Introduction to Computer Aided Design

Dr Adrian Clarke

Department of Aerospace Engineering

School of Engineering
Cranfield University

Who am I ?

• Academic background includes:

• PhD on ‘The Conceptual Design of Novel Future UAV’s
Incorporating Advanced Technology Research Components’
• MSc in Aerospace Vehicle Design
• BEng (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering

• During my PhD I also worked on the Cranfield led BAE/EPSRC Flaviir

research project as the Lead Structural Designer of the Demon UAV.
• Upon completion of the PhD, I worked as a Stress Engineer for a consultancy
company working on Rolls-Royce projects.
• Returned to Cranfield in 2012 as a Research Fellow and assistant course
director for the March intake of the AVD course
• Deliver lectures in the areas of Aircraft Design, Powerplant Integration and
CATIA.
• Outside interests include sailing yacht design and marine aircraft design.
Lecture Overview

1. Introduction to Computer Aided Design & its role in product

development

2. An overview of some Related Software Tools

3. Introduction to Computer Aided Design Modelling Techniques

Computer Aided Design (CAD)

• CAD is used to create geometry models of products using a computer

• Modern CAD systems:

– Accurately model the product geometry in 3-dimensions
– Provide excellent product visualisation
– Provide mass, centre of gravity and moments of inertia information

• CAD systems can be used to model any physical attributes of a

design including external shape, structural components, electrical
wiring, piping etc.

• Two dimensional engineering drawings can be generated semi-

automatically from the 3D CAD model
Some Examples of CAD Models
- Surface Models

Images from www.catia.com

Some Examples of CAD Models

- Part and Assembly Models

Images from www.catia.com

Some Examples of CAD Models
- Pipe and Wiring Routing Models

Images from www.catia.com

CAD and Other Related Software Tools

• Computer Aided Design:

 Creates a 3D representation of the designed geometry,
and aids visualisation and product understanding

• Digital Mock-Up:
 Allows various members of the product development
team to access the master product geometry

• Computer Aided Engineering:

 Validates the design through analysis and simulation

• Computer Aided Manufacture:

 Supports the creation of production documents and the
route to production
 Digital Mock-Up (DMU)
Shaded DMU Model

• Digital Mock-Up software is used to support

design collaboration

• The DMU geometry is a “light” (RAM friendly)

version of the original CAD data which is
represented as tessellated geometry

• DMU allows CAD/ CAE models from different

software packages to be easily integrated Underlying Tessellated Model
together to form a global product assembly

• DMU supports operations such as part

positioning, clash detection, and mark up

• Individual part geometry cannot be modified

using DMU

Computer Aided Manufacture (CAM)

• CAM refers to the tools that are used to support all phases of the
manufacture of a product, including:

 Process and production planning

 Scheduling
 Quality control
 Tool path creation

• CAM systems can be integrated with the 3D CAD representation

• One goal of integrated CAD/CAM is a move towards paperless

manufacture – removing the need for 2D engineering drawings
Computer Aided Manufacture Example

Images from www.catia.com

Computer Aided Engineering

• Computer aided engineering describes tools that are used to validate

or optimise a design

• Computer Aided Engineering tools include:

 Finite Element Analysis
 Computational Fluid Dynamics
 Kinematics analysis

• Computer aided engineering tools may be integrated with the CAD

database to allow an optimised design that is generated by an
analysis tool to be imported into the CAD system

• Alternatively, the tools may be standalone and the user is required to

export the model from CAD and then import it into the analysis tool.
Computer Aided Engineering Examples

Images from www.catia.com & www.fluent.com

The Role of CAD in Product

Development

• Computer Aided Design and its related tools are central to the modern
product development processes

• A 3D digital product representation is used to:

1. facilitate information sharing and team working (including

distributed teams across organisations and countries)
2. facilitate design understanding amongst different disciplines
including design, analysis, manufacturing, marketing and many
others
3. facilitate concurrent working between disciplines
4. support design optimisation through analysis and simulation
5. reduce the need for expensive full size mock-ups
6. reduce manufacturing cost through process optimisation and
reducing errors found during manufacture
CAD/CAM/CAE Integration
• One of the key objectives for successful CAD/CAM/CAE
implementation is integration

• Most organizations aim to implement an integrated CAD/ CAM/

CAE environment in which the geometry is modelled once and
reused many times

Drafting Manufacturing

Digital Mockup Analysis

Objectives of using CAD/ CAM/ CAE in Product

Development
Relative cost of product development
• Today, engineering spends activities in the design process
about 15% of the cost of a
product in design and
analysis, but that 15% pre-
determines the final 85% of
the cost

• Errors which can be found

before release to
manufacture can give
significant savings to the final
cost of the part

Steven G.Lynn
Manager, Chief Engineer, IT Boeing
Introduction to Computer Aided
Design Techniques

• Computer Aided Design systems provide a collection of

techniques that can be used to model physical products

• The main modelling techniques provided in a typical CAD system

are:
 Solid Modelling
 Assembly Modelling
 Surface Modelling
 Wireframe Modelling
 Drafting

• These techniques are briefly described on the following slides…

Solid Modelling

• A Solid model is a complete

three-dimensional
representation of a solid part
or component

• The model is able to

represent the engineering
properties of the object:
• surface area,
• volume
• centre of gravity
• moments of inertia

• It describes the topology of

the part as well as its
geometric shape
Solid Modelling 2

• Advantages
1. Relatively easy to use
2. Underlying complexities of geometry and topology
definition are hidden from the user
3. There is a one-to-one mapping between a solid model and
the component that it represents (one component is
represented as one solid entity in the CAD system)

• Limitations
1. Standard solid modelling techniques do not allow parts with
complex freeform shapes to be modelled
2. Solid models are difficult to exchange between different
CAD systems (the connection between edges may be lost,
and the model history is deleted)

Assembly Modelling

• An Assembly model is a collection of

solid models that represent an entire
product

• An assembly model may represent a

static assembly or a mechanism of
moving parts

• Assembly models can be used to check

for clashes between product parts, or
analyse the kinematics of a mechanism.

• The assembly model stores only the

relationships between the parts in the
model – the detailed geometry
information is stored in the individual
solid parts
Assembly Modelling 2

• Advantages
1. Allows you to model the components in a product in a
realistic manner
2. Supports the representation of different product
configurations composed of common parts
3. Efficient use of standard parts, saves disk space and
memory
4. Simplifies model updating after design changes

• Disadvantages
1. It can be time consuming to define the relationships
between the parts in the assembly
2. Requires a relatively high level of detail of the product
design which may not be appropriate at early stages of the
design process

Surface Modelling

• Surface models allow complex

freeform shapes such as
aerodynamic surfaces or other
styled designs to be modelled

• A surface model provides a

complete representation of the
external shape of a part and
offers excellent visualization
capabilities

• A surface model of a
complicated object is
constructed from many separate
surface patches
 Surface Modelling 2

• Advantages
1. Complex curved objects can be modelled
2. Provides a high degree of shape flexibility
3. Useful for creating simplified structural models for finite
element analysis

• Disadvantages
1. It is more difficult to learn that other modelling techniques
2. Many surfaces can be required to represent a single object

3D Wire-frame Modelling

• A 3D wire-frame modeler creates a

three dimensional representation of a
part using simple geometric entities
such as points, lines, and arcs

• A wireframe model represents only

the edges and vertices of a part, and
contains no information about its
faces

• A wireframe model is analogous to a

physical model constructed from a
wire framework

• Wireframe models are commonly

used in the construction of surface
models
3D Wireframe Modelling 2

• Advantages
1. Uses simple geometric entities and can be used to define
an initial 3D layout early in the design process
2. Today, wireframe modelling is usually used as the basis for
surface models

• Disadvantages
1. The represented shapes are not a complete representation
and therefore the results may be ambiguous
2. Visualisation of the finished design is less good than for
other 3D methods

Computer Aided Drafting

• Computer Aided Drafting refers to the use of 2D CAD for the

production of engineering drawings

• In most modern CAD

systems, drawings are
generated semi-
automatically from a 3D
solid model

• A 2D Computer Aided
Drafting system allows
the user to create
engineering drawings in
2D using a CAD system
without the need for a
3D model (such as
AutoCAD)
Summary of Computer Aided Design
Techniques

• Most modern CAD systems provide an integrated toolkit that includes

all of the desired different CAD modelling tools

• Initial design schemes may be created using wire-frame or surface

modelling

• The detailed design of components for manufacture are usually

represented as solids and assembly models

• Solid and surface modelling integration is important for products with

complicated curved surfaces

• Engineering drawings are usually created semi-automatically from the

3D master model

Basic Approach to Creating a Solid Model

• Solid modelling

1. Create 2D profile

2. Extrude or revolve
to create solid part

3. Add or remove features

 Basic Approach to Creating a Surface
Model
• Surface Modelling

1. Create Wireframe
Skeleton

2. Fit Surfaces to the curves

Integrating Surface and Solid Modelling

1. Define curved
surfaces
2. Define additional
surfaces to enclose
a volume in space
3. Convert surfaces to
solid
 Summary

• Computer Aided Design is an important tool to support product

development in industry

• Computer Aided Design tools are used to create an accurate 3D

model of the product geometry

• CAD is usually implemented with other CAE tools such as Computer

Aided Manufacture, Finite Element Analysis, Computational Fluid
Dynamics etc.

• The key 3D CAD modelling techniques are:

1. Solid Modelling
2. Assembly Modelling
3. Surface Modelling
4. Wire-frame Modelling

Case Study – CAD for the Demon

• Lead Structural Designer (2007-2008)

• Design/Systems Integration Engineer (2005-2007)

 CAD Case Study – Demon (2)
An overview of the Demon UAV

Specifications
• Wing Area - 3.13m2
• Aspect Ratio - 2.047 • Engine - 392N AMT Titan
• Wingspan - 2.53m • All-up mass - 90kg

Stage 1 – Bringing the CAD models alive

An example of the moulds

designed and manufactured by
external suppliers
 Stage 2 – Integration and detail design

Completion and first flight!

After many hours of design, testing and certification – first flight!

• First flight December 2009

• Second flight September 2010
• Still regularly displayed at Farnborough and elsewhere
• The first aircraft to make ‘flapless flight’ in the UK