Three Out of Two

This article reviews computer-aided design (CAD) software that is meant to function as more than a drawing tool; design offices and general contractors are still learning how to take advantage of its full potential even as the software systems mature. CAD systems are used to sell products before they are produced, to warehouse past designs in a central library, and to describe an intended design to a parts supplier. Traditional wisdom holds that 2D CAD systems are best suited to products with simple geometries that can be easily represented without considerable interpretive errors, products such as the nozzles. Often, 2D drawings can be ambiguous and are open to errors in interpretation, especially in cases of complex designs, according to the Queensland Manufacturing Institute (QMI) report. Century Tool wanted to use the 3D CAD software to check for interferences in the design of a part a customer had charged Century Tool with building.