HARDWARE
Just as a draftsman traditionally requires pen and ink to bring creativity to bear on the page, there are certain essential components to any working CAD system. The use of computers for interactive graphics applications can be traced back to the early 1960s, when Ivan Sutherland developed the SKETCHPAD system. The prohibitively high cost of hardware made general use of interactive computer graphics uneconomical until the 1970s. With the development and subsequent popularity of personal computers, interactive graphics applications now are widespread in homes and workplaces.
CAD systems have become available for many hardware configurations. Most CAD systems have been developed for standard computer systems ranging from mainframes to microcomputers. Others, like turnkey CAD systems, come with all of the hardware and software required to run a particular CAD application and are supplied by specialized vendors.
Hardware is the tangible element of the computer system. Any physical component of a computer system, machinery, or equipment is considered to be hardware. In a standard PC, typical hardware components are the monitor, keyboard, mouse, and CPU, among others. The term hardware also extends beyond PCs to include any information technology (IT) devices, such as routers and hubs. It can also include parts of devices such as the telephone cable, the disk drives, or even the platters within the hard drive.
The term hardware is used to differentiate it from the intangible software. While you can physically pick up and move hardware as you please, software encompasses elements such as operating restrictions, programs, and documents. Hardware is also used to explain the different stages of computer design or functionalities.
An example of this is when an object has become hardware, it is considered to be moving into assembly, as opposed to when it was in the design stage. Terms such as hardware engineer and HAL (hardware bstraction layer) relate to the physical parts of the computer.
COMPUTER-AIDED DESIGN
Emory W. Zimmers, Jr. and Technical Staff
Enterprise Systems Center
Lehigh University
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Mechanical Engineers’ Handbook: Materials and Mechanical Design, Volume 1, Third Edition.
Edited by Myer Kutz
Copyright 2006 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
