Experience with the development and use of a CAD/CAM system

Abstract

Systrid is a CAD/CAM (Computer Aided Design/Computer Aided Manufacturing) software package that is used today by about a dozen European companies. It is mainly used in the design, analysis and machining of complex-surfaced parts. Development of Systrid is currently being carried out by the Geneva, Switzerland Division and the Columbus, U.S.A. Division of the Battelle Memorial Institute making if now available to companies in the U.S.A. as well. This paper is divided into four sections which together give a full description of how the system has been developed and how it is used. The first section covers some of the mathematical background to the system and shows how this is related to design and manufacturing requirements. The second section describes how, from the computer point of view, the Systrid software package is developed and maintained to run on several different computers and graphic screens. The third section shows how the system is seen by the users, and covers topics such as history, applications, training, documentation, user interface and so on. The final section describes future developments of Systrid. © 1983.