National Library of Australia - Home page
 

 

 

Computer Aided Design (CAD)

Computer Aided Design is used for architectural, archaeological, engineering and mapping projects. It can involve both software and hardware components. At present, there is no internationally recognised standard for CAD data formats. The most common CAD file format is .dwg, however, this is a proprietary format and thus poses problems for digital preservation.

Articles | Books | Events | Organisations and Websites | Online tutorial | Policies, Strategies & Guidelines | Projects and Case Studies | Bibliographies | Glossaries | Journals & Newsletters | Discussion Lists | Surveys | Tools | Evaluations

Articles

CAD Archival Preservation and Some Practical Consequences
Eiteljorg, Harrison (Date Created: 2002)
This article explores the difficulties with not having access to a standard non-proprietary format for CAD files.
http://csanet.org/newsletter/winter02/nlw0205.html
CSA Newsletter, Vol. XIV, no. 3 (Winter 2002)

Top

Policies, Strategies & Guidelines

CAD: A Guide to Good Practice
Damien Robinson; Harrison Eiteljorg II; Jeremy Huggett; Kate Fernie (Date Created: 2002) (United Kingdom)
"The Guide is based on the premise that many organisations create and use computer aided design (CAD) software for archaeological and architectural projects. Increasingly CAD files comprise a component of project archives which are born digital, used digitally and which may not fully be re-produced on paper. The CAD guide is aimed at those who create CAD files, at project managers and at those considering the management of CAD archives. The guide offers a description of CAD software with a discussion of its use in a variety of situations, methods of data capture and good practices in the preparation of CAD models including consideration of layer naming schemes, drawing conventions and file formats. The guide provides an invaluable source of information about the management of digital data both during the project life-cycle and for its long-term preservation, archiving and effective data re-use. As a result it emphasises the importance of adhering to standards and of documentation essential information to support the re-use of the resource. The CAD Guide to Good Practice is of use to academic researchers, staff in national heritage agencies and local authorities, project field-workers, illustrators and others who are using CAD files as the foundation on which to build mapping applications and virtual reality models."
http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/project/goodguides/cad/
Preservation Handbook : Computer Aided Design
Westcott, Keith (Date Created: 19 Jul 2005)
This publication is part of a series of preservation handbooks published by the AHDS (Arts and Humanities Data Service). This handbook discusses the significant characteristics of CAD (Computer Aided Design), common formats and best practice. The goal of the handbook is to instruct AHDS staff on how best to preserve digital objects, in accordance with 'a migration based preservation approach, incorporating migration to standard formats during ingest.' Although this document is written for AHDS staff, the information is useful to the broader digital preservation community.
http://ahds.ac.uk/preservation/cad-preservation-handbook.pdf
Version 1.2. Also available in RTF format - http://ahds.ac.uk/preservation/cad-preservation-handbook.rtf
Preservation Handbook : Vector Graphics
Westcott, Keith (Date Created: 23 Aug 2005)
This publication is part of a series of preservation handbooks published by the AHDS (Arts and Humanities Data Service). This handbook discusses the significant characteristics of vector graphics, common formats and best practice. The goal of the handbook is to instruct AHDS staff on how best to preserve digital objects, in accordance with "a migration based preservation approach, incorporating migration to standard formats during ingest." Although this document is written for AHDS staff, the information is useful to the broader digital preservation community.
http://ahds.ac.uk/preservation/vectors-preservation-handbook.pdf
Also available in RTF format - http://ahds.ac.uk/preservation/vectors-preservation-handbook.rtf.

Top


Related Topics: Audio and Audiovisual material | Databases | Digital Television | Digital games | Email | GIS (Geographic Information System) | Networked digital material | Physical format digital material | Spreadsheets | Virtual Reality | Word processing documents

Broader Topic: Formats & Media

Home | About | Search | Browse topics | Feedback | Contributions | What's New?
NATIONAL LIBRARY OF AUSTRALIA,
Canberra, ACT 2600, AUSTRALIA
Telephone + 61 2 6262 1111; Facsimile +61 2 6257 1703;
Telephone Typewriter Number: 1800 026 372