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Computer
Aided
Welding
Design
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CAWD |
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Computer
Aided
Welding
Design
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CAWD - Design is usually accompanied by the submission of a design specification to the designer. This specification can be defined as a formulation through which the goal is achieved and is often subjected to environmental and economical constraints. The design process is most often iterative in nature.
The process consists of employing intuition and experience from which a set of rules, drawn from experience in previous design, is formulated to produce a preliminary solution after the recognition of the need and definition of the problem. The preliminary solution needs to be analyzed for local details to avoid any high stress concentration or excessive yielding.
The final design is completed and may yield a number of products that satisfy the given constraints. The optimum is obtained through further iterations on the overall production costs. These iterative procedures can only be effectively achieved through the implementation of computers.
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Computer aided welding design (CAWD) usually uses microcomputers. It is an extension of the computer aided design (CAD) discipline that provides the required know how in computer hardware and software, in systems analysis and in engineering methodology for specifying, designing, implementing, introducing and using computer based systems for designing welded structures or machinery.
It is also a branch of engineering discipline or technology whereby a computer and its peripherals, together with the theory of that particular design process, are embraced to produce a synergistic effect for welding applications. There is a growing number of microcomputer software for various engineering design problems developed by engineering societies, research institutions and computer software companies.
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Among these societies, the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) and ASM International are most active in developing programs and data base files for structural analysis and material selection. The Welding Institute (TWI) of Great Britain has developed many data base programs for filler material selection, heat treating and cost analysis of welding process.
The trend of using microcomputers for engineering design has promoted the change in design philosophy from yesterday's technology to a more computerized technology of tomorrow in many industries. A mote efficient production environment is being created and improved productivity is expected. The welding industry is not exceptional in this regard.
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