{"id":2909,"date":"2018-01-23T11:00:56","date_gmt":"2018-01-23T17:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.misumiusa.com\/?p=2909"},"modified":"2021-10-29T16:04:03","modified_gmt":"2021-10-29T21:04:03","slug":"what-defines-high-end-cad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/us.misumi-ec.com\/blog\/what-defines-high-end-cad\/","title":{"rendered":"What Defines “High-End” CAD?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Guest writer and Project Supervisor, Christopher Morris, shares his views on what defines “high-end” CAD.\u00a0 Read on as Chris evaluates different platforms. Don’t forget to visit our Application Library InCAD Library<\/a> for hundreds of design ideas and free CAD downloads!<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re familiar with Computer Aided Design (CAD) you\u2019ve likely encountered many of the 60+ commercially available platforms on the market [1]. Most of which are capable of depicting 3D renderings of a conceptual design. Some are even tailored to a specific industry, such as electronics or architecture.<\/p>\n

One distinction that lacks a formal definition is the term \u201chigh-end\u201d CAD. I have most commonly encountered this term when describing\u00a0Siemens\u2019\u00a0NX<\/em><\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0Dassault Syst\u00e8mes’\u00a0CATIA<\/em><\/a>\u00a0platform. While both of these platforms can cost tens of thousands of dollars, what qualities do they possess to be crowned the Bugatti of CAD platforms?<\/p>\n

There are two main factors amongst these high-end platforms that outperform their lesser counterparts.<\/p>\n

Assembly Size<\/strong><\/p>\n

While there may not be a formal limit for all CAD platforms in regards to the number of components within an assembly, it is important to realize there is a performance ceiling. Just because a full functioning passenger vehicle can be designed in\u00a0SOLIDWORKS<\/a>, does not mean it should. Even if the workstation’s RAM, CPU, and GPU are configured to support the demand of rendering a full-scale ocean liner does not ensure the software is capable of complying. For this reason, many players in the Automotive, Aerospace, and Defense sectors utilize high-end CAD platforms.<\/p>\n

PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) \/ Enterprise-Wide Integration<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are about 30,000 components within a typical passenger vehicle; over 5 million in a Boeing 747 [2][3]. Immense collaboration efforts are required for successful production. That being said, design is only a fraction of the production cycle with these complex creations. High-end CAD platforms allow tight integration between design and downstream processes such as procuring, manufacturing, testing, tracking, scheduling, and so much more. Oftentimes, this integration is open to allow IT personnel to create custom solutions that may vary between each company. Mid\/lower level platforms may offer limited support or none at all.<\/p>\n

So much more\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are many other benefits included at the high-end level such as Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) integration. This allows the user to plan and control the machine tools required to manufacture the newly designed component. Many users also find the modeling of complex geometries is more intuitive through high-end surface modeling.<\/p>\n

As with many things in life, \u2018You get what you pay for\u2019. But do you necessarily need what you paid for? Unless you’re planning on bringing home 1st place from the\u00a0Le Mans<\/a>\u00a0event, you may be able to skip the Bugatti and settle for a Jetta.<\/p>\n

For more articles on CAD, check out the below series on CAD:<\/p>\n

CAD Pt 1: Design Before Technology<\/a><\/p>\n

CAD Pt 2: CAD meets CAM<\/a><\/p>\n

CAD Pt 3: Product Management Systems<\/a><\/p>\n

CAD Pt 4: The World of FEA<\/a><\/p>\n

CAD Pt 5: Powerful Simulations<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sources:<\/p>\n

[1] N.A. “List of 3D Modeling Software.”\u00a0Wikipedia<\/em>. Wikimedia Foundation, 26 Mar. 2017. Web. 13 May 2017.<\/p>\n

[2] TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION. “How Many Parts Is Each Car Made Of?”\u00a0Toyota Motor Corporation Official Corporate Site<\/em>. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2017.<\/p>\n

[3] Hill, Kyle. “Extreme Engineering: The Boeing 747.”\u00a0Science-Based Life<\/em>. WordPress, 25 July 2011. Web. 13 May 2017.<\/p>\n

Cover photo Automotive Engineering HQ<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Guest writer and Project Supervisor, Christopher Morris, shares his views on what defines “high-end” CAD.\u00a0 Read on as Chris evaluates different platforms. Don’t forget to visit our Application Library InCAD Library for hundreds of design ideas and free CAD downloads! If you\u2019re familiar with Computer Aided Design (CAD) you\u2019ve likely encountered many of the 60+ commercially available platforms on the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":2914,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[1131,1136],"tags":[236,144,258,341,635,358,342,632,633,360,636,634],"aioseo_notices":[],"gutentor_comment":6,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/us.misumi-ec.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2909"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/us.misumi-ec.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/us.misumi-ec.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/us.misumi-ec.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/us.misumi-ec.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2909"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/us.misumi-ec.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2909\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2916,"href":"https:\/\/us.misumi-ec.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2909\/revisions\/2916"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/us.misumi-ec.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2914"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/us.misumi-ec.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/us.misumi-ec.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/us.misumi-ec.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}