Archive for Blog

Welcome to What is CAD

September 9, 2021 Computer Aided Deisgn No comments

WhatIsCad.co.uk is here to be an informative resource on everything to do with Computer Aided Design (CAD). We aim to cover everything with informative pages and blog posts on everything from CAD drawing to information on what exactly CAD, CAM and CNC are, explanations and definitions of various jargon used in the CAD industry, information on the software used in the CAD process and information about how CAD services can help you with your project.

We’re currently in the process of updating the site (it’s been languishing since 2014) and we have a team busy writing some more, fresh, up to date content about CAD in 2021

So bear with us, we’ll be updating everything soon and bringing you what’s new in the industry.

Important considerations before you outsource CAD design

July 1, 2021 Computer Aided Deisgn No comments
CAD Circuit Board

Outsourcing CAD design to a third party provider is commonplace today and with many providers on the market, both here in the UK and overseas it can be a daunting task to decide which CAD design company you should use and whether or not you will get a better deal by going abroad.

Whatever decision you make it shouldn’t be a decision purely driven by cost. There are other important considerations as well. For example:

Quality: Technical drawings in the UK have to adhere to stringent British Standards and go through a rigorous testing and quality control process before a product is manufactured and distributed to market.

Copyright – Any designs that are produced in the UK have to comply with the Copyright, Design and Patent Act 1988. Any infringements to this are a civil offence. Placing your technical drawings and design concepts with an outsourced provider requires trust that your designs will be kept private and not passed to anybody else. UK law will protect your designs from any such infringements and violations.

Language – Technical jargon and important specifications can easily be lost in translation so it is critical that the company you are outsourcing to have a detailed understanding of your needs and that there is no misinterpretation of your project requirements.

Before choosing an outsourced provider you should be satisfied that all the above concerns are addressed and that you can be confident that your CAD design project is in safe and professional hands.

The growth of 3D modelling

June 27, 2014 Computer Aided Deisgn No comments
CAD Design

3D modelling in the CAD design industry has gone from strength to strength in recent years and now examples of 3D modelling software are evident across a number of industries. Here are just some of the sectors where the use of 3D modelling software has become commonplace:

Architecture – the days of hand-drawn blueprints and plans for a new building are now long gone. 3D modelling now adds depth and perspective to initial designs. The ability to give both birds-eye views and ground perspectives of buildings allows architects to showcase their work more effectively to clients than ever before.

Video Gaming – video gaming is huge at the moment and with the advent of wearable technology, the realism deployed in video gaming is staggering. None of this would be possible without 3D modelling. The scenes, props and characters are brought to life through 3D providing a visual reality that has made gaming hugely popular.

Film & TV – 3D modelling is used extensively across the entertainment industry. Whether for special effects, creating scenes and backgrounds or CGI, the use of 3D modelling has revolutionised the industry

Marketing – 3D modelling is used effectively in product development to fine tune the production process. It can be used to create prototypes as well as new packaging. The design can be refined before it goes to production and ultimately save time and money in the product development process.

Publishing – The use of 3D modelling in publishing is becoming more evident in the production of text books and illustrated publications. 3D modelling allows for the creation of fantasy images and depictions of the future.

Science – Whether it’s recreating the flight of a bird, the effects of an earthquake or the geological formation of a volcano, 3D modelling is used extensively in science to illustrate the world around us.

These are just some of the industries that have been changed by 3D modelling. As the world of 3D modelling evolves and 3D printing becomes more prevalent it will be fascinating to see what lies in store for the future.

Two Great Reasons for Outsourcing CAD Drawings

April 7, 2014 Computer Aided Deisgn No comments

Outsourcing anything can be a bit of a leap of faith but when it comes to CAD design and drawings it can pay to take that leap and there are two main reasons why. Let’s take a look at those two reasons:

It will save you money – Yes, it’s true. If CAD isn’t your main raison d’être and you don’t have a constant need for it then it doesn’t make a lot of financial sense to employ your own in-house team to do it. They won’t be busy enough and you won’t be able to justify the costs of employing them. Not only that, when it comes to CAD you have all the equipment and software licences to consider. Better to outsource and save yourself the burden.

Quick turnaround – By dealing with a third party provider like DATS Cad Services whose prime purpose is to produce CAD drawings and design services, you can be sure that they have all the know-how, processes, management structures and equipment in place to provide the kind of focus you need on your project. This means that they can turn it around quicker and you will be able to reap the benefits within your own organisation at a speedier rate.

Any business that requires CAD drawings clearly operate in an environment where the output has to be precise and the delivery needs to be spot on. Keeping control and retaining the quality is a key concern for any business when outsourcing so that’s why it pays to outsource to companies like DATS Cad Services who are one of the UK’s top providers for outsourced CAD design services. With a string of high profile clients in their portfolio, quality and precision is the only thing that passes muster.

How CAD Design got rid of calluses!

March 18, 2014 Computer Aided Deisgn No comments

There’s no doubt that the emergence of CAD Design has revolutionised the manufacturing and engineering design industry but there’s still a few ‘old school’ draughtsmen out there who yearn for the old days of pencil and paper.

It’s definitely true that some of the draughtsmen in the ‘Pre-CAD design years’ were truly artists who could create drawings with extraordinary attention to detail and depth which can almost compare to some of today’s 3D modelling.

Draughtsmen who started their careers before CAD still retain a certain amount of affection for the old drawing boards, compasses, protractors, triangles, erasers and various other devices that were needed for preparing a drawing by hand. Some would say that they miss the mental agility required to create really challenging and complex drawings which CAD can now turnaround significantly faster.

What they don’t miss however are the calluses that used to appear on the fingers from repetitive drawing for 7 to 8 hours a day. There would also be pencil grooves that formed on the writing fingers that simply wouldn’t go away!

CAD may have got rid of the calluses and pencil grooves but the mental agility is still needed. CAD started to emerge in the 1960s and really started to gather pace by the late 1980s early 1990s. The transition from drafting to CAD design has brought about unequalled precision at a fraction of the time and cost. Repetitive drawings are easily produced and CAD design is behind all the mass manufacturing of electronics that we see today.

So would a draughtsman abandon CAD design and go back to the drawing board? Not a chance. The rose-tinted spectacles may still be on but the reality of modern design and all its complexities and challenges requires a new type of expertise that CAD design delivers in abundance.

An insight into CAD and its uses

November 27, 2013 Computer Aided Deisgn No comments

Computer Aided Design (CAD) software can be adapted to create system components and structures such as circuit boards and mobile phones. The primary application of CAD is for drafting and designing, meaning there are numerous advantages of using these systems in many different types of industrial organisations.

Firstly, CAD enables a company to make templates to use again and again. A component can be designed and saved for future reference. This also means copies can be created easily and efficiently. If the use has an idea for the development of a design he/she can modify the design rather than starting from scratch and using expensive resources. Products can be mass-produced on a low-cost scale, therefore it is so much easier for supply to meet demand in the industry.

Accuracy is vastly improved with CAD and, as a result, errors are greatly reduced. Human error is almost eradicated when using CAD to design a component. If the design created by the worker is accurate then it is up to the CAD machine to accurately design the product.

The CAD paperwork means the geometries and dimensions of a design can be safely stored for future use and reference. For product specifications data such as colour tones and shape can also be stored on the design. When creating a new or similar product to an old one the user can refer to previous designs and follow the specifications available to mass-produce similar items.

CAD software enables the designer to visualise the final product, as well as to analyse and document the design. Conclusively, the productivity of the designer is increased and the long-term efficiency of the business is increased.

CAD is revolutionary in that it can help a company mass-produce sturdy, quality designs. Customers will see your firm as a reliable source of quality products and components and this will ensure repeat business. Resource wastage is drastically minimized and you are left with a viable and economical production technique.

Great reasons for outsourcing CAD design work

September 13, 2013 Blog No comments

Outsourcing anything can be a bit of a leap of faith but when it comes to CAD design and drawings it can pay to take that leap and there are two main reasons why. Let’s take a look at those two reasons:

It will save you money – Yes, it’s true. If CAD isn’t your main raison d’être and you don’t have a constant need for it then it doesn’t make a lot of financial sense to employ your own in-house team to do it. They won’t be busy enough and you won’t be able to justify the costs of employing them. Not only that, when it comes to CAD you have all the equipment and software licences to consider. Better to outsource and save yourself the burden.

Quick turnaround – By dealing with a third party provider like DATS CAD Services whose prime purpose is to produce CAD drawings and design services, you can be sure that they have all the know-how, processes, management structures and equipment in place to provide the kind of focus you need on your project. This means that we can turn it around quicker and you will be able to reap the benefits within your own organisation at a speedier rate.

Any business that requires CAD drawings clearly operate in an environment where the output has to be precise and the delivery needs to be spot on. Keeping control and retaining the quality is a key concern for any business when outsourcing so that’s why it pays to outsource to companies like DATS CAD Services who are one of the UK’s top providers for outsourced CAD design services. With a string of high profile clients in their portfolio, quality and precision is the only thing that passes muster.

Check out http://datscadservices.co.uk/ to find out more about outsourcing CAD and how it can help you.

CAD Drawing

November 8, 2012 Computer Aided Deisgn No comments

In many industries CAD is used in projects for the process of creating a technical drawing using computer software – allowing for improved quality of design, improved planning through documentation and a physical visible representation of the finished product. CAD drawing is often much more than simple shapes or drawings however, and can include the drafting of further information such as materials required, processes carried out, dimensions and tolerations.

Many businesses hire the services of an outsourced CAD company who can help design figures in two-dimensional space or complete solids in three-dimensional spaces. 2D and 3D CAD drawing services can be an excellent solution for projects in numerous industries from aerospace to civil engineering, automobile manufacturing and many more. CAD drawing is also widely used for the production of computer animation for special effects in cinematography and for advertising. The goal of a CAD drawing is usually to increase efficiency and allow for an accurate representation of the intended final product, with information to help throughout the projects design.

Find out more about CAD drawings and the CAD drawing service provided by DATS CAD Services here.

Uses of CAD

November 8, 2012 Computer Aided Deisgn No comments

Computer Aided Design, or CAD for short is the designing and developing of products such as buildings, bridges, motorways, aircrafts, ships, cars, cameras, phones, televisions, clothing, and many more through the use of computers. CAD is used throughout the design process from the theoretical design or layout right through to the engineering of the components. There are numerous fields which use CAD including but not limited to: Architecture, Industrial Design, Engineering, Agricultural Design, Construction, Aerospace, Automotive and Consumer Goods.

In these fields CAD usually refers to the technical drawing of the project, using a computer instead of traditional practices such as drawing boards. There are many specialist software and pre-existing component drawings which are used by the operator to produce drawings and specifications that are later used to estimate the materials required to complete the project before ultimately producing the product. CAD is also used in civil engineering for the design of roads, sites, drainage and mapping and it is often used by interior designers to provide a detailed visual design to customers for a more precise image of what the project will look like on completion.

If you work in any of these industries and have a project, no matter what size, outsourcing to a professional CAD services company can speed up the development of your project. DATS CAD Services are a flexible outsourcing resource for all your 2D and 3D drawing requirements and their team of highly experienced experts are fully equipped to handle any project. Visit their website to find out more about the CAD services they provide.