Although this blog based on CAD may not seem relevant to the context of CNC machining to some people, it is an integral part of the same. The three processes of CAD, CAM and CNC go hand in hand and none is complete without the other.Now CAD refers to the process of Computer Aided Design which, as the name suggests, refers to the production of drawings and graphics about the part to be designed in computer software based on the requirements of the client or the organization ordering the same.
There are several professional software packages available for carrying out computer aided design which includes those such as AutoCAD, Rhino and Pro-Engineer to name but a few. These software packages have lot of inbuilt utilities and functions which make it relatively easier for an engineer or a designer to design products which are then later manufactured using computerized machines.
The file type used for storing CAD data is named as DXF, which is compatible with most popular CNC tool softwares. Hence we see that CAD defines the first step towards designing parts of a machine for later manufacturing on computer controlled machines known as CNC machines about which we will learn more during this blogging.