CAD information can be useful to a number of industries including education, architecture, government, engineering and construction, media and entertainment, automotive and transportation, manufacturing as well as utilities and telecommunications. CAD is computer technology to aid in the rendering of designs and drafting drawings as a visual representation of an item or even an entire building.

CAD information and CAD reference materials are a bit thin because of the nature of the software. There are only a limited number of CAD products available, and they can often be difficult to use because of the limitations they put on your computer workstation. For those who choose to, you can buy supplemental hardware items to speed up your computer processing while using CAD programs.

To make the most of computer aided design (CAD) information resources:

1. Start with CAD industry research before making a software or hardware purchase.

2. Use information about CAD to influence your software purchasing decision.

3. Follow up with CAD resource information to improve your operator performance using CAD software.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Use CAD industry resources to find software

Find a variety of CAD software products through CAD industry resources. CAD is the generic name for the tool, and a variety of software firms produce specific brand named products for use.

I recommend: Find out how software sold by Autodesk can help the following industries: architecture, engineering and construction, government, automotive and transportation, manufacturing, education, media and entertainment as well as utilities and telecommunications. They offer Autodesk software as well as AutoCAD and Revit Architecture. Check out the CAD Alibre Design Xpress 3D Solid Modeling Software. Take a tour of the SolidWorks Office Premium software. Watch a demo video for TurboCAD.

Use CAD industry research before making your next purchase

Take advantage of CAD industry research and CAD industry reports to make a decision on a CAD software or to gain additional knowledge on the topic. Additional CAD industry resource materials can include journals, affiliations and CAD related web portals.

I recommend: Order a copy of Computer-Aided Design, an international journal for engineers, designers and computer scientists from Elsevier. Consider attending the International Conference on Computer-Aided Design. Sign up to become a part of the Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture, and network with other professionals who use CAD. Use The Computer Information Center as a portal for even more CAD related information.

Use CAD information on hardware to improve your designs even further

Take advantage of CAD information resources to purchase accompanying hardware to your CAD software products. CAD programs can drain your system resources, so giving your hard drive a boost can increase your productivity.

I recommend: Look to the Helios X0301 ACMA Computers to boost your CAD performance. Check out the workstation solutions from NVIDIA Quadro. Find out from Entrepreneur.com how 3D mice can improve your CAD performance.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Stay on top of CAD information from your software provider. Some companies offer free software upgrades as they continue to improve certain versions of their software.