Search Results

A conventional CAD system is aimed primarily at making the work of creating design drawings more efficient. There are limits, however, to further improvement of design efficiency and design quality with such a system. What is needed is a CAD system that allows design information of various kinds to he compiled for ready access and exchange among designers. To realize a system of this sort, first of all a means was devised of putting into standard format the design information that needs to be included in product design drawings, and of storing this information in a database. These standard drawings are then used in creation of new drawings, by means of an editing process. Moreover, this integrated design database system allows designers to exchange information related to the design work online, in the form of drawing elements.

ONE ISSUE IN NEW VEHICLE DEVELOPMENT that has become increasingly more important is the need to put attractive vehicles on the market at the right time. In recent years vehicle design has become a very crucial factor in this effort. Automakers are required to create vehicles having a higher quality design in a shorter period of time and supply them to the market in a timely fashion. As part of the effort to meet these requirements the automakers have developed a variety of CAD/CAM systems, which counterparts in Industry in general. Although most CAD/CAM systems are currently being used primarily at the design and manufacturing stages, the full potential of CAD systems has yet to be realized at the design stage. At Nissan, we have developed a CAD styling system called the Digitized Image Modeling System (DIMS), which serves as a support tool for the creation of new vehicle designs.