Some Important Events in the Development of Computer-Aided Design and Manufacturing

Academic research and Commercial R&D have been very closely connected in the development of CAD/CAM. On the academic side, there have been important steps in understanding and processing of geometric entities, especially in computational geometry. Similarly, advances in data structures and algorithms for computational geometry have played an important role. I will be happy to include other events in this list - if pointed out with reference.

• 300BC Euclid: Geometry as a deductive system based on postulates.
• 300 AD Diophantus: Treatise on number theory has the foundations of Algebra.
• 800 AD Abu Jafr Muhammad (Al-Khwarizmi): much work on algebra, especially related to solving quadratic equations
• 1637 Rene Descartes publishes his treatise, with the appendix, La Géométrie, where Coordinate geometry is introduced (so you can use algebra to solve problems of geometry).
• ~1690 Newton, Liebniz-- Calculus of real functions, Numerical techniques
• 1707-80 Leonhard Euler: much work in geometry (remember F +V = E + 2 ?)
• 1828 Gauss: published Disquisitiones generales circa superficies curva, Geometry of surfaces, Gaussian Curvature
• ~1955 US Air Force, MIT Lincoln Lab: SAGE (Semi Automatic Ground Environment) Graphic display of radar data
• 1960s:
  SKETCHPAD: Ivan Sutherland, MIT Lincoln Lab
  Electronic Drafting Machine: ITEK
  McDonell Douglas
  
• ~1965: ITEK à Control Data Corp's (CDC) Digigraphics CAD systems (US$ 500,000)
• 1967 SDRC formed; later to develop the first variational Solid Modeler, I-DEAS
• 1968 Evans and Sutherland
• 1969: Computervision, Applicon formed [production drafting]
• 1970s:
  Automotive (Ford, GM, Renault, VW) and Aerospace (Lockheed, Boeing) companies develop internal CAD systems;
  Lockheed develops CADAM (Computer-Augmented Drafting and Manufacturing)
• 1970s: Dassualt (Avions Marcel Dassault) purchases CADAM, aims to extend it from 2D drafting to 3D modeling under the project called CATIA (Computer-Aided Three-Dimensional Interactive Application)
• 1971: Patrick Hanratty founds MCS and introduces ADAM for mini computers
• 1972: Unigraphics, CV CADDS, Calma, and Gerber (all based on ADAM)
• 1974: B. Baumgart: Winged Edge Data Structure, BREP (Stanford U) PhD thesis, BREP Euler operators
• 1975 Birth of NURBS: K. Vesprille (Syracuse U), PhD thesis, CAD Applications of the Rational B-Spline Approximation Form.
• ~1978: PADL solid modeler built by Voelker & Requicha (U Rochester) CSG - regularized set-theoretic operators
• ~1978: Ian Braid (Cambridge): BUILD family of (BRep) modelers (Dr. Braid later at Spatial Technologies ?)
• 1979 IGES: Boeing, General Electric and NIST (then National Bureau of Standards, NBS) develops a neutral file format as a contract from Air Space called IGES (Initial Graphic Exchange Standard). It was the industry standard format and the most widely accepted format for transferring complex surface information, including NURBS.
• 1980s PE/Solid: custom CAD system from Hewlett Packard [later, HP developed and sold customized versions of powerful drafting/design packages; HP-ME-10 released in 1996]
• 1981 Dassault Systems created
• 1981: Unigraphics sells solid modeling system UniSolid, based on PADL-2.
• 1982: CATIA 1.0
• 1983: CAD drafting on PC's: Autodesk ships AutoCAD
• 1984 Work begins on PDES in Europe
• 1984 CNC Software founded: PC based CAM systems (later, MasterCAM).
• 1985: CADKEY introduces PC based 3D CAD
• 1985: Matra-Datavision formed: producer of EUCLID solid modeler
• 1986: Kevin Weiler (RPI) PhD thesis, BRep extended to Non-2-Manifold models.
• 1988: Unigraphics buys Shape Data (Cambridge England based CAD company). Shape Data developed Romulus and Parasolid - both with strong geometric kernels using BREP for 3D solid modeling.
• 1988 EDS launches commercialization of the Parasolid Kernel
• 1989: Parametric Technologies ships Pro/Engineer (first parametric 3D modeler). Geometry engine developed by Russian software engineers in US).
• 1990: Spatial Technologies Inc. ships ACIS 1.0 (first non-manifold modeler)
• 1993: SolidWorks founded [and from 1996, shipped SolidWorks, a 3D package based on Parasolids Kernel; with complex surface modeling and a good GUI]
• 1994: STEP AP203 [STandard for the Exchange of Product Data] (based largely on PDES) becomes ISO10303.
• 1994: Layered Manufacturing: 3DSystems (stereo-lithography) among early leaders;
  Stratasys (Fused deposition modeling) will fight for lead by 2000.
  STL Format becomes industry standard for approximated surface models for RP applications.
• 1996 Intergraph creates SolidEdge
• ~1997 Product Data Management (PDM) linking CAD with DBMS, and Collaborative Design based on Internet and WWW growing.
  Dassault Systems à ENOVIA
  PTC à Windchill
  SDRC à Metaphase
• 1998: Dassault Systems acquires Matra Datavision key software products in the fields of surface and free-form modeling, numerical control machining (NC) as well as complementary products dedicated to plastic injection simulation. The products concerned (EUCLID Styler, EUCLID Machinist, Strim and Strimflow)
• 1998 Unigraphics acquires SolidEdge from Intergraph
• 1998: Dassault Systems creates ENOVIA Corp., a wholly-owned company in charge of developing ENOVIA's PDM II solutions
• 1999: Parametric Technology (PTC) acquires Computervision and their product CADDS 5
• 2000 Top CAM vendors: MasterCAM, Pro/Manufacture, Dassault, UG, SDRC, Teksoft, Pathtrace, Cimatron, CG Tech, DP Technology, Delcam, Gibbs, Graphics Products, Hitachi Zosen
• 2000 Top CAD vendors are PTC, Dassault, UG, SDRC, AutoDesk
• 2001: Unigraphics (actually EDS/Unigraphics) buys SDRC

..and the books along these years...

• Faux, I.D., Pratt, M.J., Computational Geometry for Design and Mfg, Harwood 1979
• Foley J., vanDam, A., Fundamentals of Interactive Computer Graphics, Addison-Wesley, 1982
• Mortenson, M.E., Geometric Modeling, Wiley, 1985
• Preparata, F.P., Shamos, M. I., Computational Geometry, Springer-Verlag, 1985
• Mantyla, M., Introduction to solid Modeling, Computer Science Press, 1988
• Farin, G., Curves and Surfaces for CAGD: A practical guide, Academic Press, 1990
• Farin, G., NURBS Curves and Surfaces: from Projective Geometry to Practical Use, AK Peters, 94
• Piegl, L., Tiller, W., The NURBS Book, Springer-Verlag, 95
• deBerg, van Kreveld, Overmars, Schwarzkopf, Computational Geometry, Springer-Verlag, 1997