Principles of CAD/CAM/CAE Systems.

Аннотация

With the dramatic changes in computing power and wider availability of software tools for design and production, engineers are now using CAD/CAM/CAE systems for everyday tasks, not just for demonstrations. International competition, decreased availability of skilled labor, and increased emphasis on quality are also forcing manufacturers to use CAD/CAM/CAE systems to automate their design and production processes. As a result, educators in engineering schools are experiencing a new pressure to change the way they teach design-related courses in order to equip their students to interact with CAD/CAM/CAE systems and have a knowledge of their fundamental principles. The objective of this book is to present the fundamental principles and concepts underlying CAD/CAM/CAE systems rather than explain the use of specific systems. Some people may argue that it is enough to teach a student how to use existing systems or even a specific popular system because the student as an engineer will be the user--not the developer-of such systems. However, in order to use existing software effectively and create usable macros or programs for automated design, the user must understand both the computing environment and the underlying system principles. With this knowledge of the fundamentals, the student can quickly learn a specific system within a specific environment and use it to its maximum capability. Furthermore, manuals and documentation that are typically provided with CAD/CAM/CAE systems tend to concentrate on the user interface and its syntax, assuming that the user has a sound theoretical background. A user who does not have this background will have trouble understanding the terminology of system documentation and will also have trouble dealing with system errors.