Computer Aided Design originally referred to technical drawing carried out on the computer.
Instead of creating construction documents on a drawing board, the PC was used to create a level, two-dimensional drawing (2D) which was visible on the screen and could be printed out on paper. Today, CAD applications allow product designers to create three-dimensional volume models which move virtually and from which two-dimensional drawings can be derived and generated. CAD programmes allow production machines for technological objects to be directly controlled from the computer.
