In the traditional design and drafting process there are some errors on number of occasions in design and drafting which get amplified by the time design reaches production shop floor. These errors are minimized with CADD systems.
In the traditional design and drafting process there are some errors on number of occasions. It is a common scene that the production engineer complains that the product that has been designed and drafted just cannot be manufactured because the dimensions, material specifications and fits are absurd. In such cases the drawings are sent back to the draftsman or the designer who point out the mistakes made in the design or drawing and make necessary corrections so that the manufacturing of object is feasible. While all these changes are being carried out lots of time is wasted. Though the object was designed properly, the specifications and dimensions were not passed on correctly down the line due to human errors of designer or draftsman. I myself have worked in manual design and drafting atmosphere and have noticed that there used to be frequent complaints from our production side for the absurd specifications and dimensions.
How Computer Aided Design and Drawing (CADD) System Helps Reduce Errors
This is no more the case with companies using computer aided design and drafting. There are intrinsic features in CADD software that help avoid design, drafting and documentation errors. One of the most common errors with the manual process is related to compilation of the bills of materials, since this is lengthy and time consuming process. CAD systems virtually eliminate these errors simply because no manual handling is required once the initial drawing has been made.
The CAD systems can automatically carry out a number of repetitive tasks like placing multiple symbols, use drawings from the library and stored drawings, etc. This not only increases speed of the work but also reduce stress caused on the designer due to repetitive tasks. This combined with the fact that the standard parts are free from errors, help in overall reduction in errors in design and drawings. Further, the CADD systems are highly interactive systems hence they can be programmed to ask the questions wherever there are chances of making errors thus further reducing the errors.
The reduction in errors helps reduce the precious time that would have gone into finding the errors and nullifying them. It increases the overall productivity of the designer and the firm.
Reference
Book: CAD/CAM: Computer Aided Design and Manufacturing by Mikell P. Groover and Emory W. Zimmers
This post is part of the series: Benefits of Computer Aided Design. Benefits of CAD Software.
This is the series of articles that describes the benefits of computer aided design or CAD software, like improvement in productivity, shorter lead times, better quality of drawing, reduced errors, etc.
- Benefits of Using Computer Aided Design (CAD) Software - Increase in Productivity
- Benefits of Computer Aided Designing or CAD Software – Short lead times
- Benefits of Computer Aided Design – Improvement in Design
- Benefits of Computer Aided Design and Drafting (CADD): Fewer Errors in Design and Drafting
- Benefits of Computer Aided Design Sofware: Ease of Manufacturing
- Benefits of Computer Aided Design Software
