COMPUTER-AIDED DESIGN.

Abstract

Described is an integrated 'computer-aided design' and 'computer-aided manufacture', abbreviated to CAD/CAM, system for designing mechanical parts, in which graphic information can be fed in via an 'interactive display'. By using a light pen to select from basic shapes presented on the picture tube the designer can build up a workpiece step by step in a dialogue with the computer. After an introduction in which conventional designing is described, the article deals with the detailing of a turned part via the display. The method used for describing the basic shapes is borrowed from the workpiece-descriptive programming languages; the CODASYL system, originally designed for commercial data files, is used for storing the workpiece data in the computer memory. In the CAD/CAM system for punched metal parts, now being developed the tools required for its manufacture such as die plates and punches are also designed via the interactive display. The system then performs the programming required for producing these tools on a numerically controlled spark machine. The article concludes with a brief summary of the economic aspects of the systems.