AbstractCAD and plant engineering. State of the art, problems, and prospects. CAD was first used for special tasks, that is for especially sensitive design, e. g. in the aircraft industry, or mass‐produced articles, e. g. in the automotive industry. For about one decade, CAD has been used economically in all areas of design. This paper describes the state of the art of CAD use for plant engineering. It may be seen as the termination of a thorough test. Now the time has come to decide on the future use of CAD. Problems encountered are therefore reported. The prospects of CAD are outlined on this basi