A glossary of terms used in the CAD industry
3D printer - Inkjet technology adapted to print wax instead of ink and so create a 3D form.
Computer Aided Design (CAD) - 2D or 3D design software package or visualisation.
Computer Aided Industrial Design (CAID) - 2D or 3D design software package or visualisation aimed specifically at industrial design.
Computer Aided Styling (CAS) - 3D surface design and evaluation software aimed at the automotive industry.
Computer Numeric Control (CNC) - CAD data use to cut materials with a milling machine.
Drawing Exchange File (DXF) - 2D/3D neutral exchange file format.
Initial Graphics Exchange Specification (IGES) - Neutral file format to exchange data between systems.
Parametric - Used to describe CAD models that have associativity – or rules about their neighbours.
Rapid prototype (RP) - Physical model made from CAD data.
Raytrace - Rendering technique, which supports shadows and transparency.
Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) - Laser light used to fuse particles together to make a 3D object (metals possible).
Solid Model - CAD system that uses solid geometry to describe form.
Stereolithographic Apparatus (SLA) - RP Machine which uses laser light to cure a photosensitive polymer to create a 3D model.
Stereolithographic Tesselation Language (STL) - CAD file format used for SLA machines.
Strata - Method of dividing CAD models into slices used by RP machines.
Surface model - CAD system that uses surface geometry to describe form.
Topological edge boundary - The condition between two surface boundaries.
Virtual Reality (VR) - Realtime visualisation software, often used to create virtual worlds.
Volume model - An enclosed model where there are no gaps in the edges between surfaces. Also referred to as stitched geometry.
Wireframe - Non-rendered screen-based view of the CAD data.