Context

Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog and National Informatics Centre (NIC) jointly launched CollabCAD.

About

• CollabCAD is a collaborative network, computer enabled software system, providing a total engineering solution from 2D drafting & detailing to 3D product design.
• The aim of this initiative is to provide a great platform to students of Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) across country to create and modify 3d designs with free flow of creativity and imagination.
• This software would also enable students to create data across the network and concurrently access the same design data for storage and visualization.
• ATLs established across India, provide tinkering spaces to children to hone their innovative ideas and creativity.
• A customized version of CollabCAD for ATLs with features that are most relevant to school students to materialize their ideas and creativity into physical solutions has been developed to enable designing without constraints and, thus, allowing creativity and innovation to thrive.

What is 3D Printing?

• 3D printing or additive manufacturing is a process of making three dimensional solid objects from a digital file.
• The creation of a 3D printed object is achieved using additive processes. In an additive process an object is created by laying down successive layers of material until the object is created.
• Each of these layers can be seen as a thinly sliced horizontal cross-section of the eventual object.
• 3D printing is the opposite of subtractive manufacturing which is cutting out / hollowing out a piece of metal or plastic with for instance a milling machine.
• 3D printing enables you to produce complex shapes using less material than traditional manufacturing methods.
• Examples of 3D Printing include consumer products (eyewear, footwear, design, furniture), industrial products (manufacturing tools, prototypes, functional end-use parts), dental products, prosthetics, architectural scale models & maquettes, reconstructing fossils, etc.

2D Drafting: 2D Drafting is the creation of accurate representations of objects for manufacturing and engineering needs. It is used to fully and clearly define requirements for concepts or products so as to convey all the required information that will allow a manufacturer to produce that component.