CADCAM wiring applications: using mechanical CADCAM systems for wiring

The author considers how considerable time and cost savings can be achieved by applying CAD/CAM techniques to many electrical wiring design, analysis and manufacturing applications. Because of certain difficulties, many CAD/CAM users have restricted themselves to simple 2D draughting, which is much more straightforward but of relatively little benefit. This is a great pity because the general-purpose CAD/CAM systems used by many electrical engineering companies can often be adapted to provide the necessary functions, such as wire routing analysis, and lead length calculations. Some of the technical issues are discussed in this article. Also the cases of two blue-chip companies, that have successfully adapted CAD/CAM systems to their wiring design, analysis and production requirements, are introduced to highlight some of the potential business benefits.<>