Do you know CAD (auto CAD) meant?

CAD originally meant Computer Aided Drafting because in the early days CAD was really a replacement for the traditional drafting board. Now, CAD usually means Computer Aided Design to reflect the fact that modern CAD tools do much more than just drafting.

CAD is used to design, develop and optimize products, which can be goods used by end consumers or intermediate goods used in other products. CAD is also extensively used in the design of tools and macry used in the manufacture of components, and in the drafting and design of all types of buildings, from small residential types (houses) to the largest commercial and industrial structures (hospitals and factories).

CAD is mainly used for detailed engineering of 3D models and/or 2D drawings of physical components, but it is also used throughout the engineering process from conceptual design and layout of products, through strength and dynamic analysis of assemblies to definition of manufacturing methods of components.

CAD has become an especially important technology, within CAx, with benefits, such as lower product development costs and a greatly shortened design cycle, because CAD enables designers to lay out and develop their work on screen, print it out and save it for future editing, saving a lot of time on their drawings.

The capabilities of modern CAD systems include:

1. Wireframe geometry creation
2. 3D parametric feature based modelling, Solid modelling
3. Freeform surface modelling
4. Automated design of assemblies, which are collections of parts and/or other assemblies
5. create Engineering drawings from the solid models
6. Reuse of design components
7. Ease of modification of design of model and the production of multiple versions
8. Automatic generation of standard components of the design
9. Validation/verification of designs against specifications and design rules
10. Simulation of designs without building a physical prototype
11. Output of engineering documentation, such as manufacturing drawings, and Bills of
12. Materials to reflect the BOM required to build the product
13. Import/Export routines to exchange data with other software packages
14. Output of design data directly to manufacturing facilities
15. Output directly to a Rapid Prototyping or Rapid Manufacture Machine for industrial prototypes
16. maintain libraries of parts and assemblies
17. calculate mass properties of parts and assemblies
18. aid visualization with shading, rotating, hidden line removal, etc...
19. Bi-directional parametric association (modification of any feature is reflected in all information relying on that feature; drawings, mass properties, assemblies, etc... and counter wise)
20. kinematics, interference and clearance checking of assemblies
21. sheet metal
22. hose/cable routing
23. electrical component packaging
24. inclusion of programming code in a model to control and relate desired attributes of the model
25. Programmable design studies and optimization
26. Sophisticated visual analysis routines, for draft, curvature, curvature continuityl