What Is General-Purpose CAD?
General-Purpose CAD is a type of CAD that can be used for a wide range of design work without specializing in a particular field.
CAD is an acronym for “Computer Aided Design” and is a design support tool. CAD has been used in a wide range of fields, as it has improved the efficiency of drafting by hand in the age without computers, which can now be done on a monitor. General-Purpose CAD, as the name implies, is software that can be used in a variety of fields.
It has the basic functions for drafting and design. General-Purpose CAD is not only available as paid commercial software, but also as free software. The disadvantage of free software is that it is not costly, but it has limitations such as limited functionality, no support, and the need to do everything on one’s own.
On the other hand, there are many types of specialized CAD software available, with software optimized for different fields, such as for electrical design or mold design.
Uses of General-Purpose CAD
General-purpose CAD is used in a wide range of fields because of its basic design and drafting functions. Below are some examples of applications in various industries.
1. architectural and civil engineering industries
General-Purpose CAD is used for architectural design, urban planning, and civil engineering work.
2. interior design industry
In the interior design industry, General-Purpose CAD is used to generate drawings of building interiors designed by interior coordinators and interior designers. It is also useful in determining the layout of rooms and the placement of interior furnishings.
3. machinery industry
The machinery industry uses General-Purpose CAD to design aircraft, automobiles, robots, screws, and other machine element parts.
4. welfare industry
In the welfare industry, General-Purpose CAD is mainly used to design barrier-free and welfare facilities. Some people working in the welfare industry have qualifications such as welfare housing environment coordinators.
Characteristics of General-Purpose CAD
General-Purpose CAD is often less expensive than specialized CAD, and many software packages are available for free. General-Purpose CAD, while useful, is relatively expensive, requiring several hundred thousand yen to install.
In many cases, since General-Purpose CAD is sufficient to cover basic functions, a dedicated CAD system is not necessary if you only need to check, edit, and print drawings or if you are dealing with drawings that make extensive use of specialized parts.
Other Information on General-Purpose CAD
Differences between 2D and 3D CAD
There are two types of CAD: 2-D CAD and 3-D CAD. The characteristics of each are as follows.
1. 2D CAD
This type of CAD is used for designing on a flat surface and is used to create drawings for housing construction and machinery and equipment. In recent years, demand for 3D CAD, which enables three-dimensional design, has increased, but 2D CAD is still in demand.
2. 3D CAD
3D CAD is a CAD system for designing in a three-dimensional space. Although it is more expensive than 2D CAD, it can do a lot of things, so it is in high demand.
By saving the designed model, a data file is created. Since the CAD used at this time differs from person to person, it is necessary to save the data in a compatible file format (intermediate file) when exchanging data.
The following formats are available for intermediate files.
- STEP format
This is an internationally standardized format. - IGES format
This format is specified in the U.S. and is often used for automotive applications. - SIMA format
This is a format specified in Japan and is often used for surveying applications.
Intermediate files are not completely compatible, and for complex shapes, there may be some geometry discrepancies depending on the CAD system used.