CAD/CAM IN THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY.

Abstract

CAD/CAM employed in the automotive industry has recently shown amazing progress. As an example of the increased use of CAD/CAM in the automotive industry, the number of computer graphic terminals in use a few years ago was commonly 10-12, while currently, the figure exceeds 100 terminals in many cases. The introduction of CAD/CAM technology was initially centered on the body engineering process, a major bottleneck in car development. This technology is currently employed in other areas as well, such as design and manufacture of mechanical components, and evaluation of vehicle performance related to characteristics such as vibration, noise, and crash analysis. This paper describes the use of CAD/CAM technology in the automotive industry and concentrates on its use in the body engineering process.