Over the past several decades, computer-aided design (CAD) has had a transformative impact on design. Back in the 1970s, most designs relied on expansive drafting tables as well as tools such as drawing pens, scale rulers, and French curves to complete. Accurate blueprints involved dedicated time and expert precision at these manual workstations.
When the 1980s came around, CAD tools moved onto expensive UNIX workstations that cost on average $50,000 per seat. But the shift from UNIX workstations to personal computers made the software accessible to millions more engineers and consumers, significantly raising its popularity in the 1990s. The price per seat became much cheaper, hardware demands lightened, and learning times decreased. What once required specialized hardware and heavy machines could now run on an office-style desktop and be learned in a few months.
Today, CAD software is more than just design software. It has become a global community of designers, engineers, creators, executives, and students who share knowledge, solve problems, and are passionate to learn about the latest technologies. CAD has a lot of potential, enabling the creation of almost anything, from large industrial machinery to small dumbbells and even advanced humanoid robotics.
The advancements in CAD technology are just getting better each year, making it accessible to people like academics, children, and DIY enthusiasts instead of just designers and engineers. Technologies such as AI, large language models, and machine learning are paving the way to AI CAD that can provide design assistance and generative design. This will allow users to become more efficient and save more time, improving the user experience.
The revolution in design is heading into a new age that will, without a doubt, empower the next generation of creators everywhere.
Source: SolidWorks
