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by nja 719 days ago
Cool!

> No CAD was used in the design

This is amusing -- while I understand they mean "CAD tools" like 3d modeling software, the entire engine was literally "computer-aided design", no?

2 comments

One might argue that CAD is "computer-aided human design" whereas this engine was designed using "human-aided computer design". That is, the computer isn't aiding in the design, the computer is the designer (and I assume humans are just providing some basic constraints). The difference between the two is subjective and perhaps meaningless, but it does poetically describe the technological advancements that are being made in physical design.

That being said, I think stuff like this is governed by homeostasis: bleeding-edge technological advancements eventually get turned into regular features. In this case: I'm sure we'll continue to see CAD software to build more complex structures with less human intervention; and maybe eventually designers will expect their CAD software to generate whatever rocket engine their product requires.

yes, I don't think they know what CAD means
It wasn’t computer-aided. A human didn’t use a computer to help them make a design. A computer did the whole design
This is splitting hairs. I would go further and assume most CAD users do not know what CAD stands for. They likely assume Inventor or Solidworks.