The Benefits of CAD Technology

A popular computer technology that designers use is CAD, which stands for "computer-aided design." CAD facilitates professionals in designing objects, real or virtual, and is commonly used in place of manual technical and engineering drawings. Industries that use CAD include automotive, shipbuilding, aerospace, industrial, architectural, prosthetics, and multimedia. And the reason CAD is such a popular technology across a wide variety of industries is because of the many benefits it offers in comparison to manual drafting.

The Benefits of CAD Technology

The Benefits of CAD Technology

---

The Benefits of CAD Technology

The Benefits of CAD Technology

The first benefit of using CAD is an increase of productivity in designers. As opposed to manual drawings, designers can produce drafts with CAD much faster, and a higher productivity in designers means that the number of designers a firm needs to hire reduces. This results in lower personnel costs, while the product designs are of a higher quality.

And faster designers are, the more competitive a firm can be. CAD gives firms the edge they need to make quick changes and fast designs so that they can introduce their designs and launch their products into the market before the competition does.

CAD also results in designs that are higher in quality and contain fewer errors than manual drafts. This is largely because with CAD, design and analysis tasks are performed at the same time, so improvements to the design can be made while the designer is drafting.

The use of CAD technology leads to a variety of benefits that can help several different industries be more competitive in their fields, increase profits, and be more successful.

The Benefits of CAD Technology

Vector and Raster Graphics

All computer images are divided into two basic types: raster images (also known as the bitmap) and vector images. In some cases it is recommended the use of vector graphics, in others, depending on the nature of the project it's recommended to use bitmap images. Sometimes, the two formats can be used together. An understanding of the advantages and limitations of each technology and the relationship between them will lead to their optimal use.

Vector and Raster Graphics

Vector and Raster Graphics

---

Vector and Raster Graphics

Vector and Raster Graphics

What is a raster image (bitmap)?

Raster images are created by digital cameras (pictures), are scanned or they are created on PC in different programs such as Adobe Photoshop. Raster images are composed from lots of pixels. The resolution of a raster image or a scanned image is expressed in terms of dots per inch or dpi. A scanner or printer resolution is also measured in dots per inch.

A raster image is complex in terms of applied effects, retouching, color variations, etc.

To accurately reproduce an raster image file the software must keep track of large quantities of information, including the exact location and color of each pixel of the combination of pixels. This results in huge file sizes for raster graphics. Higher resolutions (dpi) and higher color depth gives larger files.

When a raster image is created or scanned, the file size becomes a serious problem because large files tend to make your computer processor and hard drive to work overtime.

Raster files extensions are: BMP, GIF, JPEG, JPG, PNG, PICT (Macintosh), PCX, TIFF, PSD (Adobe Photoshop).

What is a vector image?

Vector is a synonym for the word line. The vector image is a collection of connected lines and curves that make up objects. When a vector image is created into a vector illustration program the lines and curves are connecting points. Each node, line and curve is defined graphically by the software using a mathematical description.

Vector elements have the great advantage to not lose quality when enlarged or reduced. For this reason they are used mostly for print. Vector files have small sizes and can be easily transmitted via email.

A drawing program will enable a user to click on an object and define its color. Coloring vector images is much easier than bitmaps.

With vector graphics it's possible to create logos, illustrations, elements for websites or print and vector art (composition). Vector extensions are: CDR, AI, EPS, SVG.

Vector and Raster Graphics