CATIA V5

TIPS AND TRICKS

HTTP://WWW.SCRIPTING4V5.COM

EMMETT ROSS
January 2015

WHY USE CATIA?

CATIA V5 is a Swiss army knife; from advanced machining to
ergonomics, designs cars, boats, or airplanes, CATIA can do it
all.
It takes an experienced user to do so, and the more familiar
you are with all of CATIAs features, the more quickly your
tasks can be accomplished.
In fact, its said 80% of the users only use 20% of the
features.
There are multiple ways to do things but one of those ways is
probably better than the others, you just have to figure out
which method that is.
Saving a little bit of time here and there can add up over a
long period of time, such as your professional career.
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SPEC TREE ORGANIZATION

An organized specification tree makes the

part easy to navigate, especially for anyone
who did not create the original geometry.
All geometry is located inside logically
named geometrical sets.
Important features are labeled

GEOMETRY CREATION AND

ORGANIZATION
Your goal, as a designer, is to make the best data possible.
Your geometry should easily update with no errors.
The ideal shape is not always feasible to create, but the goal
should be to get as close to it as possible.
The goal is to make your data robust and as easy to update as
possible. This means it may take longer to create the initial
geometry, but the time will be saved later when it is updated
again by avoiding time-consuming error fixing.
Sometimes it is advantageous to make a start part or
template that can be used for standardization and ef ficiency.

UPDATEABLE AND ROBUST GEOMETRY

To help make your data easily updateable and robust:
Build geometry that CATIA can find and calculate itself.
Avoid selecting Breps (edges, points directly on the surface, etc.)
Building with B-reps causes more opportunity for the model to
fail and updates are inefficient when selections need to be made
again and again.
Avoid using the extract function to select Faces, Edges or
vertices from geometry with a lot of history.
Avoid overusing extrapolate modify the root element when
possible.

FEATURE BASED MODELING

For light and ef ficient models use feature based modeling
(FBM). Modeling a part in section features allows CATIA to
look at the data in clumps and will make open and update
times quicker because CATIA can skip ahead when areas are
not af fected by the change. Feature Based Modeling breaks
all joining operations (such as fillets, trim, blends and joins)
into two distinct elements: the base and the feature.

INSERT FEATURES

To insert a new feature

into the tree:
1. Activate Insert Mode
2. Start a trim or shape
fillet
3. Select the base (the
main or existing)
surface first
4. Select the new
feature
5. After clicking OK the
new feature is now
inserted in the chain
of geometry
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SELECTION ORDER

In CATIA, the order

elements are selected
while creating
geometry DOES
MATTER!

REPLACE A FEATURE

VARIABLE FILLET
It is unavoidable to select BRep Edges for Edge Fillets
and Variable Fillets. However, it is possible to control the
variable fillet with more robust geometry.
Use global planes or planes created from stable
geometry to locate points on a curve. Planes are more
reliable and will always update.

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QUICK SELECT TOOL

Use the quick

select tool to find

parent/child
geometry

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CHECK CATIA RELEASE VERSION

To check the release version of a CATPart from within CATIA
go to File > Document Properties. There youll find
information about the saved document version. For example,
5.22.4 means CATIA V5 R22 SP4.
Another way to determine the version, release and service
pack of a CATPart is to go to the directory where the CATPart
is saved, right click on the CATPart, and open with either
WordPad or Notepad. Perform a "Find" on
"minimalversiontoread" (notice there are no spaces). You'll
get the information as shown but please keep in mind

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INCREASE THE NUMBER OF UNDO LEVELS

The default number of undo levels is ten. In most cases it can
be very useful to have a few more, but do remember that this
will hog system memory so show restraint when altering this
setting.
R16: Tools > Options: Select General > Performances
R18: Tools > Options: General > PCS

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COMMANDS LIST

List of all commands available in CATIA.

Example: To expand every node in the spec tree:
View > Commands List > Expand All Levels.

Tools > Customize > Commands to create a shortcut icon

for useful commands.

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SELECTION TRAP COMMAND

If you attempt to select sketch geometry above an existing
solid by clicking and dragging, CATIA, by default, will attempt
to Copy and Paste the geometry outside the sketch. To avoid
this, click the SELECTION TRAP ABOVE GEOMETRY icon before
making the selection.

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SCREEN CAPTURE TOOL

CATIA has a built in screen capture tool. Access it by going to
Tools > Image > Capture. Options can be changed inside the
tool such as automatically changing the background color to
white (useful for inserting into PowerPoint presentations and
not wasting as much ink when printing). Of course, this tool is
just used for screenshots taking a snap shot of exactly what
is displayed on the screen. For high quality, realistic images
youll need to use rendering.

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THE QUESTION MARK

A great way to learn about new functions is by using the
question mark command, a tool that is directly linked to the
help files. To use the command simply click on the arrow with
the question mark and then select any item on the screen.
This will not only give you a description of the item but will
link to the detailed help file page.

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USE SELECTION FILTERS

The user selection filter can help you pick the correct
geometric element for the current command and avoid wasted
time by picking unwanted geometry and having to re-select.
Turn on the user selection filter toolbar in View > Toolbars >
User Selection Filter. When a filter is active (displayed in
orange) only items of that type can be selected. For example,
when filleting a padded object, the faces of the pad are not
selectable with the Curve Filter active, only the edges are
selectable.

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BILL OF MATERIALS
To automatically generate a bill of material go to Analyze >
Bill of Material. Click Defined formats in the bottom right
hand corner to add additional properties to display. The BOM
can be saved as a TXT, XLS, or html file. BOMs can also be
generated automatically from a CATScript macro, either by
initiating the Bill of Material tool or by exporting a custom
part list directly into Microsoft Excel.

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PARAMETERIZATION ANALYSIS
Use Parameterization analysis
to delete dead ends/useless
elements and inactive
components to keep file size
down.
Find all sketches, all under
constrained sketches, etc.
In Part Design workbench:
Tools > Parameterization
analysis

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CATIA AUTOMATION & MACROS

If you per form a task repeatedly, you can take advantage of a macro
to automate it. A macro is a series of functions, written in a scripting
language, that you group in a single command to per form the
requested task automatically, saving time and reducing the
possibility of human error.
Examples of macros CAD engineers might use:

Generate Part List in Excel from CATIA

Place weld gun at every weld point
Compare differences between two parts
Print annotation data
Take a screen capture
Delete deactivated features
Create a drawing
Find specific geometry
Change background color to white
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OTHER CATIA TIPS

The default shortcut to collapse the tree is Alt+C.
Smaller file size = faster data transfer.
If getting errors use CATDUA to clean files. File > Desk.
Press Alt, then left click part will give you a list of features in that
area.
Increase stack size for more Undos but beware this takes up more
memory and reduces performance.
Fully constrain all sketches
Build robust data from the beginning.

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WANT TO LEARN EVEN MORE TIPS TO SAVE

YOU TIME AND IMPROVE YOUR EFFICIENCY?

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CATIA V5 TIPS AND TRICKS

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