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Designing with CAD
Home » Manufacturing » Injection Molding » Designing with CADEach of the different types of CAD systems requires the operator to think differently about how he will use them and he must design his virtual components in a different manner for each.
There are several kinds of systems CAD designers use, including 2D, 3D wireframe (an extention of 2D), 3D “dumb” solids and 3D parametric solids. The differences lie in how the design is shown on the screen – whether just lines outlining the design or actual full-sided objects, – how many details can be added to the drawing and how changes can be made throughout the process.
Top end systems (programs incorporating this technology would include Pro-E and Catia) offer the capabilities to incorporate more organic and ergonomic features into your designs. Surfaces are often combined with solids to allow the designer to create products that fit the human form as well as they interface with the machine.
The CAD operator's ultimate goal should be to make future work on the current project as simple as possible. This requires a solid understanding of the system being used. A little extra time spent now could mean a great savings later.
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