAM because the control data are not based on geometrical parameters.
Markets and Applications:
The market for CAD hardware and software has experienced substantial growth since the early 1970's. The Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) of the U.S. Congress states, "Between 1973 and 1981, the CAD system market grew from under $25 million in annual sales to over $1 billion," a fortyfold increase. The years ahead may be even more promising. The Yankee Group, a Boston-based market analysis firm, predicts that sales may reach $6.9 billion annually by 1987, with an average annual growth rate of over 40 percent.
At present, the principal mechanical for CAD are within the mechanical manufacturing industry. Aerospace and automotive companies are the heaviest users, but other segments of the industry, such as machine tool manufacturers, are incorporating CAD into their operations.
Within these enterprises, CAD is only one member of a family of Computer based technologies that is altering the nature of American manufacturing. Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) is usually mentioned in the same breath as computer-aided design. This juxtaposition, CAD/CAM, refers to the capability of systems to design a part or product, devise the essential production steps, and transmit this information electronically to manufacturing equipment, such as robots. These design and manufacturing tools may, in turn, be linked to management information systems (MIS), which enable managers to monitor closely all aspects of a company's operations.
While mechanical applications of CAD account for nearly one-half of the systems sold today, other industries recognize the benefits it affords. For the electronics industry, CAD offers considerable advantages, particularly in the design on printed circuit boards and integrated circuits. The design of these components can be tedious and time consuming. And so many lines and cross lines must be drawn that errors are not easily detected. CAD not only speeds up the drawing but detects errors as well.
Architecture, engineering, and construction applications offer the greatest potential for growth in sales, according to a recent industry survey. Although the construction and electronics industries each represent about 16 percent of the CAD market now, the penetration is far less extensive. However, both simple drafting applications and more complex design and analysis are evident within the industry. Architectural drafters will be able to complete drawings of a higher quality in much less time. Architects and engineers will be able to submit their designs to more exhaustive structural and stress analyses. Piping and electrical layouts will be made easier and the design and allocation of interior space will be facilitated as well. As a management tool, the data base created during the project will provide an effective means of inventory control enabling contractors not only to speed construction but to reduce costs.
CAD is also having an impact upon cartography. Geographers use CAD systems to help them draft maps used for environmental impact analysis and land use planning and for charting landfill contours for strip mining. Some software packages are available that aid in extraterrestrial mapping.
Process industries, such as oil and gas refineries and chemical manufacturers, as well as power and utility companies, must plan, construct, operate, and maintain electrical grid and pipeline networks. CAD makes these complex tasks easier. CAD even has applications in landscape design, interior design, and fashion design. Some high fashion couturiers use CAD systems to lay out patterns on expensive fabrics as a way to minimize waste.
Using CAD, it is possible to simulate in three dimensions the movement of a part through a production process. This process can simulate feed rates, angles and speeds of machine tools, the position of part-holding clamps, as well as range and other constraints limiting the operations of a machine. The continuing development of the simulation of various manufacturing processes is one of the key means by which CAD and CAM systems are becoming increasingly integrated. CAD/CAM systems also facilitate communication among those involved in design, manufacturing, and other processes. This is of particular importance when one firm contracts another to either design or produce a component.
CAD/ CAM (Definition): The process of creating, optimizing, analyzing and manufacturing a product completely by the aid of computer is called CAD/CAM.
Stages involved in complete CAD/CAM:
- Drafting and Documentation
- 3D Modeling and Designing
- Design simulation and Analysis
- Manufacturing using CNC or DNC programming.
Future Trends in CAD/CAM:
The rest of this decade will see continued advances in techniques for creating and manipulating workpiece geometry. Standards for user interfaces, data transfer, and computer architecture will give users new flexibility. All of these developments promise to have a significant impact on numerical control and other manufacturing applications.
Where are numerical control (NC) and computer-aided design/computer- aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) headed? What current trends are influencing the direction these key manufacturing technologies are taking? The answers to these important questions should help us anticipate and plan for the future.
For years, manufacturing companies in the United States have been criticized for a lack of long-range planning. Intense pressures to meet short- term goals are usually blamed for this situation. But another factor has also been at work. Long-range planning means accepting a certain degree of uncertainty. Technology changes so rapidly that it is very difficult to predict what techniques, processes, or systems will predominate or become obsolete.
But decisions about technology are not like dropping an anchor. They are like spreading a sail. Leaders of a manufacturing enterprise must set a course toward a destination, then be ready to shift with the winds.
The following pages are meant to be a breezy review of the major currents blowing us toward the future. They represent the forces that will both guide and propel the decision-making process.
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