Using Computer Aided Design in CNC Machining

CAD is short for Computer Aided Design. CAD is one of the essential steps in CNC machining. After designing or making a blueprint of your design in your head or on paper, you’ll have to translate your design into ones and zeroes. In other words, CAD is basically translating your designs so that it can be understood by the computer. Using CAD is essential in the CNC Machining process.

CAD, as an essential phase of CNC machining, goes a long way back. CAD was developed in the early 1960’s. It was used to accurately describe designs. This was during the NC era or the numerically controlled era. Manufacturers wanted to be more exact when they were designing parts, machines, objects, and the like.
Through computers, they discovered that they could increase accuracy and minimize errors dramatically. Prints or blueprints were hand drawn before and there were a lot of inaccuracies then. CAD eliminated a lot of those errors.

Obviously, humans are more likely to commit errors than computers. CAD and the CNC machining then took centre stage in the manufacturing arena.

CAD in CNC machining can be classified into two types. The first one is the 2D CAD and the second one is the 3D CAD. 2D CAD is a vector based CAD software package. When you are designing two dimensional objects then using 2D CAD will be an efficient choice.
You won’t be using too much computing power and you’ll be simplifying the software used to design objects.

Moving forward, 3D CAD is the future of CAD. In the world of CNC machining, 3D CAD means up-to-date, sophisticated, modelling software. Surface modelling and solid modelling are the main concerns of 3D CAD. Imagine having the ability to look at your design from any angle.
You can spin the parts around and look at your object from any point of view. If you are making a vase then you can look at it from the bottom, from the top, from a forty five degree angle, and so on and so forth.
You can even manipulate the designs as you look at them.

The CAD design process in CNC machining is broken down into four levels. The first level is the machine level. The machine level is basically the whole machine. This can be the whole car, the whole boat, or whatever final product you have out there. The second level is the group level. This may be the entire chassis or an engine.

Breaking it down further is the third level, the sub assembly level and the fourth level which is the last level, the part level. CNC machining normally makes products part by part at the part level which are assembled later on.

There are several CAD software packages for CNC machining that are available in the market today. There are free ones and there are those that cost thousands and thousands of dollars.
They basically differ in the number of design tools available. Examples of CAD software packages used in CNC machining are Rhinoceros, Rhino 3D, Rhino CAD, SolidWorks, AutoCAD Inventor, and Alibre Design.

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