CAD

Computer Aided Design (commonly abbreviated CAD) is a technology for creating schematics, blueprints, prototypes, mock-ups and designs of architectural, mechanical, geospatial and engineering-oriented models. The models could be of just about anything, with some come examples being: products, houses, buildings, property layouts, etc...

CAM

Computer Aided Manufacturing (commonly abbreviated CAM) is a technology for reading schematics, blueprints, prototypes, mock-ups and designs of architectural, mechanical, geospatial and engineering-oriented models which have been authored in CAD. These models are interpreted into specific dimensions, shapes/sizes, scale/measurements, possibly even textures/materials, and then created by a single CAM physical manufacturing machine (similar to modern 3D printers), or a broad set of machines/tools/stations (i.e. in a factory assembly-line) that each interpret, work with and produce sections of the CAD model, to eventually combine all the parts required for a finished product.

AutoCAD

Automatic Computer Aided Design (commonly abbreviated AutoCAD) is a software by AutoDesk built atop existing CAD specifications and applications. AutoCAD was one of the first CAD programs to run on personal computers, and it also supports a number of application programming interfaces (APIs) for customization and automation. It is the latter quality of automation of design tasks which earned AutoCAD its current high reputation and usage in design tasks across a large number of industries.

• wikipedia: AutoCAD

Tools

CAD

• Free Mechanical Engineering -- CAD Software: http://www.freebyte.com/cad/cad.htm

AutoCAD

• AutoDesk's original AutoCAD software: http://autocad.com/
• AutoCAD converter (No need to upgrade to the next version of AutoCAD software): http://www.dwggateway.com/

Project Butterfly

Project Butterfly is a Web-based, collaborative AutoCAD tool.

• Project Butterfly BETA: http://butterfly.labs.autodesk.com/
• Project Butterfly (info): http://labs.autodesk.com/technologies/butterfly/

Resources

• Lynda - CAD courses: https://www.lynda.com/CAD-training-tutorials/1665-0.html
• Lynda - AutoCAD courses: https://www.lynda.com/AutoCAD-training-tutorials/160-0.html

Tutorials

• A Brief Introduction to CAD File Formats: http://blog.grabcad.com/blog/2013/04/22/a-brief-introduction-to-cad-file-formats/
• How CAD works (and how industries use it): https://www.scan2cad.com/cad/how-engineers-use-cad/

• How to Use AutoCAD: https://www.wikihow.com/Use-AutoCAD
• How to use SketchUP for CAD: http://archive.fabacademy.org/archives/2017/fablabcept/students/197/computer-aided-design.html

External Links

• wikipedia: Computer-aided design
• wikipedia: AutoCAD
• Evolution of Computer-Aided Design: http://www.digitaleng.news/de/evolution-of-computer-aided-design/
• Computer-aided design/History, Present and Future: https://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Computer-aided_design/History,_Present_and_Future
• Visualization Tool Provides CAD/CAE File Interoperability: https://www.engineering.com/DesignSoftware/DesignSoftwareArticles/ArticleID/13805/Visualization-Tool-Provides-CADCAE-File-Interoperability.aspx (also includes VRML & STL support)
• Does CAD make better cars than human designs?: https://auto.howstuffworks.com/under-the-hood/auto-manufacturing/cad-vs-human-car-design.htm
• Computer-aided Design (CAD) at Siemns: https://www.plm.automation.siemens.com/global/en/our-story/glossary/computer-aided-design-cad/12507
• Computer-Aided Design (CAD) and Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM): https://www.inc.com/encyclopedia/computer-aided-design-cad-and-computer-aided-cam.html

See Also

3D | Design | 3D Printing | VRML | Visualization