Personal Workstations for CAD/CAM Applications

Abstract

For CAD/CAM applications, the personal workstation offers significant advantages over the time-shared, central computing facility accessed through a graphics terminal. Among these advantages are availability, consistency of response, portability, and the ability to dedicate significant resources to a single task without affecting other users. Recent advances in hardware technology have made the powerful personal workstation not only a practical reality, but an economically advantageous option for CAD/CAM tasks.

At CADAM INC, we are moving many CAD/CAM applications to the personal workstation environment. Our goal is to provide users with a complete environment in which highly interactive CAD/CAM tasks can be performed on a workstation. That same workstation can be connected to a large central computer for database management or complex computational tasks. The end result will be an environment that enhances individual user effectiveness and improves the overall productivity of an organization.