Computer Hardware

Introduction to CAD/CAM/CAE
What is a computer?

 A computer is a electromechanical device which can be

programmed to change (process) information from one
form to another.
 Do exactly as they are told.

 Digital devices: Understand only two different states

(OFF and ON)

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Traditional Types of
Computers
 General purpose computers

 Mainframe
 Minicomputer

 Microcomputer (Personal

Computer)

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 Traditional Types of
Computers

• Mainframe
Computers

 First computers, introduced in 1950s

 Used by large businesses
 Typically supported 100 to 500 users
 Very expensive
 Used for very large processing tasks 4
Traditional Types of
Computers
• Minicomputers

 Typically supported 10 to 100 users

 Smaller and less expensive than mainframes
 The real difference is relative in terms of
price, power, marketing. 5
Traditional Types of
Computers
• Microcomputers
(Personal
Computer or PC)

 Small, self-contained computers

with their own CPUs
 Used by home and business
users
 Uses a microprocessor, a CPU
(Central Processing Unit) on a
single chip. 6
Portable Computer

• What are these types of

portable computers (a type
of personal computer)?

• Desktop computers
• Laptop computers
• Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs)
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Networked computer
 Networked computer = Computers connected to
other computers or peripheral devices (printers, etc.) to
share information.
 What is the difference between these two networked
devices?

Intelligent terminal (computer)
Dumb terminal
• No CPU (uses server’s)
• No Operating system (uses
server’s)
• Input and Output only 8
Embedded Computers

 Embedded computers – Computers found in

consumer goods in order to enhance their
function.

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Special Purpose Computers

 Special purpose or dedicated computers – A

device with a specific purpose such as game
system or information kiosk.

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Hardware versus Software
 Hardware = The
physical components
that make up a
computer system.
 More in a

moment…
 Much more on all of
these items in later
presentations!

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Hardware versus Software
 Software = The
programs (instructions)
that tell the computer
what to do.
 System Software

 Application Software

 Stored on a storage

media such as hard

disk, CD-ROM, floppy
disk, tape, etc.
 More later…

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Hardware Components
INPUT SYSTEM UNIT OUTPUT

PERMANENT
STORAGE

Know these!

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 The Processor
circuit board = a board with
integrated circuits (microchips)
 system board or motherboard

 interface boards or expansion

boards
system board or motherboard = a
single circuit board with the
components which make up the
computer’s processor for a
microcomputer, including the:
 CPU (Central Processing Unit)

 Memory

 RAM

 ROM or ROM BIOS

 expansion slots

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15
16
 The Processor: The CPU
CPU (Central Processing Unit) = A complex
collection of electronic circuits on one or more
integrated circuits (chips) which:
1. executes the instructions in a software program
2. communicates with other parts of the computer
system, especially RAM and input devices
The CPU is the computer!

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Input and Output Devices
INPUT SYSTEM UNIT OUTPUT

PERMANENT
STORAGE

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Input Devices
 Enter information
into a computer
 Examples:
 Mouse

 Keyboard

 Trackball

 Touchpad

 Light pen

 Joystick

 Digital camera

 Microphone

 Bar code reader

 Scanner

 Digitizer 19
Output Devices

 Send information out from a PC

 Examples:
 Speakers
 Monitors
 Visual Display Unit (VDU), Cathode Ray Tube (CRT),
Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), Light-Emitting Diode (LED)
 Printers, plotter
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 Other CAD hardware

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Digitizer Tablet
- The digitizer is a special electromechanical input device
that resembles an electronic table. Digitizer can be used
with light pen or a puck to control cursor.
puck

Light pen

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 An input device that enables you to enter drawings and sketches
into a computer. A digitizing tablet consists of an electronic tablet
and a cursor or pen. A cursor (also called a puck) is similar to a
mouse, except that it has a window with cross hairs for pinpoint
placement, and it can have as many as 16 buttons. A pen (also
called a stylus) looks like a simple ballpoint pen but uses an
electronic head instead of ink. The tablet contains electronics
that enable it to detect movement of the cursor or pen and
translate the movements into digital signals that it sends to the
computer. For digitizing tablets, each point on the tablet
represents a point on the display screen in a fixed manner. This
differs from mice, in which all movement is relative to the current
cursor position. The static nature of digitizing tablets makes them
particularly effective for tracing drawings.

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The plotter. (output devices)

-is the output device

which actually plot
drawings and other type of
documentation. (hardcopy)

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 A plotter is a vector graphics printing device
to print graphical plots, that connects to a
computer. There are two types of main
plotters. Those are pen plotters and
electrostatic plotters.

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 Pen plotters print by moving a pen across the
surface of a piece of paper. This means that
plotters are restricted to line art, rather than
raster graphics as with other printers. Pen
plotters can draw complex line art, including
text, but do so very slowly because of the
mechanical movement of the pens. Pen
Plotters are incapable of creating a solid
region of color; but can hatch an area by
drawing a number of close, regular lines.

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 With the widespread availability of high-
resolution inkjet and laser printers,
inexpensive memory and computers fast
enough to rasterize color images, pen
plotters have all but disappeared.

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 Plotters are used primarily in technical
drawing and CAD applications, where they
have the advantage of working on very large
paper sizes while maintaining high resolution.
Another use has been found by replacing the
pen with a cutter, and in this form plotters can
be found in many garment and sign shops.

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29
 System Unit - Revisited
INPUT SYSTEM UNIT OUTPUT

PERMANENT
STORAGE

System Unit:
 CPU (Central Processing
Unit)
 Memory
 RAM
 ROM or ROM BIOS
 expansion slots
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RAM (Random Access
Memory)

RAM (Random Access Memory) = integrated circuits

(chips) used to temporarily store software (programs,
instructions) and data
 “primary” storage for the CPU

 electronic switches, storing ON’s and OFF’s

Temporarily stores for the CPU:

 Software

 operating system software

 application software

 Data

 data (documents, spreadsheets, etc.) 31

Inserting RAM

RAM is TEMPORARY memory

RAM is volatile
 stores ON and OFF bits (software and data)

electrically
 when power goes off, everything in RAM is

lost 32
RAM: Speed

Why does the CPU use RAM?

 The CPU is very FAST!

 The CPU needs the instructions (software) and data as

quickly as possible
 If the CPU has to wait, so does the user

Why doesn’t the CPU use permanent storage like disk

drives?
 Too slow

 EXAMPLE: Spellchecker
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RAM: Capacity

The amount of RAM determines:

 what software and data the user can work on

 how much software and data the user can work with

 Most computers have at least 256 MB (Megabytes, 256

million bytes)
“out of memory” error message from the Operating System

The more complex and sophisticated the software, the

more instructions that software contains, which means
larger software files. 34
ROM (Read Only Memory)

ROM (Read Only Memory) = integrated circuits

(microchips) that are used to permanently store start-up
(boot) instructions and other critical information
Read Only = information which:
 Cannot be changed

 Cannot be removed

 Cannot be appended (added to)

 Fixed by manufacturer 35
ROM (Read Only Memory)

ROM is sometimes known as ROM BIOS (Basic Input

Output System software)
ROM permanently contains:
 start-up (boot) instructions

 instructions to do “low level” processing of input and

output devices, such as the communications with the
keyboard and the monitor

Firmware = software program which is stored permanently

on a microchip, such as the software on the ROM chip 36
Graphic Card

 A video card, also known as a graphics

accelerator card, display adapter, or
graphics card, is a hardware component
whose function is to generate and output
images to a display.

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 Some video cards offer added functions,
such as video capture, TV tuner adapter,
MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 decoding, FireWire,
light pen,TV output, or the ability to connect
multiple monitors.

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 A common misconception regarding video cards is
that they are strictly used for video games. Video
cards instead have a much broader range of
capability. Being specialized for video, output video
cards improve what a computer monitor displays. As
well, they play a very important role for graphic
designers and 3D animators, who tend to require
optimum displays for their work as well as faster
rendering in order to efficiently tone up their work.

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A modern video card consists of a printed
circuit board on which the components are
mounted. These include:
Graphics processing unit
A GPU is a dedicated graphics microprocessor optimized for floating
point calculations which are fundamental to 3D graphics rendering.
Video BIOS
The video BIOS or firmware contains the basic program that governs
the video card's operations and provides the instructions that allow the
computer and software to interface with the card
Video memory
Video card will have its own video memory, called Video RAM. The
memory capacity of most modern video cards range from 128 MB to
4.0 GB .

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RAMDAC
The RAMDAC, or Random Access Memory Digital-to-Analog
Converter, converts digital signals to analog signals for use by a
computer display that uses analog inputs such as CRT displays.
OUTPUT
The most common connection systems between the video card and the
computer display are:

Video Graphics Array (VGA)
 Digital Visual Interface (DVI)
 S-Video, Composite video

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Looking at your computer

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 Storage Devices
INPUT SYSTEM UNIT OUTPUT

PERMANENT
STORAGE

 Storage Devices:
 Floppy disks
 CD-ROMs
 Hard disks
 Zip disks
 Tape drives
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Floppy disks

 Store up to 1.44 MB
of data
 Usually 3.5" square
disks
 Removable
Write-Protect tab
(Open means “write
enabled”)

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Hard disks
 Fixed permanently in a
hard disk drive inside a
system unit
 Used to store the
operating system,
applications, and data
 Can not buy more
expansion (easily)

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CD-ROMs
 Read-only memory
devices (but CD-R and
CD-RW discs are
recordable)
 Store up to 650 MB of
data
 Portable and can be used
on any computer that has
a CD-ROM drive
 CD-R (CD Recordable)
 CD-RW (CD Rewritable)

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Flash sticks or memory

 Storage
 Digital Player
 Voice Recorder

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Zip disks

 Store up to 250 MB
of data
 Used for backing up
files or transporting
large files

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Tape drives
 Work like a tape recorder
 Vary in capacity and
access speed
 Relatively expensive
 Generally used to back up
data
 Good for “archiving”
information
 Types
 Cartridge (slowest)

 DAT (Digital Audio

Tape)
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Computer Performance

 CPU speed (and

type)
 Amount of RAM
(and speed)
 Hard disk
capacity

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Computer Performance
 CPU Speed
 Governed by a clock
 Measured in millions of
cycles per second, or
megahertz (MHz)
 700 MHz means 700
million operations per
second
 Measured in billions of
cycles per second, or
megahertz (GHz)
 1.133 MHz means 1
billion, 133 million
operations per second 51
Software

 System Software
 Application Software

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Application Software
 Performs specific tasks:
 Word processing

 Calculations

 Information storage and

retrieval
 Accounting

 Cannot function without

the OS (Operating
System)
 Written for a specific
operating system and
computer hardware.
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Operating System Software
 Loads automatically when
you switch on a computer
 Main roles:
 Controls hardware and

software
 Permits you to manage

files
 Acts as intermediary

between user and

applications

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 Operating System Software
Software which manages the overall operation of the
computer system including:
 hardware (CPU, RAM, I/O)

 security

 system interface

 application interface

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GUI – Graphical User
Interface Windows 3.1

Windows
95/98/XP

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GUI – Graphical User
Interface MAC OS

UNIX/LINUX with
X-Windows

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CLI – Command Line Interface

 No GUI
 MS DOS
 ? Windows 97 ?
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Assignment 1
 Name the important hardware for CAD
computer. Explain briefly the important of
having the right computer hardware for CAD
system computer.
 Why is graphics card, is consider to be
important for all CAD application.? Explain.
 Write down the responsibly of CAD design
engineer, in the area of automotive and
aircraft manufacture.

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