in full computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing.
Integration of design and manufacturing into a system under direct control of
CAD systems use a computer with terminals featuring video monitors and interactive graphics-input devices to design such things as machine parts, patterns for clothing, or integrated circuits . CAM systems use numerically controlled (see numerical control ) machine tools and high-performance programmable industrial {{link=robot">robots . Drawings developed during the design process are converted directly into instructions for the production machines, thus optimizing consistency between design and finished product, and providing flexibility in altering machine operations. These two processes are sometimes grouped as CAE (computer-aided engineering).