Pulse of the Profession: CAD in 2030

The instant that the first commercially available CAD programs became accessible to engineering and manufacturing firms in the mid-1960s, the old ways of working—rooms full of drafters staring at drawing boards—began to slip into history. It was a paradigm shift, to be sure, and it wasn’t the last big change this nowessential
technology would spark. CAD technologies and their applications have been steadily evolving ever since, ushering in a bevy of new techniques and approaches over the decades.

And that trend continues. In recent years, designers and engineers have been using CAD to add value in innovative new ways. These approaches have arisen in tandem with a wave of Industry 4.0 tech trends, such as additive manufacturing (AM), generative design, digital twinning, the Internet of Things (IoT), and artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI and ML). Increasingly, firms are looking to leverage these emerging technologies to enhance agility, productivity, and efficiency.