Oscar Davidson Unit: CAD/CAM Title: CAD/CAM report Tutor: Simon Clarke

Contents ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Introduction! ! ! ! ! ! ! Computer Aided Design/Drafting - CAD!! Modern CAD! ! ! ! ! ! ! Different CAD types! ! ! ! ! CAD modeling!! ! ! ! ! ! Computer Aided Manufacture - CAM! ! Example use of G code CNC milling! ! Rapid prototyping ! ! ! ! ! ! Stereolithography - SLA! ! ! ! ! Applications of rapid prototyping! ! ! Conclusions ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Recommendations ! ! ! ! ! ! References ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Appendix!! ! ! ! ! ! !

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Introduction For an engineering idea or concept to be recorded, the best way is with a technical drawing, showing dimensions, and annotated with materials used. Before a standardised set of rules was adopted for technical drawings, many different companies would produce different drawings. The British Standards Institute (BSI) released BS 308 in 1927(1). This standard set out how technical drawings should be laid out, what dimensions to use, and how to show different materials and their intersections. The standard was falling out of compatibility with the more used ISO drawing standards and so in 2000 it was withdrawn and replaced by BS 8888. This was a standard that collaborated many different ISO drawing standards into a managed standard set. There were several important differences however, such as dimensions used to be shown with commas and a dot for the decimal, e.g. 1,234.123,4, but in BS 8888 that changed to commas and spaces, e.g. 1 234,123 4.

Computer Aided Design/Drafting - CAD CAD had the promise of manipulation of a drawing once drawn. This proved a huge advantage, as before this any mistake or revision that could not be reworked into a drawing meant redrawing. If the diameter of a tube with lots of corresponding dimensions was to be changed it would mean a complete redraw on paper, but could be relatively easy on CAD, with modern more powerful packages at least. The rst CAD package was Sketchpad(2), created by Ivan Sutherland in 1963 as part of his PhD thesis. Sketchpad was run on one of the worlds most advanced computers of the age at MITs Lincoln Laboratory, see Fig 1. One of the most amazing features of Sketchpad was that it used a light pen to interface with the computer, in a similar way to a modern day graphics tablet, see Fig 2. This was a great feature as it allowed engineers familiar with using a pen, rather than a computer, to use the system more easily. The system also had features found on modern systems such as rubberbanding, templates and master drawings. If the master were to be changed, all subsequent drawings would carry that same change. Modern CAD Modern CAD packages such as AutoCAD and SolidWorks allow for very complicated 2D as well as 3D drawings to be created. These packages also allow different modeling environments in 3D, with different materials and lighting. An example of 3D rendering is depicted in Fig 3 left. A single spot light is used to illuminate the scene. Many more lights of different properties can be used. Spot lights with different angles of light and intensity, ood lights, and backlights. This scene also shows how light bounces off objects to illuminate other objects.
(Above) Fig 3. A 3D rendering of different types of objects using AutoCAD (Below) Fig 4. A 2D representation of a 3D object, created with AutoCAD

(Above) Fig 1. Sketchpad in operation (Below) Fig 2. Light pen for interface with the computer

3D representations of objects can be very useful, however a technical drawing benets best from clear 2D drawings, as it is much easier to show dimensions, materials, and detail, as usually 2 or 3 views are used, sometimes many more for complex shapes. Fig 4. shows a 2D drawings of a 3D object, showing dimensions and the prole of the object. The scale of the drawing, units, date, title, drawing number, drawing type, and author are shown as well.

Different CAD types There are many different types of CAD with different applications. The most common is that of engineering technical drawings, as discussed earlier in this report. Another common CAD type is that of electrical CAD. These packages can be used to design circuits and wiring systems, circuit boards also known as PCBs, and dies of integrated circuits (ICs) such as processors and memory chips. These packages have a great advantage over conventional design techniques, with hand drawing or breadboarding, in that the circuit can be tested in different ways. Current ows can be analysed, and connections automatically checked. Very complex calculations can be performed such as thermal analysis and RF interference created and absorbed.

Fig 5. A circuit board for data logging designed with CadSofts EAGLE package

Simulation PRogram with Integrated Circuit Emphasis (SPICE) is a suite of tools used to analyse the characteristics of a circuit. Originally released in 1973 as open source software (freely editable source code). SPICE can determine the characteristics of a circuit in terms of AC and DC electrical signals. This is something very useful for complex power and audio circuits, such as ampliers. CAD modeling The aforementioned types of CAD employ modeling to determine certain things about whatever is being designed. SPICE is a type of modeling, or simulation. Computer simulations can be exceedingly useful. Fig 6. shows how a beam can be simulated to show internal stress. This can provide engineers with detailed information about where high stress points are likely to be, and so allow the addition of supports and braces where they are needed in the early stages of design, when it is easiest and cheapest.

Fig 6. SolidWorks modeling of a the forces in a beam with uniformly distributed load applied and central point load

Computer Aided Manufacture - CAM CAM allows for very complex shapes to be created automatically, accurately, repeatably, quickly and without much if any human interaction. In this way blank material can be automatically loaded into a CAM machine, machined to its nal properties, and transferred into a receptacle completely automatically. In automated factories like this the lights are even switched off to save power as they are not required! CAM machines are controlled in way called Computer Numerical Control. The various movements of the machining operations are controlled by stepper motors, which have accurate and powerful control over a number of steps per revolution of the motor. In this way a milling head in a milling center can accurately be moved from one known position to another with a lot of force, therefore accurate cuts can be made quickly and through tough materials, provided the cutting surface is lubricated.
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Example use of G code CNC milling Fig 8. shows a block of wood that I have machined a pattern into the top of using a CNC milling machine. The G codes are attached in the appendix. The G codes used are explained in table 1. These G codes are based of the Fanuc system. Fanuc was originally a section of the Fujitsu company, the Computing Control Division became Fujitsu Fanuc in 1972(3). Fanuc have been the leaders of Direct Numerical Control (DNC) as well as CNC. They developed the rst of each system. The Fanuc series of G codes are the widest used. G codes themselves are essientally a very simple programming language, without any variable, loops, sequences or other operations similar to any other programming language. They perform a simple step by step program, which is exactly what a CNC machine requires.

Fig 8. A block of wood with a pattern machined using a CNC milling machine

T9 M6 G43 M9 G54 G90 M03 G0 G01

Selects tool 9, as a multi-head milling machine was used Used to index the head against the 0 point Sets the tool offset height, to account for the length of the bit, the value is stored in the machine Sets the coolant not to ow Used again to tell the machine where the work is in relation to the 0 point Absolute programming. All further movement coordinates given will be in absolute relative position Starts the spindle spinning in clockwise direction Moves at fastest possible speed to the given coordinates Moves the tool head in a linear path to the given coordinates. The F number the follows is the feed rate, in X Y movement 300 in this case, and 200 for Z movement. Units are mm/s Stops the spindle Ends the program

M05 M30

Rapid prototyping Rapid prototyping is a set of processes for rapidly creating a model from a 3D computer drawing. 3D printing is the most common of them, which is a means of zero loss, or additive production. This means that instead of the product being cut out of a block of material, the material itself is laid down to form the product, and so no material is cut away or wasted, hence zero loss. One of the advantages of this is that an incredibly complex shape can be constructed with hollow portions and other parts that would essentially be impossible to machine, and would have to be cast out of metal. The material is layered down in slices of the 3D model. This has the disadvantage that each of these steps becomes a visible line of resolution, and so a curve must be made of multiple steps resulting in an imperfect curve.

Fig 9. A 3D model is translated into a series of steps to be 3D printed

The resolution 3D printers is typically less than 100 micrometers (0.1 mm) even for the lower end machines. However the Z axis resolution is sometimes greater than this, sometimes as low as 0.5 mm for the cheap kit cheap 3D printers, leading to large steps. In practice the Z axis resolution is usually decreased in software to give an even courser step, even on the higher end 3D printers. The reason for this is that it would take many hours to complete a relatively small part even at the software reduced resolutions. If a part is required to be very accurate and time is not an easy then the machines can be set to run at full resolutions, but with quite a time penalty. Stereo Lithography - SLA Stereo lithography uses a laser beam to cure a liquid resin into a solid, in a process similar to 3D printing. The bed is raised up to the surface, or just below it. The laser beam is pulsed on and off in the correct areas as the head passes over the top of the tank of liquid resin. Each layer is built up by the head passing back and forth building up joining solid material. When a full layer is complete the bed is lowered by one step. A blade like wiper then passes over the fresh layer coating it in fresh liquid. The laser head begins another pass building up another solid layer on top, see g 10.

Fig. 10

STA has a very high strength and can be produced quicker than 3D printing. The resolution is also considerably ner than that of 3D printing typically 0.01 mm in the Z axis. The costs involved however are a lot more. The liquid resin can cost around 150 per litre. The cost of the machines is enormous and as such parts to be made by SLA are contracted out of house usually. Applications of rapid prototyping Rapid prototyped parts can be used as a nal product, usually after nishing and any support structures removed. However they are usually used as design prototypes to test t and check alignment. It is invaluable to hold a product prototype and manually gure out locations of components before it is sent for mass production.

Conclusions CAD packages have great possibilities for engineers. They allow for complex designs to completed relatively quickly and to incredibly high levels of detail and accuracy. Once a design is created in CAD it is extremely useful to be able to model it. If it is an object that has parts that are going to be stressed and strained by normal operation then those forces can be modeled and displayed in highly detailed ways. If we take for instance a battery box which is to be bolted onto a product. The areas through the bolts will pass will undergo stresses which could be quite high. By modeling these areas in CAD it can be shown if the corners where the bolts pass are close to breaking, will break, or will be perfectly ne. Until the factor of safety is truly known the component could fail at any second. Modeling is not just limited to the world of engineers. 3D video production using CAD at the heart of the creations. Indeed, some objects may need to be drawn accurately by engineers to get the look, textures, and even physics correct. This is the same with games and other 3D designed parts. When engineers are designing products and components multiple revisions and gone through. There are always going to be faults, bugs, and improvements. This can be a costly process, especially if the product is released to the public before the revisions are made. Wooden mockups used to be built for this purpose, or one of prototypes made. Each of these methods has disadvantages however. Wooden mockups are generally bulky, heavy, and not functional. One of functional prototypes are good, however to make a single product that is designed for mass production, such as injection forming, can cost many thousands of pounds. Rapid prototyping allows a partially functional model to be created quickly, and relatively inexpensively, especially for larger companies than can justify the cost of the rapid prototyping machines. Having a prototype in your hands to test t and play with is invaluable, and can save huge amounts of time and money down the road, by making revisions early when the cost is only that of another 3D printed prototype. Recommendations It is recommended that whenever any product is being developed that it rst be rapid prototyped. The risk of not doing so is too great too ignore, as third party companies can make these models inexpensively and courier the part within a few days. 3D printing is the cheapest rapid prototyping method, and yields good results for mockups and even semi-functional prototypes. The strength of these materials is quite high, and can withstand being machined, ground, and polished if a ne surface nish is required.

References 1. Iain Macleod Associates. (2009). BS 308 and BS 8888. Available: http://www.g-tol.co.uk/ in1.htm. Last accessed 19/11/12.

2. CADAZZ. (2004). CAD software - history of CAD CAM. Available: http://www.cadazz.com/cad-software-Sketchpad.htm. Last accessed 13/11/12. 3. Fanuc. (2011). FANUCs History. Available: http://www.fanuc.co.jp/en/ profile/history/index.html Last accessed 19/11/12.

Figures 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
6. 7. 8. 9.

http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/techreports/UCAM-CL-TR-574.pdf Figure 1.2 http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/techreports/UCAM-CL-TR-574.pdf Figure 4.2 3D rendering of different types of objects using AutoCAD 2D representation of a 3D object, created using AutoCAD A circuit board for data logging designed with CadSofts EAGLE package
http://yuji.les.wordpress.com/2011/03/solidworks.png http://www.reuk.co.uk/OtherImages/a-small-stepper-motor.jpg A block of wood with a pattern machined using a CNC milling machine http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/Rapid_prototyping_slicing.jpg

10. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Stereolithography_apparatus.jpg

Appendix
T9 G43 G54 G90 M03 G0 G01 G01 G01 G01 G01 G01 G01 G01 G01 G01 G01 G01 G01 G01 G01 G01 G01 G01 G01 G01 G01 G01 G01 G01 G01 G01 G01 G01 G01 G01 G01 G01 G01 G01 G01 G01 G01 G01 G01 G01 G01 G01 M6 M9

S4000 X0 F300 F200 F300 F300 F300 F300 F200 F300 F200 F300 F300 F300 F300 F200 F300 F200 F300 F300 F300 F300 F200 F300 F200 F300 F300 F300 F300 F200 F300 F200 F300 F300 F300 F300 F300 F300 F300 F300 F300 F300 F300 F300

Y0 X20 Z-1.5 X20 X25 X30 X30 Z1.5 X50 Z-1.5 X45 X40 X45 X50 Z1.5 X30 Z-1.5 X30 X25 X20 X20 Z1.5 X2 Z-1.5 X5 X10 X5 X2 Z1.5 X10 Z-1.5 X10 X20 X20 X25 X30 X30 X40 X40 X35 X30 X35 X40

Z10 Y10 Y5 Y10 Y5 Y2 Y20 Y20 Y25 Y30 Y30 Y50 Y45 Y40 Y45 Y50 Y30 Y20 Y25 Y20 Y20 Y20 Y10 Y10 Y15 Y20 Y15 Y10 Y10 Y20 Y20 Y25 Y30 Y30 10

G01 G01 G01 G01 G01 G01 G01 G01 G01 G01 G01 G01 G01 G0 M05 M30

F300 F300 F300 F300 F300 F300 F300 F300 F300 F300 F300 F300 F200 X0

X40 X30 X30 X25 X20 X20 X10 X10 X15 X20 X15 X10 Z1.5 Y0

Y40 Y40 Y35 Y30 Y35 Y40 Y40 Y30 Y30 Y25 Y20 Y20 Z40

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