'Designed to Last: Preserving Computer Aided Design'

Computer aided design and modelling (CAD) have revolutionised design and drawing in many different sectors.  CAD now underpins work in fields as diverse as animation, architecture, manufacturing, engineering and heritage management and it intersects with numerous applications such as GIS, simulation, gaming and 3d modelling.  The underlying geometry of a CAD model or drawing represents the intellectual property of a significant and sophisticated design process, while the ongoing co-ordination of the underlying geometry with annotation and description brings added value.  Product lifecycle management, heritage management and architecture each need ongoing access to CAD plans and models: their value and their importance are well understood in the short and long term.

But CAD has not received the same attention from the digital preservation community as other media types.  There is precious little generic advice for the archivist, librarian or repository manager who may have limited experience with structural CAD models and be intimidated by their structural complexity. But these same staff are likely to be asked to ingest CAD into their digital archive or may find themselves having to manage CAD for the long term.  Similarly the principles and practices of the preservation community are unfamiliar to specialist CAD technicians. Part of the problem is the relative isolation of CAD user communities. Although widely used, CAD technology does not have a generic user community and the sectors which rely upon it tend to be discrete.  Consequently, lines of communication are attenuated, even if the problems we seek to fix are shared.

This one day, invitational event will bring together a number of experts who are each trying to tackle the shared problem of long term access to CAD. It will provide members with a briefing on the current state of the art in a number of sectors and invite analysis on how these sectors might collaborate to tackle what appears to be a common challenge.  It will start by examining the nature of the problem, examine emerging standards and their impact, and then discuss the impact on professional practice.  It will end with a round table discussion of the problem and what needs to be done.

Provisional programme

This event will interest:

• Repository managers, archivists, librarians and information specialists who manage or expect to manage CAD data and data derived from related technologies such as GIS, VR or laser scanning
• Senior information officers and other managers with organisational oversight of information management which includes CAD data and date derived from related technologies
• CAD technicians and specialists in all industries and sectors
• Suppliers and providers or digital preservation services
• Suppliers and vendors of CAD and related products

Why should you come?

Participants at the event will:

• Learn about the nature of the problem and how it is being tackled by major institutions
• Learn about emerging standards and professional practice in relation to the preservation of CAD
• Meet thought leaders and experts from a wide variety of backgrounds
• Participate in a discussion on what future steps might be needed
• Be invited to shape the development of a new commissioned technology watch report on CAD

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