Читать книгу Computer Aided Design and Manufacturing - Zhuming Bi - Страница 33

Through the discussion in this chapter, we find that the majority of existing CAD/CAM course designs are out of date due to the rapid development of CATs. There is a misalignment between the classification of sub‐disciplines and the types of emerging computer aided tools. To address these two concerns, a new course framework has been presented for Digital Manufacturing. It is unique in the sense that (i) the course topics are defined based on the design needs in product lifecycles, which are likely to be changed over time; (ii) the types of computer aided tools are application‐oriented for manufacturing systems, so that the correspondence of course topics can be readily mapped to existing computer aided tools for training; (iii) the framework is modularized so that educators have flexibility in selecting course subjects to tailor the digital manufacturing teaching needs of their degree programmes; and (iv) emphasis is put on the balance of theoretical knowledge and the skills involved in using CAD/CAM tools, where each course topic corresponds to training in the use of computer aided tools to solve real‐life design problems.

The proposed framework of a Digital Manufacturing course is modularized and expandable. The following chapters cover a limited number of computer aided tools, but the continuous effect of using multiple aspects is expected to broaden the coverage of contemporary computing aided systems.