CAD/CAM
Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Use American English CAD/CAM<ref name=CADcam.NYT1985>Template:Cite news</ref> refers to the integration<ref name=CADcamSIM.NYT/> of computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM). Both of these require powerful computers. CAD software helps designers and draftsmen; CAM "reduces manpower costs" in the manufacturing process.<ref name=CADcam.NYT81>Template:Cite news</ref>
Overview
Both CAD and CAM are computer-intensive. Although, in 1981, Computervision was #1 and IBM was #2, IBM had a major advantage: its systems could accommodate "eight to 20" users at a time, whereas most competitors only had enough power to accommodate "four to six."<ref name=CADcam.NYT81/> CAD/CAM was described by The New York Times as a "computerized design and manufacturing process" that made its debut "when Computervision pioneered it in the 1970's."<ref name=CADcam.NYT1985/>
Other 1980s major players in CAD/CAM included General Electric<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Parametric Technology Corporation;<ref name=CADcamPTC.NYT92>Template:Cite news</ref> the latter subsequently acquired Computervision, which had been acquired by Prime Computer.<ref name=CADcamPTC.NYT92/>
CAD/CAM originated in the 1960s;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> an IBM 360/44 was used to build via CNC<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the wings of an airplane.
Computer-aided design (CAD)
Template:Main One goal of CAD is to allow quicker iterations in the design process;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> another is to enable smoothly transitioning to the CAM stage.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Although manually created drawings historically facilitated "a designer's goal of displaying an idea,"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> it did not result in a machine-readable result that could be modified and subsequently be used to directly build a prototype.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It can also be used to "ensure that all the separate parts of a product will fit together as intended."Template:Citation needed
CAD, when linked with simulation, can also enable bypassing building a less than satisfactory test version, resulting in having "dispensed with the costly, time-consuming task of building a prototype."<ref name=CADcamSIM.NYT>Template:Cite news</ref>
Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM)
In Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM), using computerized specifications, a computer directs machines such as lathes and milling machines to perform work that otherwise would be controlled by a lathe or milling machine operator. This process, which is called Numerical Control (NC OR CNC), is what came to be known as 20th century Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM), and it originated in the 1960s.Template:Citation needed Early 21st century CAM introduced use of 3D printers.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
CAM, although it requires initial expenditures for equipment, covers this outlay with reduced labor cost and speedy transition from CAD to finished product, especially when the result is both timely and "ensuring one-time machining success rate."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
See also
- Computer-aided technologies
- CAD/CAM dentistry
- CAD/CAM in the footwear industry
- Building information modeling (BIM)