Sukhmeet Singh
Technical Support Engineer
Faculty of Design and Innovation
GNA University, Phagwara

Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computer
systems to assist in the creation, modification, analysis,
or optimization of a design whereas Computer-aided
manufacturing (CAM) is the use of computer software
to control machine tools and related machinery in the
manufacturing of workpieces.
While CAD softwares are used to increase the productivity
of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve
communications through documentation, and to create a
database for manufacturing, the primary purpose of CAM
is to create a faster production process and components
and tooling with more precise dimensions and material
consistency, which in some cases, uses only the required
amount of raw material (thus minimizing waste), while
simultaneously reducing energy consumption.
CAD/CAM has become an important technology within
the scope of computer-aided technologies, with benefits
such as lower product development costs and a greatly
shortened design cycle. CAD/CAM enables designers
to layout and develop work on screen, save it for future
editing and thus saving time on their projects. Because
of its enormous economic importance, CAD has been a
major driving force for research in computational geometry,
computer graphics (both hardware and software), and
discrete differential geometry.
CAM may also refer to the use of a computer to assist in
all operations of a manufacturing plant, including planning,
management, transportation and storage. CAD/CAM output
is often in the form of electronic files for print, machining,
or other manufacturing operations. CAM is a subsequent
computer-aided process after computer-aided design (CAD)
and sometimes computer-aided engineering (CAE), as the
model generated in CAD and verified in CAE can be input
into CAM software, which then controls the machine tool.
Thus CAD/CAM is an important industrial art extensively
used in many applications, including automotive,
shipbuilding, aerospace industries, industrial and
architectural design, prosthetics, and many more.

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