López

Emanuel López

Marta Justiniani

Technical English

07/18/2019

CAD
There is no doubt that without the computer-aided design tools that are used today, the
speed and accuracy achieved in the designs and plans would be much more difficult to obtain.
Thanks to software such as AutoCAD, things for architects and engineers have relaxed a bit,
allowing them to focus better on their ideas.
That is why computer-aided design applications such as AutoCAD have become so
popular in these areas, since a design or plan can be modified many times until you get what
you really want, a laborious process a while back when this task was done by hand on paper.

AutoCAD is a software of the CAD (Computer Aided Design) type that in Spanish
means computer aided design, and that was created by a North American company specialized
in this field called Autodesk.

The first version of AutoCAD was launched on the market in the year 1982, and has
not ceased to reap success since then. This is mainly due to the high standards of code quality
with which the company is managed, fact that has managed to position itself with the software
for the modeling of structures or plans most used by architects and engineers from around the
world.
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Thanks to its advanced and convenient features, nowadays AutoCAD is a fundamental

piece in any study of architectural design or industrial engineering, and is commonly used for
the development and elaboration of complex pieces of technical drawing in two dimensions
(2D) and for creation of three-dimensional models (3D).

While AutoCAD is the most widespread software in this category, there are other
competitors in the market such as MicroStation, VectorWorks, IntelligentCad for three-
dimensional modeling, and parametric ones such as Catia, Pro Engineer, Solid Works and Solid
Edges, but the truth is that robustness and the reliability of AutoCAD have elevated it to the
maximum podium in the preferences of professionals in the sector.

AutoCAD works through the use of vector images, but it is also capable of importing
files of other types such as bitmaps, which allows the professional to achieve a better
dynamism and deepen their work. Similar to Photoshop and other graphic design tools,
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AutoCAD uses the layer system, which allows a unique work freedom to your operator, since
by using it, you can have well organized the different elements that make up the piece or
plane that the user is developing.

Since its inception, AutoCAD has been written keeping in mind, and as a main
objective, the design of plans, and for that it offers a more than extensive library of resources
such as colors, thickness of lines and textures usable for screenings, among many others.
The modern versions of AutoCAD incorporate the concept of model space and paper space,
which allows to separate the phases of design and drawing in 2D and 3D, from the phases
necessary for the creation of plans at a specific scale. Also other new concepts incorporated
are solid modeling.

In the following paragraphs we can find some basic concepts about other computer
aided design technologies:

*CAE Computer Aidded Enginner: This type of software is used, among other tasks,
in the realization of prototypes for simulation and calculation on virtual drawings the loads
and efforts that a certain piece will suffer in their work.
*CAM Computer Aidded Manufacturing: It is a step after the CAD, in areas such as
mechanics, and is characterized by the generation of specific codes interpretable by CNC
machines used in the manufacture of parts.
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*GIS Geographic Information System: System to process and generate cartographic

images, mapping and elaboration of cartographic bases and databases.

AutoDesk AutoCAD is available for the two main platforms, Windows and Mac, and
does not offer several versions of the product simultaneously, as if they do other applications
and operating systems, since it is currently based on a flexible subscription model, that allows
adding new features according to the needs of each user.

In addition to the desktop version of AutoCAD, users have the possibility to also use
the AutoCAD web application, with which you can view, create and edit AutoCAD designs
from any computer or device with Windows, MacOS, Android, and iOS.
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It should be noted that the design flow is not interrupted by working on different
platforms, since the applications are fully integrated.

AutoCAD offers specific design tools for each sector of the industry, including
architecture, the design of electrical installations, 3D plants, mechanical design and design of
plumbing installations, and depending on the activity to which we dedicate ourselves, it is the
set of tools that we will acquire.

Obviously, the hardware requirements that AutoCAD needs to run comfortably are
high, since it is a very complex program that makes extensive use of available resources

As mentioned above, AutoCAD can be used on computers that have Windows 32 or

64 bits, or Apple computers with the MacOS operating system. We also have available
AutoCAD versions for mobile devices such as Android or iPads through the AutoCAD web
application