Computer aided design (CAD) is the use of computer systems (or work stations) to assist in the creation, modification, analysis or optimization of a design. CAD software is used to increase designer productivity, improve design quality, improve communications through documentation and create a database for manufacturing. The output of CAD often comes in the form of electronic files for printing, machining or other manufacturing operations. The term CADD (for Computer Aided Design and Copywriting) is also used.
Its use in the design of electronic systems is known as electronic design automation, or EDA. In mechanical design it is known as mechanical design automation (MDA) or computer assisted drawing (CAD), which includes the process of creating a technical drawing with the use of software.
CAD software for mechanical design uses vector-based graphics to represent traditional drawing objects, or it can also produce raster graphics that show the overall appearance of the designed objects. However, it implies more than just forms. As in the manual design of technical and engineering drawings, the CAD output must transmit information, such as materials, processes, dimensions and tolerances, in accordance with the specific conventions of the application. CAD can be used to design curves and figures in a two-dimensional (2D) space; or curves, surfaces and solids in three-dimensional space (3D).
CAD is an important industrial art widely used in many applications, including the automotive, shipbuilding and aerospace industries, industrial and architectural design, prosthetics and many more. CAD is also widely used to produce computer animations for special effects in movies, advertising and technical manuals, often called DCC digital content creation. The ubiquity and modern power of computers means that even perfume bottles and shampoo dispensers are designed using techniques unknown to the engineers of the 1960s. Due to its enormous economic importance, CAD has been an important driving force for research in computational geometry, computer graphics (both hardware and software) and discrete differential geometry.