Comprehensive Guide to Configuring an Effective CAD Workstation

This report provides a comprehensive guide to configuring a CAD workstation, emphasizing the importance of selecting the right components based on company requirements and software compatibility. It details essential elements such as the CPU, recommending processors based on performan...Read More

Running head: CONFIGURING A CAD WORK STATION 1
Configuring a CAD Work station
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CONFIGURING A CAD WORK STATION 2
Configuring a CAD Work station
Introduction
The use of CAD applications requires hardware that is able to support the software.
Several CAD applications comes with a list of stringent requirements that the normal personal
computer do not meet. As such it is important to build a CAD workstation for the company.
Engineers work better when using a customized in-house workstation to do their duties.
However, as much as it is essential to seek consultation on the software to develop or buy, advice
on what hardware to acquire is also key. As such, building workable CAD workstations that
meets all the industry requirements can be a difficult sometimes.
Choosing the Right Components
Selecting the appropriate components begins with understanding the requirements of the
company. Every designer, engineer, and automotive professionals will be able to identify the
type of software to choose depending on the daily tasks that they carry out. This forms the ideal
beginning point. Identify the software that you use daily and identify their system requirements.
However, they only give baseline requirements, as such, you should anticipate for much
higher requirements. It is also essential to do an evaluation if the software comes with a list of
recommended components (Planet, 2018). Once you have reached a decision of the requirements
to concentrate on, the next part is to select elements that fit the company objectives before
starting to build the workstation.

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Building the Workstation
This section will discuss the different elements that will make up the CAD workstation. It
will describe what to pint out and provide recommendations of various prices.
Central Processing Unit (CPU)
The CPU (central processing unit) will be handling all the processes in the background to
ensure the CAD software and all other processes of the computer to work, thus it should be able
to cope up with strains. However, it can be a challenge to determine the exact requirements to
point out in a processor. In the past, one major factor that was majorly considered was the clock
speed, but the current generation of processors is complex. What you have to look for in such a
processor is performance factor, that is, the number of instruction it can handle per cycle, the
architecture, process size, and speed.
Figure 1: Central Processing Unit

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Number of cores is one issue that should be dealt with. You might be tempted to choose a
multiprocessor which has been recommended by some guides to have a minimum of four cores
for use in 3D modelling. It is essential to note if it is recommended for the CAD software. For
instance, AutoCAD is majorly single-threaded software, and can only run in multicore
architecture for particular functions (Tutorial45, 2018). As such, it cannot optimally utilize the
benefits of multi-core processor. Thus, going for multi cores mean that you have to dig deeper in
to your pocket without attaining significant enhancement of process performance.
It is critical to make sure that the CPU you are going to acquire is supported by the
motherboard and is compatible with all the components; Intel and AMD are not compatible. For
instance, acquiring a high quality graphics card would not benefit you if your processor is not
able to handle the extra abilities. Below are some recommendations for suitable processors for
CAD workstations:
Range Processor Price
($)
Speed (GHz)
High-end Intel Core i7-6900K 1019.00 3.70
Mid-range Intel Core i7-7700K 329.00 4.20
Budget Intel Core i3-6100 3M 114.99 3.70
Graphics Card
Graphic intensive work like modelling automobile requires a professional graphics card.
However, as much as most of the CPUs come with graphic unit which is complete, it is still
recommended to have a separate graphics card. This enhances the rate of FPS, enabling for smooth

CONFIGURING A CAD WORK STATION 5
transitions when panning, rotating, or zooming. This is of essence when using 3D CAD software
such as SolidWorks.
Choosing workstation graphics card is also important over gaming card. The two types of
cards have similar specifications but they are programmed to operate on different types of
applications. Engineers require accuracy and precision and therefore, details are critical, as such,
gaming cards are not recommended.
Fig
ure 2: Graphics Card
Customized workstation graphic cards have a higher computing power, faster
performance and GPU acceleration technology. AMD FirePro and NVIDIA Quadro are perfect
for the CAD software. The following are some of the recommended workstation graphic cards:
Range Graphics Card Price ($)
High-end AMD Radeon Pro WX
7100
630.00
Mid-range NVIDIA Quadro P2000 430.00
Budget NVIDIA Quadro K1200 299.00

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Memory
The primary memory for you workstation is what ensure data availability necessary for
the CPU to run. First, know how much RAM you need to run the software. CAD software is
fairly RAM intensive, for instance AutoCAD requires a minimum of 8GB RAM. However, if
you can be able to acquire a higher figure or RAM size can enhance the performance of the
workstation and enable you to run several programs at the same time.
Figure 3: RAM
It is also necessary to consider whether to choose Error Correcting Code (ECC RAM) or
not. This RAM is able to recognize memory errors and correct them if they occur. CAD systems

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are heavily used and thus memory errors can occur, as such, ECC RAM can be beneficial to the
automotive engineers and CAD professionals. The following are some recommendations of ECC
RAM that you can acquire:
Range RAM Price
($)
Size (GB)
High-end Kingston Technology 325.99 32
Mid-
range
Kingstone HyperX FURY 105.00 16
Budget Corsair Vengeance 65.00 8
Motherboard
Motherboard is a component that facilitates connectivity of different devices that compromises
your workstation. As such, it is a very critical component of the system. Some crucial factors that
should be considered when choosing a motherboard include:
 SATA ports for connecting storage components
 PCI slots for connecting peripheral components
 Memory Slots for connecting RAM
 Maximum Addressable Memory

CONFIGURING A CAD WORK STATION 8
Figure 4: Motherboard
The following are some recommendations of Motherboard that you can acquire:
Range Motherboard Price ($)
High-end Asus Rampage Extreme 410.00
Mid-range Asus ROG Strix Z370-I 174.00
Budget Asus Prime B250M-K MATX 82.41
Operating System
Selecting your operating system is easier that physical components. Several CAD
applications have been developed to run on Microsoft windows. I recommend 64-bit windows 10
pro operating systems which has extra features that are useful like capability to defer updates and
bit locker.

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Input Output Components
It is important to consider the ergonomic value of the components that you use directly
like the mouse and keyboard when it comes to CAD workstation. CAD Mouse, which was
developed by 3Dconnexion, was created specifically to aid the CAD professionals when using
CAD applications.
Figure 5: Mouse and Keyboard
The following are some recommendations of mouse that you can acquire:
Range Mouse Price
($)
High-end 3Dconnexion CadMouse 99.00
Mid-range Razer DeathAdder Elite 59.99

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Budget Logitech M510 Wireless Large Mouse 18.99
The guides above do not exhaust all the available options and the requirements for the
CAD workstation. There are other things that are supposed to be taken into account whn setting
up the workstation, for instance, power supply unit, and cooling system (Andy, 2017). Also, it is
important to note that prices will change from time to time.
Summary of Requirements for CAD Workstation
OS Microsoft windows 10 pro
Processor (CPU) Minimum 3.70 GHz
RAM Minimum 8GB
Display Minimum 1600x1050 with True Color
Graphics Card Should support 1600x1050 with True Color and DirectX 11 compliant
Storage Minimum of 6GB for installation
Table 1: Summary of Requirements for CAD Workstation
CAD Vendor
Autodesk, Inc. is a vendor that has been in the CAD development for a very long time
and the products they have delivered over time have had good reviews and have always met the

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business objectives. As such, I propose you go for Autodesk, Inc. to supply the Computer Aided
Design (CAD) and Computer Aided Manufacturing components.
This is because Autodesk components are able to:
Meet the business requirements. For the case of the company, it is dealing with the
automotive and needs components with special features that can model and style the parts of
automobiles and generate flat patterns automatically. The components will aid the industrial
designers to meet their unique stylish designs where the automobile appearance really matter.
Also, designers will find it simple to insert acquired parts and assemble the many vehicle parts.
Autodesk components are the most used in the automotive industry and thus it would not
be challenging for the suppliers and customers when you share files with them because their
systems will support them. It eliminates the burden of having to convert the files from one
format to another. Furthermore, the components support international standards such as VDA,
IGES, IDF, and STEP.
Unless physical products are delivered, money is not just generated from designs.
Autodesk components will ensure that this objective is met, delivering physical products. Error-
prone and manual tasks have been reduced greatly and also machining, testing, and estimation of
costs have been enhanced by Autodesk. It also supports comprehensive testing to identify and
prevent products that may fail in the field.
Autodesk has also ensured that their components supports full integration of company
infrastructure for managing data. 3D systems’ relationships are very complex, thus Autodesk
have tried to address this challenge by enhancing the components to organize and store such

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relationships to enable sanity among the engineering team and coordination of projects. Product
data management ensures that designers do not overwrite each other’s work unknowingly.
CAD Modules to Acquire
I recommend you to purchase module products from LiveLinkTM like CAD import
module and the Design module which can be used to imports files and enhance functionality
respectively. CATIA V5 module is an additional add-on file for importing particular types of
files. Also ECAD module is important to integrate geometry from the layout files of ECAD into
a simulation.
CAD and CAM Software List
Figure 6: CAD and CAM Software List

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References
Andy, A. (2017). How to Build the Ultimate CAD PC | CAD Tips | Scan2CAD. Scan2CAD.
Retrieved 23 February 2018, from https://www.scan2cad.com/tips/how-to-build-the-
ultimate-cad-pc/
Planet, C. (2018). Design Your Own CAD Workstation, Browse PC Workstations. Computer
Planet. Retrieved 23 February 2018, from https://www.computerplanet.co.uk/custom-pc-by-
type/custom-built-workstation-pc.html
Tutorial45, T. (2018). CAD workstation: Choosing a computer for CAD work. Tutorial45.
Retrieved 23 February 2018, from http://tutorial45.com/cad-workstation-choosing-a-
computer-for-cad-work/