Drafting standards defined by a company can be programmed into the system such that all final drafts will comply with the standard.ĭocumentation of the design is also simplified using CAD. In addition, most systems are capable of presenting as many as six views of the design automatically. Detail and assembly drawings, bills of materials, and cross-sectioned views of design products are also automated and simplified through CAD. In the early days of CAD, this feature was the primary rationale for investing in a CAD system.ĭrafting conventions, including but not limited to dimensioning, crosshatching, scaling of the design, and enlarged views of parts or other design areas, can be included automatically in nearly all CAD systems. CAD data, stored in computer memory, can be sent to a pen plotter or other hard-copy device to produce a detailed drawing quickly and easily. Automated drafting capabilities in CAD systems facilitate the design presentation, which is the final stage of the design process. This procedure involves making sure that no two parts of a design occupy the same space at the same time. This can be quite useful during the evaluative stage of the design process by allowing the designer to check the dimensions of a final design visually against the dimensions of stages of the design's proposed fabricator, ensuring that sufficient material is present in preliminary stages for the correct fabrication.ĬAD permits checking on interference potential problems.
Layering is a technique that allows the designer to superimpose images upon one another. Design accuracy can be checked using automated tolerancing and dimensioning routines to reduce the possibility of error. The result is a fast, accurate and individualized pattern for production.ĭominick Rosato, Donald Rosato, in Plastics Engineered Product Design, 2003 Design accuracy and efficiencyĬAD permits reviewing a design quickly and permits ease in accomplishing the design evaluation. CAD technology is quick and accurate and can be digitally connected with plotting and cutting technology. In mass customization, specialized CAD programs can quickly adapt sizes in two ways: firstly, by adjusting existing patterns based on one individual’s body measurements and/or fit preference and, secondly, by creating made-to-measure patterns directly from an individual’s body measurements, with no pre-existing pattern. 5Ĭonnection to computerized cutting systems.ĬAD databases streamlined the mass production product development process by storing old patterns for adjustment and reuse. Grading functions to create pattern blocks in multiple sizes from the sample size blocks. Modular piece access and storage for mass production and customization applications. 2Ĭreation of individual and size specifications for ready-to-wear clothing. 1ĭatabase management of patterns for access, manipulation and storage. CAD legacy systems have since been upgraded to provide multidepartment integration and access and to serve a multiplicity of functions including the following.
Most clothing businesses initially adopted CAD to organize and store patterns and to use and adapt them to create new styles over time. The production CAD system is then used for producing of the detail drawings, typically based on DXF files transferred from AutoCAD.ĬAD pattern-making technology was developed as a stand-alone process. One mode of using Design ++ is to use AutoCAD™ as a visualization tool (e.g., for schematics and 3-D layouts) regardless of what system is used for an organization's production CAD system. Once the graphics are “inside the CAD system,” the regular CAD functions such as changing point of view, altering layer colors, removing hidden lines, doing shading, etc.
Other tightly and loosely coupled connections are planned. Currently such connections are available for Computervision and Calma. “Loosely coupled” means that the communication is one way, from Design ++ to the CAD system. Thus, not only are the graphics generated by the symbolic model within Design ++, but location information about an object moved on the CAD canvas may be transmitted back to Design ++ and the underlying symbolic model updated. A “tightly coupled” system (currently AutoCAD) maintains a two-way link. Computer-Aided Design SystemsĬAD systems are either tightly or loosely coupled to Design ++. Levitt, in Artificial Intelligence in Engineering Design, Vol5.4.4.