Daydreams: A Piece of Nostalgia
An article that I wrote over 15 years ago

Sitting at home on a snowy evening during our holiday vacation period, I found myself daydreaming about all of the ‘stuff’ that would be really nice to have. Why not reach for your favorite beverage and wander with me through my fantasies.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a terminal with a tilt screen just like the tilt steering wheels on our automobiles? This way CAD operators would be able to slouch, sit upright or work over their screen … they could select the position of their choice.

Everyone using the CAD/CAM environment should have the hardware and software configuration that will satisfy their individual requirements. If a person requires sophisticated system functions … they should have the necessary sophisticated configuration. On the other hand, if the requirements are simpler, then the configuration should be simpler … noting the obvious that the cost of the configuration will vary directly with its complexity. This will result in an environment with a broad spectrum of hardware and software matching the variety of requirements of the individuals on the system. In addition, there should never be a need for anyone to have more than one workstation and terminal on their desk.

How many people on the system would like the ability to be able to get a screen print instantaneously? The print should feature good to excellent quality. The cost should be low in order to enable everyone who needs one to have one. System users should be able to access their files from any place on the network.

Would it be possible to have a portable CAD/CAM terminal that I could carry around like a portable television? Or perhaps you could provide me with a cordless terminal like my cordless telephone?

Incidentally, I would prefer that the higher priced terminals would have the ability to work with holograms for my 3D modeling. And wouldn’t it be nice if a hardcopy option would be to a 3D model (e.g. Stereolithography)?

I don’t want to think in terms of models anymore! I just want to sit at my terminal and work on the entire ‘thing’ … you know, like an entire airplane, or a whole automobile. The computing system should be able figure out where all of the pieces go. You are familiar with computer manufacturers lingo … main memory, real memory, virtual memory, cache and DASD. Well, I don’t want to be concerned with where or how my design is recorded or retrieved. Maybe the design will be stored in pieces and page information in and out in a manner similar to executable code being paged in and out. This would eliminate the concept of model size.

If I need to investigate a specific area of my design, I should be able to refer to a zone or to a component to which I can relate (e.g. right wing, right front passenger door, film advance button) or by some numeric zone.

I would like to retrieve or interrogate any information (graphic, analytic, management, etc.) concerning the product without terminating the session, the application or going to a different device.

The system should facilitate maintaining the relationships between product data. If a wing has been graphically designed, aerodynamic data generated, structural data calculated and there is a need the change the graphical representation, the system should take measures to prevent the destruction of the integrity of the wing design. Should there be automatic updates? Automatic updates with warnings? No updates, but the system would send out advisories of the changes? Or perhaps the system should make all of the necessary changes under some temporary name and distribute change notices?

What if we had a single CAD/CAM/CAE system at our enterprise, eliminating the need for all bridges and conversions? In order to communicate with other systems, with different configurations (hardware and software), it would be nice to have a worldwide standard for recording definitions of one’s product. I am not referring to a CAD standard, a CAM standard or a MIS standard. The standard should be all encompassing. As an aside, when communicating with installations using the same system, we should not have to make allowances for feature differences (e.g. model size, attribute tables, pattern tables or standard libraries).

And I really do not want to use geometric entities to construct my design. I want meaningful elements … like a hole instead of a cylinder; a flat plate or a slab instead of a cuboid.

The bill of materials for the design should be generated automatically. Our enterprise should define the format and design of the bill of material; then as parts are created they would be automatically added. The system should automatically link released designs to their bill of materials to the inventory system. The system should automatically update the bill of materials as design changes are made.

Do you know what else I want, A link to an artificial intelligence capability from within design sessions enabling the designer to access previous designs and experiences with associated cost and risk factors.

How about a voice activated help system. When I get in trouble, I would like to talk to the terminal to ask a question and the system to verbally reply.

How about a system that would never fail! We would erase the word abend from our dictionaries. All input and interactions would be reviewed in real time, and if in error, a notification would be displayed with clear and explicit explanations and the system would provide alternatives to correct the error(s).

Maybe the system should be delivered in a form that systems personnel could type a word, push a button and the system is installed. Systems should be installed in minutes … not days, weeks or months.

All releases would be totally compatible (upward and downward) to eliminate archival issues. We will be able to readily backup and retrieve previous designs without any concerns as to their associated release levels.

Self-study course should be able to speak to the student. The course would be able to gauge the speed as to which the individual student can be taught. The course would evaluate the student’s competency upon completion and recommend, if appropriate, that a diploma be issued.

Changes to a product’s graphical representation should automatically update the NC sets, kinematic sets, robotic sets and/or the drafting representation.

Designers should not have to define fillets or reliefs or any thing like that … the system should do it upon request as a design feature.

Well at this point the fire in my fireplace has made this room very warm and I am falling asleep. Perhaps I will daydream again and indulge in my flights of fantasy that might become reality in the future. Tell you what … when you daydream about all of the ‘stuff’ you want why not share them with me.

Bill Abramson
12 February 1990