The Pioneers of CAD

Considered the two major innovators of CAD, Patrick J. Hanratty, and Ivan Sutherland made
groundbreaking contributions, including:
 In 1961, Patrick Hanratty joined General Motors Research Laboratories where he
helped develop DAC, (Design Automated by Computer), the first CAD system to
use interactive graphics.
 Ivan Sutherland broke new ground in 3D computer modeling and visual simulation,
which is the basis for CAD. His 1963 Ph.D. thesis at MIT was “Sketchpad: A Man-
Machine Graphical Communications System.” It let designers use a light pen to
create engineering drawings directly on a CRT.
The 1960’s proved to be the most critical research period for interactive computer graphics. The
development of the sketchpad system revolutionized design because it made creating drawings
and interactively moving and changing objects on a computer screen possible. The term CAD
started to appear with the word ‘design’ because it went beyond basic drafting concepts.

The CAD Timeline

In the 1970’s the first CAD programs were only capable of creating 2D drawings, which were
similar to hand-drafted drawings at the time. Regardless, the first simple programs were starting
to change the way the manufacturing and construction industries viewed design. Much of the
research moved from 2D to 3D design creation.
By the late 1970’s, early solid modeling software started showing up, giving designers the ability
to combine basic geometric shapes.
During the 1980’s, 3D modeling emerged as new theories and algorithms evolved. Later in the
decade, solid modeling technology for rendering 3D designs became integrated into new CAD
programs.
By the 1990’s, PCs were powerful enough to support CAD software such as AutoCAD, making
such programs a household name for designers across all industries. CAD training became
synonymous with architecture training and programs have continued to grow increasingly user-
friendly since.
Present day development of CAD programs focuses on automation of different aspects of design
and manufacturing, speed and efficiency, and the development of new algorithms.