“The Engineering Design Revolution: The People, Companies and Computer Systems That Changed Forever the Practice of Engineering” By David E. Weisberg. This 650 page free pdf book discusses the people, companies and products that made the CAD industry what it is today.
Book Description
Today, the Computer-Aided Design (CAD) industry is a multi-billion dollar business with literally millions of engineers, architects, and drafters using these computer systems on a daily basis. The technology has clearly changed how many professions are practiced, predominately, but not in all cases, for the better. It was not always obvious that we would succeed in this endeavor. Computers were too slow, the software plagued with errors and functional shortcomings and management didn’t want to rock the boat. Eventually, the industry solved both the technical and management issues and today few would want to tackle any complex design project without the latest available technology.
This book is intended to tell the story about how we have gone from a few academics with great foresight to an industry that produces the tools used to design everything from new razors to airplanes that fly around the world non-stop. As in few other disciplines, the work of developing this technology was built on the experiences of those that went before. It makes for a fascinating story.
Table of Contents
- Computer-Aided Design Strong Roots at MIT
- Research in the Second Half of the 1960s
- Civil Engineering Software Development at MIT
- The First Commercial CAD System
- Applicon
- Autodesk and AutoCAD
- Auto-trol Technology
- Bentley Systems
- Calma
- Computervision
- IBM/Lockheed/Dassault Systèmes
- Intergraph
- Patrick Hanratty and Manufacturing & Consulting Services
- Parametric Technology Corporation
- Structural Dynamics Research Corporation
- Solidworks
- Siemens PLM Software (UGS)
- Tom Lazear and VersaCAD
- Miscellaneous Companies
- Analysis Companies