Computer-aided engineering and EDA

Digital Thread

A digital thread is a connected flow of product and process data spanning a manufactured item's entire lifecycle, from design through production, maintenance, and end of life.

DIgSILENT PowerFactory is a commercial power system analysis software for modeling generation, transmission, distribution, and industrial electrical networks, developed by DIgSILENT GmbH in Gomaringen, Germany.

Drafter

A drafter, also called a draftsperson, is a technical worker who uses CAD software to convert designs by engineers and architects into technical drawings, mostly specializing in architectural, civil, electrical, or mechanical drafting.

Electronic design automation

Electronic design automation (EDA), also known as electronic computer-aided design, is specialized software that turns chip specifications into manufacturable layouts, an industry led by Synopsys, Cadence, and Siemens EDA.

Esprit (CAM software)

Esprit is a computer-aided manufacturing software system for CNC programming, optimization, and simulation, originally developed by DP Technology Corp. and now sold by Hexagon as ESPRIT EDGE.

exocad

exocad is a German dental CAD/CAM software company in Darmstadt, founded in 2010 as a Fraunhofer IGD spinoff and acquired by Align Technology, maker of Invisalign, in 2020.

Fault simulation

Fault simulation is a digital circuit testing method that injects modeled faults, usually stuck-at, into a circuit design and simulates its behavior to measure how well test vectors detect them.

Feature recognition

Feature recognition, also called automatic feature recognition, is the task of detecting machining features such as holes, slots, and pockets in CAD solid models, bridging design and manufacturing.

Floorplanning (EDA)

Floorplanning in electronic design automation is the first major step of physical design for an integrated circuit, defining the die and core areas and placing blocks.

FPGA prototyping

FPGA prototyping maps a hardware design onto field-programmable gate arrays, building a fast, reconfigurable prototype that ASIC makers use to validate designs before committing to a mask.

FreeCAD

FreeCAD is a free and open-source parametric 3D computer-aided design modeler for Windows, macOS, and Linux, started in 2002 and reaching version 1.0 in 2024.

Fusion 360

Fusion 360, now sold as Autodesk Fusion, is Autodesk's cloud-based product development platform combining 3D CAD, CAM, CAE, and PCB design, first unveiled in 2013.

G-code

G-code is a language of preparatory G and miscellaneous M codes used to program CNC machine tools and 3D printers, standardized as ISO 6983 and DIN 66025.

GDSII

GDSII, also written GDS2 or GDS, is a binary file format storing integrated circuit and photomask layouts, created by Calma in 1978 and still the standard handoff format at tape-out.

GEOVIA Whittle

GEOVIA Whittle is strategic open-pit mine optimization software sold by GEOVIA, a Dassault Systèmes brand, used to evaluate deposits and plan mines to maximize net present value.

glTF

glTF (GL Transmission Format) is an open, royalty-free 3D file format published by the Khronos Group, using JSON and a binary .glb container; glTF 2.0 became ISO/IEC 12113.

HSPICE

HSPICE is a commercial SPICE circuit simulator for transistor-level simulation of analog, RF, and mixed-signal integrated circuits, commercialized from Berkeley SPICE by Meta-Software and now sold by Synopsys.

IGES

IGES (Initial Graphics Exchange Specification) is a neutral, non-proprietary file format for transferring 2D and 3D drawing and shape data between different CAD/CAM systems, first published in 1980.

ISO 10303-21

ISO 10303-21, known as the STEP file format, is an international standard defining a plain-text format for exchanging CAD product data, using the .stp or .step file extension.

Isogeometric analysis

Isogeometric analysis (IGA) is a numerical method, introduced by T.J.R. Hughes and colleagues in 2005, that uses CAD splines like NURBS to solve partial differential equations directly on exact geometry.

James Ralph Scapa

James Ralph Scapa is an American mechanical engineer who co-founded Altair Engineering in Troy, Michigan, in 1985 and led it as chairman and CEO until Siemens agreed to acquire it for about $10.6 billion.

Layout versus schematic

Layout versus schematic (LVS) is a physical verification check in integrated circuit design that compares the layout netlist with the schematic to verify the layout implements the intended circuit.

LTspice

LTspice, also known as SwitcherCAD, is a free SPICE circuit simulator, schematic capture program, and waveform viewer developed by Linear Technology and now maintained by Analog Devices.

Mask optimization

Mask optimization is a computational lithography method that modifies photomask patterns so the printed wafer image matches the intended design, compensating for optical proximity, resist, and process effects.

Mastercam

Mastercam is a computer-aided manufacturing software suite from CNC Software of Tolland, Connecticut, that generates toolpaths and control code for CNC milling, turning, and wire EDM machines.

Mathcad

Mathcad is engineering software for performing, verifying, and documenting mathematical calculations, created by Allen Razdow of Mathsoft in the 1980s and acquired by PTC in 2006; its current line is Mathcad Prime.

MBDyn

MBDyn is a free, general-purpose multibody dynamics analysis software suite developed at the Politecnico di Milano, Italy, simulating nonlinear mechanical, aeroelastic, hydraulic, electric, and control problems since 2001.

Moldflow

Moldflow is injection molding simulation software that predicts how molten plastic fills, packs, and cools in a mold; founded in 1978, it has been owned by Autodesk since 2008.

Multibody simulation

Multibody simulation (MBS) is a computational engineering method that models the motion and forces of interconnected rigid or flexible bodies, used for vehicle suspensions, aircraft mechanisms, and robot arms.