CAD and Product Design: Stages, Models, and Benefits

Posted on Mar 17, 2025 in Industrial Process Engineering

CAD and Product Design

In product design, a prototype is developed and evaluated to determine the acceptance, rejection, or revision of the design.

Model Trial and Evaluation

In CAD, the topology, shapes, and dimensions of the product are graphically displayed on a computer.

Geometric Modeling

This stage of CAD is important for communicating design information to other areas without loss of information.

Documentation and Information Interchange

In CAD, the design is evaluated to check if it complies with customer specifications and requirements.

Engineering Analysis

This stage involves communicating the design project and must be supported by top management.

Final Design

The main objective of this stage of CAD is to optimize the design.

Design Evaluation and Revision

This type of 3D object offers the advantage that they are easily transferred among different design software without losing quality and design information:

Wireframe

This type of 3D object contains all the information for the representation of a model, including characteristics that will be used during the fabrication of the product.

Solid

The main application of this type of 3D object is Engineering Analysis.

Surface

What is a neutral file?

It is used for data exchange; it’s a type of file that allows the engineer to use the design software of their choice.

Where does any design process start?

During the preliminary design stage, the product is defined in terms of its purpose, how it will be manufactured, and other physical attributes and specifications.

(True or False: A 3D Model is enough to represent all the geometry and other parameters of product in an engineering drawing)

FALSE

Mention 5 elements that should be included on a title block of an engineering drawing:

tolerances, surface finish, dimensions, Drawing number, Original scale

Explain the concept of CAD

Computer-Aided Design is a Geometric Modeling System that helps to automate designs in a manufacturing process.

Explain 3 benefits of CAD:
Better Quality: CAD software allows for more accurate and neat drawings, greatly reducing the chance of mistakes.
Higher Productivity: Creating designs on a computer with CAD is faster and more efficient than drawing by hand.
Database Creation: CAD helps create a complete database for design elements, making it easier to organize and access information.
What is a Solid model?
It’s the complete projection of a 3D model with additional information of given parts.
What is the purpose of the Design Evaluation and Revision stage?
To verify if there are any areas with issues and to see if there are improvement areas.
Explain the Geometric Modeling phase of CAD:
It is the first phase of CAD where you define the geometry of the product, certain aspects as dimensions, tolerance, surface finish, etc. All of that by drawing.
Explain the three stages for product design:
– Initial design: we can do an initial design of what we are doing.
– Evaluation and revision: check if all the information is correct and if we want to change something.
– Prototype: we make the prototype of the design and make a presentation of it.
What are the main advantages of a wireframe over other 3D models?
Wireframes are easier to use and almost all computers can handle them.
Describe the main application of a surface model:
The surface model adds additional information to the object. It displays graphic colors that can be applied to analyze certain properties of the product like: strength of the material, heat resistance, etc.
¿Cuáles son las 3 garantías que representan los colores de la bandera nacional?
  • Blanco = religión
  • Verde = independencia
  • Rojo = unión