Design using computer technology
- various planning requests from the manufacturing, engineering, construction, and landscaping sectors.
CAD has essentially taken the place of manual hand drafting. It is a piece of software that facilitates the development, visualisation, and improvement of ideas. Developing visual drawings of designs takes the least amount of time and effort possible, despite the fact that mastering CAD can be challenging and time-consuming.
There are many different CAD software programmes available, each with a unique set of advantages and disadvantages. While some are pricey, others are totally free. The same design principles are used by all of them. The ADAM core system serves as the foundation for numerous CAD software programmes.
Certain CAD applications are just used for design. In some instances, a larger software package will incorporate the design function.
Lesson Structure
There are 10 lessons in this course:
- Scope & Nature of Computer Aided Design
- History of Technical Drawing
- History of CAD
- Why CAD?
- Overview of Applications of CAD
- Solid Modelling or Manufacturing
- Surface Modelling
- Assembly
- Drafting Detailing
- Reverse Engineering
- Scanners
- Types of CAD Software
- CAD System Components
- Popular CAD Software
- Create a CAD Project
- CAD Design Principles
- Basics of CAD
- Cartesian Coordinate System
- Spatial Reasoning
- Orthographic Projections
- CAD Design General Principles
- CAD Design Process
- CAD Design Effective Use Principles
- Landscape Mapping and Planning
- Plan Types
- Site Plan/Base Plan
- Topographic Plan
- Concept Plan
- The Final Plan
- Other Plans
- How Landscape Plans are Presented
- Steps In The Design Procedure
- Landscape Graphics
- Surveying and Measurement
- Levelling
- Area Measurement
- Measurement of Volume
- Earthworks
- Limitations of CAD in Landscape Design
- Construction and Engineering
- CAD in Construction
- Building Information Modelling
- Application to Construction
- Types of Drawings
- Architectural Drawings
- Building Services Drawings
- Miscellaneous Drawings
- Submission Drawings, Models, Environment Plans
- Architecture and Urban Planning
- CAD Modelling
- Urban Planning
- Architecture
- Architectural Views
- Using Templates
- CAD visualisation
- Virtual Tours
- Risk Management
- Risk Identification
- Risk Assessment
- Building Information Modelling
- Optimisation
- Manufacturing
- Computer Numerical Control
- Computer Aided Manufacturing
- Aerospace
- Automotive
- Technology
- Benefits
- Design
- Financial
- Tooling
- Outsourcing
- Quality and Inspection
- Logistics
- Green Strategy
- Rapid Prototyping
- Why Rapid Prototyping is Important
- The Prototyping Process
- Types of Rapid Prototyping
- Additive Manufacturing
- Binder Jetting
- Other Manufacturing Techniques
- High Speed Machining
- Laser Cutting
- Water Cutting
- Electrical Discharge Machining
- Extruding, Moulding, Casting
- Injection Moulding
- 3D Printing
- History of 3D Printing
- Types of 3D Printing
- 3D Scanners
- Types of Software
- Slicer Software
- Type of Printing Materials
- Advantages and Disadvantages of 3D Printing
- Applications of 3D Printing
- The Future of 3D Printing
- Further Applications
- Enhanced Reality
- Augmented Reality
- Virtual Reality
- Mixed Reality
- Artificial Intelligence
- Generative Design
- The Cloud
- Customisation and Other Applications
Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school’s tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.
Aims
- Explain the purpose and characteristics of computer-aided design.
- Compare the traits of several CAD software kinds.
- Provide a general overview of the computer-aided design guiding principles.
- Describe the uses of CAD in land planning, earthwork, and mapping.
- Describe the uses of CAD in engineering and construction.
- Describe the role that CAD plays in urban planning and architecture.
- Describe the uses of CAD in manufacturing.
- Describe CAD tools for quick prototyping.
- Describe the CAD programmes used in 3D printing.
- Identify further CAD applications.
How You Plan to Act
- Speak with a CAD expert about the benefits of using CAD versus manual drafting and the top CAD programmes they suggest for beginners.
- Install any open-source CAD programme on your computer (for instance, FreeCAD) and take the time to familiarise yourself with its features and the many modelling types it supports.
- Try to adhere to the CAD design process when working on any design project of your choosing. Write notes about how you approached the steps of the design process of conception, design, validation, and presentation.
- Create a drawing of the garden or lawn you want for your home. Make sure you accurately and concisely communicate the necessary facts.
- Install any CAD programme that is open-source on your computer. Investigate the software’s architectural drawing options. Attempt to use the tools at your disposal to draw any project of your choosing.
- Your comprehension of urban planning should be documented. Try to sketch a rough layout of a neighbourhood that includes homes, a library, a courthouse, and a school.
- Using a CAD model design of your own or discovering one that interests you online, write notes on the method to turn the design into a final product using a 3D printer of your choosing.
LEARN THE CAD SYSTEM
HAVE A FOUNDATION THEN FOR BETTER USE OF IT
Any design process has guiding principles that serve to both inform and direct the activity being carried out. These concepts have evolved in the case of CAD dependent on how the technology was developed. A sequential design method based on CAD system functionality has been created as a result of these ideas.
As you gain an understanding of CAD design principles, you’ll see that each discipline using the technology has its own set of guiding principles for its designs. An architect, for instance, will consider symmetry, focal points, and aesthetics in addition to function, but a manufacturer will be more concerned with cost-effectiveness and ideal production flow.
The Cartesian Coordinate System is a fundamental idea in computer-aided design (CAD).
Using Cartesian coordinates, a point’s location in a plane or three-dimensional space can be determined. The Cartesian coordinates of a point are a two-dimensional pair of numbers or a three-dimensional triplet of integers that express signed separations from the coordinate axis. Cartesian coordinates are also referred to as rectangular coordinates.
Cartesian coordinates are specified in the plane using the x-coordinate and y-coordinate axes. The origin is where the x and y axes cross. The Cartesian coordinates of a point on the plane are stated as (x, y). The x, y, and z axes are the three mutually perpendicular coordinate axes that make up the Cartesian coordinate system in three dimensions. There will be an additional axis called the z-axis and the point will be described as if it were in three dimensions (x, y, z).
Then, spatial reasoning is used. The ability to see and manipulate a 2- or 3-dimensional object is known as spatial thinking. This frequently entails using an object, seeing a pattern, forming an opinion based on the pattern, and then resolving the issue. It could entail turning designs to see them from different perspectives, putting together (or taking apart) designs from their component pieces, or recognising things in a design by their distinctive surface characteristics. Since designs are composed of lines and shapes, the capacity to connect them spatially is a crucial talent in many technical fields and a prerequisite for CAD. Understanding how various components of a plan or design relate to one another and/or interact is crucial.
WHO IS ABLE TO FIND APPLICATIONS FOR CAD KNOWLEDGE?
- designers, creators of consumer goods, Computer experts, and even filmmakers
- architects, landscape architects, and interior designers
- planners, scientists, engineers, and real estate investors
- Manufacturers, contractors, architects, and inventors