Software and Hardware Tools for CAD/CAM SOFTWARE TOOLS FOR CAD/CAM There is lot of companies providing software’s for CAD/CAM/CAE solutions worldwide. Each software having its own importance and specialization. Some details of the widely used software’s is as below. CATIA (CAD/CAM/CAE): CATIA (Computer Aided Three-dimensional Interactive Application) is a multi-platform CAD/CAM/CAE commercial software suite developed by the French company Dassault’s Systems. The software was created in the late 1970s and early 1980s to develop Dassault's Mirage fighter jet, and then was adopted in the aerospace, automotive, shipbuilding, and other industries. Hardware Requirements: Windows Certified Workstations: Windows XP 32-bit Windows XP 64-bit Windows vista 64-bit Windows 7 64-bit 1 Software and Hardware Tools for CAD/CAM Processor manufacturer: Intel Dual Core i3 2120, chipset Intel 6 Series C206 Processor clock speed: up to 3.30 GHz Multi proc. enabled: Yes Max number of proc: 2 Dual Core Standard/Max RAM on Motherboard: 4096 MB/16.192 MB Memory model: DDR3 ECC Graphic manufacturer: NVIDIA Graphic model: Quadro Q2000 Maximum resolution: 2560x1600 @ 60 Hz for Dual link (SLI frame rendering mode). 3840xx2400 @ 24Hz for dual dual-link (single GPU) Image planes: 32 bit Texture memory: 1 GB (DB) Z buffer depth: 24 bit Driver: 270.98 External Bus type: PCI Hard Drive Controller Manufacturer and Model: Various Pro/ENGINEER (CAD/CAM/CAE): Pro/ENGINEER is a parametric, integrated 3D CAD/CAM/CAE solution created by Parametric Technology Corporation (PTC). It was the first to market with parametric, feature- based, associative solid modeling software on the market. The application runs on Microsoft Windows and UNIX platforms, and provides solid modeling, assembly modeling and drafting, finite element analysis, and NC and tooling functionality for mechanical engineers. Hardware Requirements: Operating System Windows XP, Vista, 7 Intel Processors: Pentium, Xeon, Core Duo/Core 2 Duo (Including Quad-Core chips) or AMD Processors: Opteron Dual Core/Quad-Core Main Memory (RAM): 1024 MB or higher Available Disk Space: Pro/Engineer and Creo Elements/Pro 5.0: 2.5 GB or higher Pro/Engineer Mechanica Wildfire 5.0 and Creo Elements/Pro Mechanical: 5.0 Swap space: 2408MB or higher CPU speed: 2.4GHz Monitor: 1280 x 1024 (or higher) resolution support with 24-bit or greater colour 2 Software and Hardware Tools for CAD/CAM SIEMENS NX (CAD/CAM/CAE): NX is the commercial CAD/CAM/CAE PLM software suite developed by Siemens PLM Software. NX is widely used in the engineering industry, especially in the automotive and aerospace sectors. NX has some presence in the consumer goods design sector. NX is a parametric solid / surface feature-based modeler. It uses the Para solid geometric modeling kernel. 3 Software and Hardware Tools for CAD/CAM Hardware Requirements: Operating system: Windows XP Professional operating system with Service Pack 3 or above (32-bit or 64-bit), Windows Vista Business or Vista Enterprise operating system (32-bit or 64-bit), Windows 7 Enterprise, Ultimate and Professional (32-bit or 64-bit), Internet Explorer 6 or 8. At least 2 GB RAM True Colour (32-bit) or 16 million colours (24-bit) Screen Resolution: 1280 x 1024 or higher, wide-screen format 5 GB disk space required for installation A 1GB dedicated graphic card or higher is recommended when working with large assemblies or complex parts SOLID EDGE (CAD/CAE): Solid Edge is 3D CAD parametric feature solid modeling software. It runs on Microsoft Windows and provides solid modeling, assembly modeling and drafting functionality for mechanical engineers. Through third party applications, it has links to many other Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) technologies. Originally developed and release by Intergraph in 1996 using the ACIS geometric modeling kernel it later changed to using the Para solid kernel. In 1998 it was purchased and further developed by UGS Corp (the purchase date correspond to the kernel swap). 4 Software and Hardware Tools for CAD/CAM In 2007, UGS was acquired by the Automation & Drives Division of Siemens AG. UGS company was renamed Siemens PLM Software on October 1, 2007. Since Sep 2006, Siemens also offers a free 2D version called Solid Edge 2D Drafting. Hardware Requirements: This release of Solid Edge Viewer has been certified to run on any of the following: Windows 7 Enterprise, Ultimate, or Professional (32-bit or 64-bit) with Service Pack 1 Windows Vista Business or Vista Enterprise operating system (32-bit or 64-bit) with Service Pack 2 Internet Explorer 9 (IE 6.0 meets minimum requirements 64-bit (x64) processor Windows 7 operating system for optimal performance and user experience At least 2 GB RAM True Color (32-bit) or 16 million colors (24-bit) Screen Resolution: 1280 x 1024 or higher, widescreen format SOLID WORKS (CAD/CAE): Solid Works is a 3D mechanical CAD (computer-aided design) program that runs on Microsoft Windows and was developed by Dassault’s Systems Solid Works Corp., a subsidiary of Dassault’s Systems, S. A. (Vélizy, France). Solid Works is currently used by over 3.4 million engineers and designers at more than 100,000 companies worldwide. 5 Software and Hardware Tools for CAD/CAM Hardware Requirements: Operating systems Windows 7 x64 (x86 also supported) Windows Vista (Windows Home editions are not supported) (x86, x64 SP1 or higher) Windows XP Professional (x86 SP3, x64 SP2) RAM While the minimum is claimed to be 2 GB, we recommend starting with at least 6 GB of RAM. Depending on the size and complexity of your assemblies, increased RAM may be the best investment for performance improvement. For assemblies with more than 1000 components and parts with more than 300 features, 8 - 16 GB of RAM is recommended. Intel Core i7 Min. 200 GB hard drive, 7200 RPM (dual HDDs in RAID 0 array for ultimate performance) NVIDIA Quadro 2000 graphics card (these are considered mid-range) NVIDIA Quadro 4000, 5000 or 6000 Graphics Card (for ultimate graphics performance) High speed internet connection for downloading updates and Customer Portal access INVENTOR (CAD/CAE): Autodesk Inventor is a CAD (Computer Aided Design or Computer Aided Drafting) software application for 3D mechanical design, product simulation, tooling creation, and design communication, developed and sold by Autodesk, Inc. Initially released in late 1999, Inventor filled a need for a CAD program specifically designed for ease of use, ease of learning, and communication of mechanical 3D design. In doing so, Inventor entered the CAD space primarily occupied by Solid Works. 6 Software and Hardware Tools for CAD/CAM Hardware Requirements: Microsoft .Net Framework 4.0 is required to successfully install Autodesk Inventor. Microsoft® Windows 7 (32-bit or 64-bit) Home Premium, Professional, Ultimate or Enterprise edition, or Microsoft® Windows Vista® (32-bit or 64-bit) Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Enterprise, or Ultimate edition (SP2), or Microsoft® Windows XP Professional (SP3) or Professional x64 Edition (SP2) (1,2) Intel® Pentium® 4, 2 GHz or faster, Intel® Xeon®, Intel® Core™, AMD Athlon™ 64, or AMD Opteron™ processor, or later (3) 2 GB RAM or more (4) Microsoft® Direct3D 10® or Direct3D 9® capable graphics card (5) DVD-ROM drive (6) Microsoft® Mouse-compliant pointing device 1,280 x 1,024 or higher screen resolution Internet connection for web downloads and Subscription Aware access Adobe Flash Player 10 (7) Microsoft® Internet Explorer® 6.x through 8 Microsoft® Excel 2003 through 2010 for iFeatures, iParts, iAssemblies, thread customization, and spreadsheet-driven designs Microsoft .Net Framework 4.0 For Complex Models, Complex Mould Assemblies, and Large Assemblies (Typically More than 1,000 Parts) Windows 7 64-bit, Windows Vista 64-bit (SP2), or Windows XP Professional x64 Edition (SP2) 7 Software and Hardware Tools for CAD/CAM AMD64 or Intel® 64 processor 8 GB RAM or more CAD workstation-class graphics card Microsoft .Net Framework 4.0 MASTERCAM (CAD/CAM): Founded in Massachusetts in 1983, CNC Software, Inc. is one of the oldest developers of PC-based computer-aided design computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) software. They are one of the first to introduce CAD/CAM software designed for both machinists and engineers. Mastercam, CNC Software’s main product, started as a 2D CAM system with CAD tools that let machinists design virtual parts on a computer screen and also guided computer numerical controlled (CNC) machine tools in the manufacture of parts. Since then, Mastercam has grown into the most widely used CAD/CAM package in the world. CNC Software, Inc. is now located in Tolland, Connecticut. Mastercam’s comprehensive set of predefined tool paths—including contour, drill, pocketing, face, peel mill, engraving, surface high speed, advanced multi-axis, and many more— enable machinists to cut parts efficiently and accurately. Mastercam users can create and cut parts using one of many supplied machine and control definitions, or they can use Mastercam’s advanced tools to create their own customized definitions. 8 Software and Hardware Tools for CAD/CAM Hardware Requirements: Processor: 2.5 GHz Intel Pentium 4 (or equivalent) minimum 32-bit or 64-bit Intel®-compatible processor Operating System: Windows XP, Windows Vista® (Business or Ultimate), or Windows 7 (Professional or Ultimate) including the latest service packs and recommended updates Memory: 2 GB minimum (Additional RAM recommended for optimal performance) Graphics Configuration: 256MB OpenGL-compatible graphics card (minimum) Professional-level graphics card designed for CAD/CAM applications required, NVidia Quadro or AMD FirePro series recommended Integrated graphics controllers are not supported 1280 x 1024 pixel resolution (minimum) Full hardware acceleration display setting is recommended Hard Disk Drive Space: 3 GB available hard disk space (minimum) Mouse: 2-button (minimum), 3-button or 2-button with middle mouse wheel (recommended) DELCAM (CAD/CAM): Delcam is one of the world's leading suppliers of advanced CAD/CAM software product development solutions for the manufacturing industry.