Technical means of computer-aided design. Computer-aided design information technology

Lecture 7 Applied information technology: information technology in education, computer-aided design technology Plan Information Technology in education Computer-aided design information technologies

Information technologies in education In the process of informatization of education, it is necessary to highlight the following aspects: Methodological aspect Economic aspect Technical aspect Technological aspect Methodological aspect

Methodological aspect. The main problem is the development of the basic principles of the educational process, corresponding to the modern level of information technology. At this stage, new technologies are artificially superimposed on traditional educational forms.

The economic aspect. The economic basis of the information society are the branches of the information industry (telecommunications, computer, electronic, audiovisual), which are undergoing a process of technological convergence and corporate mergers. There is an intensive process of transformation of "electronic commerce" in telecommunications into a means of doing business.

The technical aspect. At present, a fairly large number of software and technical developments have been created and implemented that implement individual information technologies using incompatible technical and software tools, which complicates replication, becomes an obstacle to communication with information resources and computer equipment. Therefore, the novelty of this project is the development of a standard model of informatization with all the components of computerization and types of support.

Technological aspect. The technological basis of the information society is telecommunication and information technologies, which have become the leaders of technological progress, an integral element of any modern technologies and the emergence of the information society.

Methodological aspect. The main advantages of modern information technologies (visibility, the ability to use combined forms of information presentation - data, stereo sound, graphics, animation, processing and storage of large amounts of information, access to world information resources) should become the basis for supporting the educational process.

Efficiency of using information resources in teaching The main factors affecting the efficiency of using information resources in the educational process: 1. Information overload is a reality. 2. The introduction of modern information technologies is advisable if it allows you to create additional opportunities in the following areas: access to a large volume of educational information; figurative visual form of presentation of the studied material; support for active teaching methods; the possibility of nested modular presentation of information. 3. Fulfillment of the following didactic requirements: expediency of presentation of educational material; sufficiency, clarity, completeness, modernity and structuredness of educational material; multi-layered presentation of educational material according to the level of complexity; timeliness and completeness control questions and tests; logging of actions during work; interactivity, the ability to choose a mode of work with educational material; 4. Computer support for each subject studied.

Positive and negative qualities of using IT for greater adaptation of the student to the educational material; the possibility of choosing a method of mastering the subject that is more suitable for the student; regulation of the intensity of training at various stages of the educational process; self-control; Access to educational resources of the Russian and world level; support of active teaching methods; figurative visual form of presentation of the studied material; modular construction principle; development of self-study. psychobiological cultural, threatening the identity of the trainees; socio-economic creating unequal opportunities for quality education; political, contributing to the destruction of civil society in nation states; Ethical and legal, leading to uncontrolled copying and use of someone else's intellectual property.

Directions of using information technologies At present, the following directions of using information technologies are widely used: Computer programs and training systems (ITO). Systems based on multimedia technology, built using video technology. Intelligent training expert systems Information environments based on databases and knowledge bases. Telecommunication systems that implement e-mail, teleconferencing, etc. Electronic desktop typography. Electronic libraries of both distributed and centralized nature Geographic information systems Information security systems of various orientations.

Computer-aided design information technology In the modern information society, ideas about the purpose and capabilities of computer-aided design (CAD) are needed. Such systems allow you to quickly create a drawing or diagram.

The main directions of creating CAD products are a universal graphic package for plane drawing, volumetric modeling and photorealistic visualization; an open graphical environment for creating applications (CAD itself for solving various design and technical problems in various fields); graphical editor and graphical application environment; open design environment; CAD for non-professionals

Cell-level CAD (P - CAD, OrCAD, DesignLab, ACCEL EDA, CADdy), providing circuit input, wiring and production of printed circuit boards; schematic CAD (PSpice, MicroCAP, Electronics Workbench, SISIE, MR-CAD, Sympathy, CircuitMaker, Dynamo), providing schematic input and modeling; CAD of volumetric structures (AutoCAD, EUCLID, T-FLEX CAD, etc.), providing the development and release of design documentation.

From the PIE Wiki

Computer-aided design system (CAD) is an organizational and technical system consisting of a set of design automation tools and a team of specialists from departments design organization performing computer-aided design of an object, which is the result of the activities of the design organization.

Introduction to CAD

Design automation takes a special place among information technologies. First, design automation is a synthetic discipline, and many other modern information technologies are its constituent parts. So, the technical support of computer-aided design (CAD) systems is based on the use of computer networks and telecommunication technologies, in CAD systems are used personal computers and workstations.

CAD software is distinguished by the richness and variety of methods used in computational mathematics, statistics, mathematical programming, discrete mathematics, and artificial intelligence. CAD software systems are among the most complex modern software systems based on the Unix operating systems, Windows 95 / NT, programming languages. С, С ++, Java and other modern CASE technologies, relational and object-oriented database management systems (DBMS), open systems standards and data exchange in computer environments.

Secondly, knowledge of the basics of design automation and the ability to work with CAD tools is required for almost any engineer-developer. Design departments, design bureaus and offices are saturated with computers. The work of a designer at an ordinary drawing board, calculations using a slide rule or the design of a report on a typewriter have become an anachronism. Enterprises that develop without CAD or with only a small degree of their use turn out to be uncompetitive both because of the large material and time costs for design, and because of the low quality of projects. The appearance of the first programs for design automation abroad and in the USSR dates back to the early 60s. Then programs were created for solving problems of structural mechanics, analyzing electronic circuits, designing printed circuit boards.

Further development of CAD followed the path of creating hardware and software for computer graphics, increasing the computational efficiency of modeling and analysis programs, expanding the areas of CAD application, simplifying the user interface, and introducing artificial intelligence elements into CAD.

To date, a large number of software and methodological complexes for CAD with various degrees of specialization and application orientation have been created. As a result, design automation has become a necessary component of the training of engineers of various specialties; an engineer who does not possess the knowledge and cannot work in CAD cannot be considered a full-fledged specialist.

CAD training for engineers of various specialties includes basic and special components. The most general provisions, models and methods of computer-aided design are included in the program of the course on the basics of CAD, a more detailed study of those methods and programs that are specific to specific specialties is provided in specialized disciplines.

Basic principles of CAD construction

CAD development is a major scientific and technical problem, and its implementation requires significant capital investment. The accumulated experience allows us to highlight the following basic principles of CAD construction.

1. CAD is a human-machine system. All computer-assisted design systems created and created are automated, an important role in them is played by a person - an engineer who develops a project of a technical means.

At the present time and at least in the coming years, the creation of automated design systems is not expected, and nothing threatens human monopoly when making key decisions in the design process. A person in CAD must solve, firstly, all tasks that are not formalized, and secondly, tasks that a person performs on the basis of his heuristic abilities more efficiently than a modern computer based on his computational capabilities. Close interaction of a person and a computer in the design process is one of the principles of building and operating a CAD system.

2. CAD is a hierarchical system that implements an integrated approach to the automation of all design levels. The hierarchy of design levels is reflected in the structure of a special software CAD in the form of a hierarchy of subsystems.

It should be especially emphasized the advisability of ensuring the integrated nature of CAD, since design automation at only one of the levels turns out to be much less effective than full automation at all levels. Hierarchical structure refers not only to special software, but also to CAD hardware, divided into a central computer complex and automated workstations for designers.

3. CAD - a set of information-consistent subsystems. This very important principle should apply not only to connections between large subsystems, but also to connections between smaller parts of subsystems. Information consistency means that all or most of the possible sequences of design tasks are served by information consistent programs. Two programs are informationally consistent if all the data that are the object of processing in both programs are included in numeric arrays that do not require changes when moving from one program to another. So, informational connections can be manifested in the fact that the results of solving one problem will be the initial data for another problem. If the coordination of programs requires significant processing of the general array with the participation of a person who adds the missing parameters, manually recombines the array, or changes the numerical values of individual parameters, then the programs are informationally inconsistent. Manual repackaging of the array leads to significant time delays, an increase in the number of errors and therefore reduces the demand for CAD services. Information inconsistency turns CAD into a set of stand-alone programs, while the quality of design decisions is reduced due to neglect in subsystems of many factors estimated in other subsystems.

4. CAD is an open and evolving system. There are at least two good reasons why CAD should be a time-varying system. First, the development of such a complex object as a CAD system takes a long time, and it is economically profitable to put into operation parts of the system as soon as they are ready. The basic version of the system put into operation is further expanded. Secondly, the constant progress of technology, designed objects, computing technology and computational mathematics leads to the emergence of new, more perfect mathematical models and programs that should replace the old, less successful analogs. Therefore, CAD should be an open system, that is, possess the property of ease of use of new methods and tools.

5. CAD is a specialized system with the maximum use of unified modules. Demands for high efficiency and versatility are usually contradictory. This provision remains valid for CAD. The high efficiency of CAD, expressed primarily by low time and material costs in solving design problems, is achieved through the specialization of systems. Obviously, the number of different CAD systems is growing at the same time. To reduce the development costs of many specialized CAD systems, it is advisable to build them on the basis of maximum use of unified component parts. A prerequisite unification is the search common features and provisions in modeling, analysis and synthesis of dissimilar technical objects. Certainly, a number of other principles can be formulated, which emphasizes the versatility and complexity of the CAD problem.

Systematic approach to design

The basic ideas and principles of designing complex systems are expressed in a systems approach. For a specialist in the field of systems engineering, they are obvious and natural, however, their observance and implementation is often associated with certain difficulties due to design features. Like most educated adults who use their native language correctly without involving grammar rules, engineers use a systems approach without resorting to systems analysis manuals. However, an intuitive approach without applying the rules of systems analysis may not be sufficient to solve the increasingly complex problems of engineering.

The basic general principle of the systems approach is to consider parts of a phenomenon or a complex system, taking into account their interaction. The systematic approach reveals the structure of the system, its internal and external connections.

Computer-aided design and control systems are among the most complex modern artificial systems. Their design and maintenance is impossible without a systematic approach. Therefore, the ideas and provisions of systems engineering are an integral part of the disciplines devoted to the study of modern automated systems and technologies for their application.

CAD structure

Like any complex system, CAD is made up of subsystems. Distinguish between design and maintenance subsystems.

Designing subsystems directly carry out design procedures. Examples of design subsystems are subsystems for geometric three-dimensional modeling of mechanical objects, production of design documentation, circuit analysis, and tracing of connections in printed circuit boards.

Service subsystems provide the functioning of the design subsystems, their combination is often called the system environment (or shell) CAD. Typical service subsystems are design data management subsystems, software development and maintenance subsystems CASE (Computer Aided Software Engineering), training subsystems for users to master technologies implemented in CAD.

Types of CAD software

Structuring CAD in various aspects determines the appearance of types of CAD software. It is customary to distinguish seven types of CAD software:

technical (TO), including various hardware (computers, peripheral devices, network switching equipment, communication lines, measuring instruments);
mathematical (MO) combining mathematical methods, models and algorithms to perform design;
software (software) represented by computer-aided CAD programs;
informational (IO), consisting of a database, a DBMS, as well as other data that are used in the design; note that the entire set of data used in the design is called the CAD information fund, the database together with the DBMS is called the data bank;
linguistic (LO), expressed in languages of communication between designers and computers, programming languages and languages for data exchange between technical means of CAD;
methodical (MetO), including various design techniques; sometimes it also includes software;
organizational (OO) presented by staffing tables, job descriptions and other documents that regulate the work of the project company.

Varieties of CAD

The classification of CAD is carried out according to a number of characteristics, for example, by application, purpose, scale (complexity of the tasks being solved), the nature of the basic subsystem - the CAD kernel.

By applications the most representative and widely used are the following CAD groups:

CAD system for use in general engineering industries. They are often referred to as mechanical CAD or MCAD (Mechanical CAD) systems;
CAD for radio electronics: ECAD (Electronic CAD) or EDA (Electronic Design Automation) systems;
CAD for architecture and construction.

In addition, a large number of specialized CAD systems are known, either allocated in these groups, or representing an independent branch of the classification. Examples of such systems are large-scale integrated circuit (LSI) CAD systems; CAD of aircraft; CAD systems for electrical machines, etc.

By intended purpose distinguish between CAD or CAD subsystems that provide different aspects (strata) of design. So, the CAE / CAD / CAM systems discussed above appear as part of MCAD.

By scale there are separate software-methodical complexes (PMK) CAD, for example: a complex for analyzing the strength of mechanical products in accordance with the finite element method (FEM) or a complex for analyzing electronic circuits; PMK systems; systems with unique architectures of not only software, but also hardware.

By the nature of the basic subsystem, the following types of CAD are distinguished:

1. CAD based on the subsystem of computer graphics and geometric modeling. These CAD systems are focused on applications where the main design procedure is design, that is, the definition of spatial forms and the relative position of objects. This group of systems includes the majority of CAD systems in the field of mechanical engineering, built on the basis of graphics cores.

Currently, unified graphics kernels are widely used, which are used in more than one CAD system (Parasolid kernels from EDS Urographies and ACIS from Intergraph).

2. CAD based DBMS. They are aimed at applications in which a large amount of data is processed with relatively simple mathematical calculations. Such CAD systems are mainly found in technical and economic applications, for example, in the design of business plans, but they are also available in the design of objects similar to control panels in automation systems.

3. CAD based on a specific application package. In fact, these are autonomously used PMK, for example, simulation production processes, calculation of strength by FEM, synthesis and analysis of automatic control systems, etc. Often such CAD systems are related to SAE systems. Examples are logic design programs based on the VHDL language, mathematical packages such as MathCAD.

4. Complex (integrated) CAD systems, consisting of a set of subsystems of the previous types. Typical examples of complex CAD are CAE / CAD / CAM systems in mechanical engineering or CAD LSI. So, CAD LSI includes a DBMS and subsystems for designing components, schematic, logical and functional circuits, crystal topology, tests to verify the suitability of products. To manage such complex systems, specialized system environments are used.

CAD technical support

From the point of view of the CAD system model, hardware represents the lowest level into which operational software and other types of CAD software are “immersed” and implemented.

The task of designing hardware, thus, can be formulated as a task optimal choice composition of technical means of CAD. In this case, the initial information is the results of the analysis of internal design problems and resource requirements for technical means in the form of criteria and constraints.

The basic requirements for CAD hardware are as follows:

efficiency;
versatility;
compatibility;
reliability.

Technical means (TS) in CAD solve problems:

input of the initial data of the description of the design object;
displaying the entered information for the purpose of its control and editing;
transformation of information (changes in the form and structure of data presentation, recoding, etc.);
storage of information;
displaying the final and intermediate results of the solution;
prompt communication between the designer and the system in the process of solving problems.

To solve these problems, the TS must contain:

processors,
RAM,
external storage devices,
information input-output devices,
technical means of computer graphics,
devices for operational communication of a person with a computer,
devices that provide communication of computers with remote terminals and other machines.

If it is necessary to create a direct connection between CAD and production equipment, the TS should include devices that convert the design results into machine control signals.

CAD TS can be single and multilevel.

TS, which include one computer, equipped with a wide range of peripheral equipment, are called single-level. They are widely used in the design of products for general industrial use with an established structure, with highly specialized mathematical models and a fixed sequence of stages of design and technological work.

The development of CAD involves expanding the set of terminal devices, providing each designer with the possibility of interacting with a computer, processing technical information directly at work places. For this purpose, terminal devices are supplied with mini - and microcomputers with special software for intelligent terminals. They are connected to computers with high performance using special or conventional telephone channels.

The table presented in this material is an ordered list of manufacturers of ready-made software solutions in the field of design, development and industrial design systems.

Peculiarities

Along with the use of automation systems for engineering calculations and CAE analysis, at this time, as a rule, computer-aided design (CAD) systems are used. Information from CAD systems goes to CAM (Computer-aided manufacturing). It should be noted that English term"CAD" in relation to industrial systems has a narrower interpretation than the Russian term "CAD", since the concept of "CAD" includes CAD, CAM, and CAE. Among all information technologies, design automation takes a special place. First of all, design automation is a synthetic discipline, since it includes various modern information technologies. So, for example, the technical support of CAD is based on the operation of computer networks and telecommunication technologies; CAD also practices the use of personal computers and workstations. Speaking about the mathematical support of CAD, it should be noted the variety of methods used: computational mathematics, mathematical programming, statistics, discrete mathematics, artificial intelligence. CAD software systems can be compared with some of the most complex modern software systems, which are based on such operating systems as Windows, Unix, and programming languages such as C ++ and Java, as well as modern CASE technologies. Almost every development engineer should have knowledge of the basics of design automation and be able to work with CAD tools. Since all design departments, offices and design bureaus are equipped with computers, the work of a designer with such a tool as a conventional drawing board or calculations using a slide rule have become irrelevant. Consequently, enterprises that work without CAD or use it to a small extent become uncompetitive, since they spend much more time and money on design.

CAD types

CAD software (MO) - this type implies the combination of mathematical methods, models and algorithms in order to perform design)
Linguistic support of CAD (LO) - this support is an expression of communication languages between designers and computers, data exchange languages and programming languages between CAD technical means;
CAD technical support (TO) - this includes peripheral devices, computers, communication lines, data processing and output, etc .;
CAD information support (IO) - consists of databases (DB), database management systems (DBMS) and other data that are used in design;
CAD software (SW) is, first of all, CAD computer programs;
Methodological support (MetO) - includes various kinds of design techniques;
Organizational support (OO) - is represented by staffing tables, job descriptions and other documents that determine the work of the project enterprise.

CAD structure

As one of the complex systems, CAD consists of two subsystems: design and maintenance. Design procedures are performed by design subsystems. Subsystems for geometric three-dimensional modeling of mechanical objects are a prime example of designing subsystems. With the help of service subsystems, the functioning of the design subsystems is carried out, their unity is usually called the system environment or the CAD shell. Typical service subsystems are considered to be design process management (DesPM - Design Process Management), design data management (PDM - Product Data Management). Dialogue subsystem (DP); DBMS; instrumental subsystem; monitor - providing interaction of all subsystems and control of their execution - these are the service subsystems of the software. The dialog subsystem of the software enables the interactive interaction of the CAD user with the control and design subsystems of the software, as well as the preparation and correction of the initial data, familiarization with the results of the design subsystems operating in batch mode.

The structure of a CAD software is determined by the following factors:

aspects and level of descriptions created with the help of software, designed objects and subject area;
the degree of automation of specific project operations and procedures;
resources provided for software development;
architecture and composition of technical means, mode of operation.

CAD classification

CAD is classified by following principles: intended purpose, by application, scale and nature of the basic subsystem. According to their intended purpose, CAD systems or CAD subsystems are distinguished, which provide various aspects of design. Thus, CAE / CAD / CAM systems appear as part of MCAD:

CAD-F or CAE (Computer Aided Engineering) systems. This refers to CAD for functional design.
CAD-K - design CAD systems for general mechanical engineering, most often they are called simply CAD systems;
CAD-T - technological CAD systems for general mechanical engineering - ASTPP (automated systems for technological preparation of production) or CAM systems (Computer Aided Manufacturing).

By applications, the most important and widely used are the following CAD groups:

Mechanical CAD or MCAD (Mechanical CAD) systems are CAD systems for applications in the general mechanical engineering industries.
ECAD (Electronic CAD) or EDA (Electronic Design Automation) systems - CAD for radio electronics.
CAD for architecture and construction.

In addition, there are a large number of more specialized CAD systems, either allocated in certain groups, or being an independent branch in the classification. These are such systems as: BIS -SAPR (large integrated circuits); CAD of aircraft and CAD of electrical machines. By scale, independent software-methodical complexes (PMK) CAD are determined:

Complex for the analysis of the strength of mechanical products in accordance with the finite element method (FEM)
Electronic circuit analysis complex;
PMK systems;
Systems with unique software and hardware architectures.

Classification by the nature of the basic subsystem

CAD systems that are aimed at applications where the main design procedure is design, that is, the definition of spatial forms and the relative position of objects. It is a CAD system based on computer graphics and mathematical modeling. This group of systems includes most of the graphic CAD kernels in the field of mechanical engineering.
CAD systems focused on applications in which large amounts of data are processed with fairly simple mathematical calculations. It is a DBMS-based CAD system. CAD data are mainly found in technical and economic applications, for example, in the process of designing business plans, objects like control panels in automation systems.
Complex (integrated) CAD systems, which include a set of previous types of subsystems. Typical examples of complex CAD systems are CAE / CAD / CAM systems in mechanical engineering or CAD LSI systems. Thus, the DBMS and subsystems for the design of components, schematic, logical and functional diagrams, topology of crystals, tests for verifying the suitability of products are an integral part of the LSI CAD. In order to manage such complex systems, specialized system environments are used.
CAD based on a specific application package. In fact, these are freely used software and methodological complexes, such as a complex for simulation of production processes, a complex for the synthesis and analysis of automatic control systems, a complex for calculating strength by the finite element method, etc. As a rule, CAD data refer to CAE systems. For example, logical design programs based on the VHDL language, mathematical packages such as MathCAD.

CAD development

One of the key themes of CAD development is "cloud" computing: remote work with data located on remote servers from various devices with Internet access. Today, clouds have made very significant progress in the segment of lightweight applications and services - mainly in the consumer sector. There are two possible integration options. In the first case, the entire infrastructure of engineering services is transferred to the cloud, and, accordingly, the need for engineering software installed at the workplace disappears altogether. In the second case, the designer still has a graphical workstation with a CAD system installed, but at the same time he gets access from it to various cloud services, thanks to which it is possible to solve problems that require very significant resources (for example, to carry out strength analysis). It is possible to carry out cloud interaction in two ways: publicly, when access to the server located at the provider is open via the Internet, and privately, when the server is located in the enterprise and calls to it occur over a closed local network. In Russia, the development of clouds in the field of CAD is constrained by the need to maintain excessive secrecy in many projects. Therefore, it is most likely that private clouds will become the main driver of the market in the near future. The clouds are not only about new technologies, but also the opportunity to experiment with new business models.

The next major trend is alternative operating systems. Five years ago, when there was talk of an alternative to Microsoft Windows, it was usually Linux. This topic is still relevant today: the domestic national software platform, most likely, will be based on the Linux kernel; there is a growing interest in this OS in the field of education and in government agencies (there are examples of a successful transition). However, now we can already talk about the significant potential of the operating system Google Chrome OS. And here the mentioned trend merges with the cloud trend - Google OS, as you know, does not imply the installation of applications on a local computer.

An important role in the promotion of this OS is played by the trend towards a decrease in the market share of the PC. Obviously, if you move most of the cumbersome and complex computing to the clouds, your hardware requirements will be reduced and you will be able to work on any device. For example, on tablets. As a result, CAD developers will have to either develop platform-independent solutions (cloud version), or make them multi-platform.

The next topic is hardware. Here again, everything is determined by the dissatisfaction of the market with the decision of the monopolist - the classic architecture of Intel (the pace of its development). In this regard, there is a clear trend towards the development of the ARM architecture. It is now supported by several manufacturers, among which one of the most active is Nvidia (Nvidia). So far, this architecture is actively used only in mobile devices, but in the near future, apparently, it will be transferred to stationary PCs. This is indirectly evidenced by the fact that the future Microsoft Windows 8 OS will be able to work on the ARM architecture too (for the first time not only on Intel).

The second trend is the transfer of a significant part of computing from the central processor to the graphics core. This topic relates rather to the field of parallel computing.

Another trend is the growth of the mobile market. It got the biggest speedup last year with the iPad. At first, however, it seemed that this device was purely consumer and in the corporate sector it would not be applicable. However, it turned out that it is quite suitable for solving many problems.

In the CAD sector today, many employees are mobile - working on the road, at remote construction sites, moving around the country, working from home. (All this requires a handy mobile device.)

One way or another, abroad that every employee of the engineering service will soon have a tablet, today they speak of it as a fait accompli. Mobile platforms IOS Apple and Android Google, attractive for developers, have already appeared, as well as a significant number of CAD applications for them.

Now it is very difficult to say whether the keyboard and mouse will leave our arsenal in ten years. But the fact is that multi-touch (finger-oriented) interfaces are clearly gaining popularity. In mobile devices, they have almost become the standard. Today it is quite clear that this interface is more than suitable for consuming information. Whether it is just as good for its creation, for working with CAD, it is still difficult to say. The technological base is still lacking for a massive transition to such interfaces. There are simply no large enough multi-touch panels on the market today with the resolution required for CAD.

The CAD market is very conservative. Even replacing one such system with another within the framework of work on one project is a rather difficult task. What can we say about a serious change in the paradigm, interfaces, generations of CAD. Therefore, this market is clearly not among the leaders in the technological race - there is development, but obviously not as fast as we would like. However, in the next decade, engineers who have grown up in the era of the Internet, new technologies and mobile devices will come to enterprises, and one way or another they will actively bring elements of their culture to the market.

CAD in construction

Business digitalization has affected all its industries. In the last decade, solutions for the design, engineering and construction of industrial facilities have boomed. From Soviet drawing boards, designers came to 3D modeling. Alexey Lebedev, CEO of AVEVA, helped to figure out what digitalization means for this segment, how to help the team work in a single space and why it has not yet been possible to finally get rid of paper media.

The set of interconnected and interacting tools designed to perform computer-aided design is called CAD hardware.

The technical means together with the general system software are the CAD tool base. They form a physical environment in which other types of CAD software are implemented (mathematical, linguistic, informational, etc.).

Technical means in CAD solve the following problems:

Input of the initial data for the description of the design object;

Displaying the entered information for the purpose of its control and editing;

Information transformation (changing the form of data presentation, recoding, translation, performing arithmetic and logical operations, changing the data structure, etc.);

Storage of various information;

Displaying the final and intermediate results of the solution;

Prompt communication between the designer and the system in the process of solving problems.

To solve these problems, the technical means (TS) of CAD must contain processors, random access memory (OP), external storage devices (OVC), information input-output devices (UVVI), technical means of computer graphics, devices for operational communication of a person with a computer, devices, providing communication of computers with remote terminals and other machines. If it is necessary to create a direct connection between CAD and production equipment, the TS should include devices that transform the design results into control signals for machine tools, technological complexes, and automatic machines. The nomenclature of the technical means included in the complex of technical means (CTS) of CAD is as follows:

1 computer (central processors, specialized processors, random access memory, input-output processors, interface devices)

2 External storage devices (magnetic disk drives, floppy drives, magnetic tape drives)

3 Information input-output devices (input-output devices from punched cards, input-output devices from punched tapes, printing devices, output devices to microfiche, raster printers)

4 Devices for operational communication with a computer (alphanumeric displays, speech input-output devices, cursor control devices, graphic displays)

5 Computer graphics devices (graphics encoding devices, plotters, graphic displays, cursor control devices, raster printers)

6 Data preparation devices

7 Devices for communication with technological equipment

8 Technical means of tele-access and computer networks (data transmission multiplexers, data transmission equipment, network controllers, communication processors, communication channels).

The listed tasks of the TS are solved together with the system-wide software. System-wide software means the operating systems (OS) of the computer. The set of technical means of a computer and its software is called a computer system (CS).

The characteristics of a specific CAD system are largely determined by the composition of the CTS and the general system software, which must provide:

Computer performance sufficient to solve all design problems;

the possibility of operational interaction between the designer and the computer during the design process;

Ease of development, operation and maintenance of the CTS;

Openness of the CTS for reconfiguration and further development;

Wide use of input and output graphic information about the designed object;

communication between different levels of design.

5.1.2 General information about computers and aircraft used in CAD

The main CTS CAD systems are a variety of mainframes. When determining the possibility of using one or another computer as part of the CTS, they are assessed by a set of various indicators, the main of which are technical characteristics, the cost of acquisition and operation.

The main technical parameters of a computer include performance, capacity of random access memory (RAM), bandwidth of the information input-output subsystem, operational reliability, etc.

Productivity is one of the most important indicators of a computer, measured by the number of operations performed per unit of time (usually operations per second). This indicator for different types The computer ranges from several hundred to hundreds of millions of operations per second. In recent years, performance has been determined by the clock speed of the processor.

The capacity of the RAM determines the capabilities of the computer to execute complex programs with the processing of large amounts of information. The capacity of RAM can be expressed in bits, bytes, words, kilobytes, megabytes, etc. The most common estimate of the RAM capacity in bytes, kilobytes (1KB = 1024 bytes), megabytes (1MB = 1024KB), gigabytes (1GB = 1024MB). The capacity of RAM for computers used in CAD ranges from tens of kilobytes to units of gigabytes.

The throughput of the computer input-output subsystems allows one to determine the capabilities of the computer when exchanging information with various peripheral devices or other computers. It is measured by the maximum number of units of information transmitted through the I / O subsystem per unit of time.

The reliability of the operation of a computer is assessed by a number of indicators that have a probabilistic nature, for example, the probability of failure-free operation during a given time interval, mean time between failures, average recovery time of the computer, availability factor, etc.

At present, general-purpose computers are mainly used to operate CAD systems. Today in the world there are many computers (hereinafter referred to as computers) of various complexity groups, of various generations, and here will be a brief overview of computers from only one IBM company, as a generally recognized leader in the production and sale of computer technology. The entire computer series of IBM is software and technically compatible inside itself, which served as its widespread use, including for the automation of technological design.