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Computer-Aided Design aka CAD has become an integral part of product designing and manufacturing because of the convenience and cost-efficiency it offers to the manufacturers of various industries. Right from customized and personal items such as jewellery, medical prosthetics to mass-produced consumer electronics and devices, CAD has brought about a paradigm shift in the way product designers conceptualize and execute their designs. This is well supported with the advancements in the internet and digital technologies, which renders additional and enhanced features to the CAD software.
Let us delve a little deeper to understand how CAD is reframing the Product Design Technology, starting from the history of product design to the future of CAD in Product Design Services.
Product Design and CAD: Evolution
Product Design: History before CAD
Product Design is the set of activities required to create a new product. It starts from identifying a problem that can be solved with a design solution; and involves many stages. Product Design dates back to the period of Industrial Revolution when machines were used to manufacture products. This enabled manufactures to mass produce a product. Mass production brought about economies of scale and a consumer-based economy was established. Product designers gained equal footing and an emphasis was laid on delivering better value to the customer. Products were now better designed and sleeker, lighter and more appealing.
However, despite of technological advancement and modernity, the tools utilized to create these designs were traditional such as paper, pencil, and related drawing supplements. Creating and modifying designs were tedious and time consuming.
Introduction of 2D CAD in Product Design
By the end of 60s, after 2 decades of modifications and innovations, initial 2D CAD software was ready to be used for industries. The early adopters of CAD technology were players in the aerospace engineering and automotive fields as precision and speed were the key advantages that CAD offered. However, till this point of time, there was no generalized software and each company devised their own 2D software to suit their needs.
3D modeling Services and designing was introduced in the early 70s which saw a refinement and growth through the 70s and early 80s. Launch of AutoCAD in 1982 brought about a sea change towards adopting a more generalized software. This point marked a turning point and brought digital technology to the table of all designers.
CAD for Product Design Today
CAD has evolved from its humble beginnings and is now capable of executing more complex functions. Designers working on 2D drafts or 3D wireframes are a thing of the past. Product designers now create solid 3D models of the product with all the functionalities and features of the intended final product. Furthermore, this design is analysed and tested in different CAE software for different parameters such as pressure, heat, physical stress, and other conditions. Thus, modern day CAD solutions enable designers to create and modify new designs quickly and precisely while providing a more viable design for manufacturing even before prototyping.