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5 Mechanical Engineering CAD CAD stands for Computer Aided Design. It is used to produce design documentation in manufacturing, including product drawings, paperwork and 3D models. CAD has largely replaced conventional drawing boards. Computer-driven design enables drafters to modify plans more easily at the design stage and to produce accurate models of the product. Computers also reduce the risk of human error. CAD designers work in industrial design departments or design agencies. Professional CAD designers have to keep up with their industry's continuous development and new software. Competitors will have completed Assistant Designer training and worked in the industry or continued their studies in Mechanical Engineering through further education. CAD designers are expected to draw up designs accurately and meticulously and to have acquired thorough understanding of their CAD software. Competitors will use Inventor 8 by Autodesk, a CAD programme designed for Mechanical Engineering. Competitors will be asked to measure a given object and prepare a draft and detailed blueprints for production. They are expected to understand the basics of mechanical design. They will know how to measure an object and how to prepare standardised production markings such as tolerance and surface quality markings, and they will know how to prepare a component list. Competitors will be asked to prepare detailed drawings, including the appropriate markings, based on pre-prepared drafts, and to make amendments to the plans, in which all effects of the amendments have to be taken into consideration. They will understand and use drawings, markings, professional terminology and standards. Competitors will be required to draw up 3D models and to apply rendering in order to create a life-like, photographic model of the 3D image. They will be asked to draw up blueprints based on a 3D model and to define the product characteristics. Finally, competitors will print copies of the drawings on the required scale. The assessment is based on the following criteria: appearance, layout, clarity, functionality, accuracy and existence of measurements, markings, and accuracy of characteristics.
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