Patrick J. Hanratty (1931-2019)
Patrick J. Hanratty is widely known as the “Father of CAD/CAM”— computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing. It is widely believed that over 70% of today’s 3-D mechanical CAD/CAM systems trace their roots directly back to his original code. His work laid the foundation for the digital design and manufacturing tools that drive the automotive, aerospace, engineering, and industrial sectors today.
Hanratty earned his Ph.D. from the University of California, Irvine, and began his career at General Electric, where in 1957 he wrote Pronto, one of the earliest commercial numerical-control programming languages. He later moved to General Motors Research Laboratories and helped develop early CAD systems before founding his own companies, including Manufacturing and Consulting Services (MCS), which produced software that became the basis for many major CAD/CAM platforms. Through these ventures, Hanratty continued to innovate, creating tools that made computer-aided design widely accessible and shaping the industry for decades to come.
