Tips and Tricks

Category: Mechanical Design

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What does CATIA stand for? Computer Aided Three-dimensional Interactive Application What is a UUID, and how does it affect my Catia work? After researching the web for a generic answer, this is what I found: What is a UUID? UUID stands for a Universal Unique IDentifier. These are 128 bit numbers assigned to any object within a DCE cell which is guaranteed to be unique. The mechanism used to guarantee that UUIDs are Unique is through combinations of hardware addresses, time stamps and random seeds. There is a reference in the UUID to the hardware address of the first network card on the host which generated the UUID - this reference is intended to ensure the UUID will be unique in space as the MAC address of every network card is assigned by a single global authority and is guaranteed to be unique. (Alternate addresses might be a problem here, but the author has not tested creating a UUID on a machine with an alternate address set) The next component is a timestamp which, as DCE always moves clocks forward, will be unique in time.Just in case some part of the above goes wrong, there is a random component placed into the UUID as a catch-all for uniqueness.The timestamp component though is one of the reasons why DCE does not react well to clocks going backwards.A UUID may be generated using the uuidgen command, the following is an example of a generated UUID:- 58f202ac-22cf-11d1-b12d-002035b29092 This has come from a machine with the hardware address shown in the output of the command below:- lscfg -vl ent0 DEVICE LOCATION DESCRIPTION ent0 01-01 IBM ISA Ethernet Adapter Network Address.............002035B29092 From this it may be observed that the Network address of the ethernet adapter matches the last portion of the uuid. Dassault has made their applications permanently identified with a UUID by creating their Interface Definition Language file with the uuidgen command, giving it the "-i" option. What this means to us is that unless all files originate from a single point seed file (thus always having the same UUID), Component Replace and Drawing replace links will always fail.

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How do you switch sketches on a part design? 1) Create a Curve Parameter 2) Create a String Parameter with 2 or more values 3) Create 2 Sketches 4) Create a Rule that watches the String Parameter and sets the Curve Parameter = 1 Sketch 5) Create a Pad

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that uses the Curve Parameter as it's profile How can I change the startup CATIA Graphic to my company Logo? Replace the C:\Program Files\Dassault Systemes\B12\intel_a\resources\graphic\splashscreens\CATIASplash.bmp with your own Company Logo! Why can I not save an Iges or Step file when my Product is open? First, check to see if you have the proper license checked out. Now, make sure that the Parts and/or Products are in Design Mode. This can be done Globally by unchecking the Work in Cache Mode option or by switching the desired data to Design Mode via the Right Click Contextual Menu. How can I change the background on my Catia V5 window? Replace C:\Program Files\Dassault Systemes\B13\intel_a\resources\graphic\icons\ClientMDIBackgroundNT.bmp with the new image.

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10. I am unable to read V4 Data that contains E3D Logical lines. Deselect the radio button in Tools+Options+Compatibility+V4 Data Reading that says 'Open In Light Mode'. E3D has strong links to the Drafting views in V4 that require a complete load of the .model file to be viewed. I have not verified it, but suspect that the Tubing Module in V4 has the same issue when read into V5 due to it's similar architecture. 11. Why do I lose CATDrawing links to Imported CATParts? Non-Catia Data Migration - When dealing with Cad Data that did not originate in Catia, and basing CATDrawings on it, many issues will arise. The following workflow will reduce the number of issues due to STEP and IGES Import methods into V5. The root of the problem that is experienced while linking CATDrawings to CATProducts and CATParts of new versions of files is due to an encryption routine Windows that CATIA utilizes to create a unique identifier for each and every new CATPart and CATProduct that is created. This encryption routine creates and embeds an Object called a UUID which stands for Universal Unique IDentifier. These are 128 bit numbers assigned to any object within a DCE cell which is guaranteed to be unique. The mechanism used to guarantee that UUIDs are Unique is through combinations of hardware addresses, time stamps and random seeds. What that means to you and me is that the File Name that we see when we save the file or reference it to create a CATProduct or CATDrawing is NOT the ID that is being referenced by CATIA, and can therefore not simply be replaced with another file of the same name. Assuming that the Cad data is not originating in V5, the process for revising a CATPart (non-native) while maintaining links to CATDrawings is this: 1) Non-V5 Modeling------>2) STEP/IGES Export/Import------>3) New CATPart with Original UUID------>4) CATDrawing------>5) Non-V5 Modeling------>6) STEP/IGES Export/Import------>7) New CATPart with New UUID------>8) Copy/Paste from New CATPart with New UUID to Existing CATPart with Original UUID------>9) Open CATDrawing to verify link Basically, the concept is to establish the relationship from the CATDrawing Child file to it's Parent CATPart or CATProduct and maintain this relationship by changing the contents of the CATPart or CATProduct but re-use the original file so that it's UUID remains intact. 13. How do I enable the Product to Part conversion? Add this string to your environment file IRD_PRODUCTTOPART = 1 14. How do I enable Part Comparisons? IRD_PART_COMPARISON = 1 15. How do I migrate a Solidm to CATPart? Add this string to your environment file and paste 'As Spec' CATMigrSolidMUV4AsPart=1 16. How do I save a V5 Solid to a V4 Volume? Add this string to your environment file V5V4SaveAsVolume=1 17. How do I control the max gap in the automatic topology cleaner? Add this string to the envirnment file V5V4CleanTolerance=0.01 18. How do I concatenate small surfaces with larger adjacent surfaces Add this string to your environment file V5V4MaxSimplif=1 19. How do I save an entire CATDrawing as a single PDF? Add the following string to your Environment file SAVE_AS_ONE_PDF=1 20. How can I add a logo or text to my part design? Import the image into a CATDrawing and/or type text onto the lower left corner of a CATDrawing and then save it as a .dxf file. Close the CATDrawing and read the .dxf, and then Copy/Paste the lines into a sketch plane. From there, treat the sketch as a normal sketch and use Pad/Pocket, scaling or whatever to make it fit your needs. There is a shockwave viewlet on my website, if you would like to see this demonstrated. 21. how can I modify (write what I want) the UUID of catparts? What is the particular use case? I am unaware of a way to simply edit the UUID within the CATPart, but there may be methods of achieving what you want if you can describe the specific case.

22. How do I read an STL file in V5? Check out the STL license Create a CATPart Load the STL Workbench Select the Import button Set the file type to ASCII-Free and Browse to read the .stl file This will load the raw STL data into the open part Any further manipulation requires further training (try F1 Help). 23. How to convert Pdf file to CATDrawing file Try converting it to DXF and then reading the file into Catia V5. http://www.trixsystems.com/pdf2cad.html 24. How do you start DMU in Administration mode? Add -admin to your startup script.

Category: Surface Design

1. How are V4 Surf2 and V5 Surfacing similar? This is a very broad subject,any surfacing that you were capable of doing in V4 can be done in V5. Most of the command inputs are the same, only the Interface and some naming has changed. V5 has capabilities that V4 never had, but it requires an in-depth study of the tool set. 2. I would like to know what is MID CRV, in catiav4 SURF2 Function, and how do we can create the MID CRV, for a set of generating curves. Also What is TANG INT , in SURF2+CRV CRV+TANG INT. A Mid Curve is a curve that is used to control the behavior and shape of a surface, and is located between and somewhat parallel to the Boundary Curves, and also are in contact and somewhat perpendicular to the Generating Curves. A key relationship to be aware of is that the Mid Curves must be in contact with the generating curves, and that the Spine must be perpendicular to each of the Generating Curve support planes. The Tangent Intercept curve represents where the focus of the conic sections of a surface lie. If you extrapolate the surfaces that you are trying to join until they intersect and create a Curve1+Intersect curve, you have created a Tangent Intercept. Once you get this concept down, you can venture into the concept of Conic Surfaces that use this resultant curve to control the tension of the surface. In a 2d sense, the TI Curve is the same as a Conic Focal Point. Follow this link to observe an example... http://catiadr.com/Styling.htm How do I enable rolling offsets in GSD? Add this string to your Environment file CGM_ROLLINGOFFSET=1 How can I create a single patch surface from a multi-patch? Tesselate the surface via Imagine and Shape WB and then Power Fit via Quick Surface Reconstruction WB.

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Category: Kinematics
1. 1. How are V4 and V5 Kinematics similar? How are V4 and V5 Kinematics similar? Assuming that you are a V4 Kinematics Master, it will help you to know: 1) V4 Sets = V5 Parts 2) V4 Kinemuse = Simulation with commands 3) V4 Laws = Speed and Acceleration 4) V5 Simulations can generate AVI's 5) V5 Simulations can incorporate Camera movement

Category: Data Management

1. 2. How do I manage memory for IGES export? Add this string to your Environment file TAILLE_MEMOIRE_CHOISIE=1 How do I start Catia without a Product? Add this string to your Environment file CATNoStartDocument=no

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How do I start Catia without the Universe Background? Add this string to your Environment file CNEXTBACKGROUND = no How do I start Catia without seeing the Start screen? Add this string to your environment file CNEXTSPLASHSCREEN = no What does the V4 to V5 Batch Migration Utility do? The V4 to V5 Batch Migration Utility does the following: -- Creates a separate CATPart for each Set in the model. -- Creates a separate CATPart for each Workspace in the model. -- Creates a CATProduct for each Workspace that contains Dittos. It then instanciates the CATParts that were created from the respective Workspaces. If there is only 1 set and/or 1 workspace, no CATProduct is produced. -- For each solid in each workspace, a separate PartBody is created. No geometry is placed into PartBody.1 -- Only Geometry in SHOW is migrated. If a Solid has Parent Geometry, that is brought along as well. All of this information can be found in the on line documentation. Jim Strawn Cessna Aircraft Co. 316-517-5851

Category: Knowledge Management and Engineering.

1. Where can a CatiaV5 automation document be accessed via web? Follow this link to the CAA Web site, and register for free access. 2. http://www.caav5.com/developers/autofr.htm What is the difference in Knowledge Management and Knowledge Engineering? Knowledge Management is the discipline of extracting, storing and balancing Intellectual Property in a parseable database. The act of leveraging this IP with Applications and Processes is Knowledge Engineering. In the simplest form, the use of a standards document by a designer is Knowledge Engineering. I reserve the term 'Knowledge Engineering' for the act of developing Software Applications leveraging Database 3. Knowledge in order to compress design cycles by providing new efficiencies. What is the difference in Knowledge Management and Knowledge Engineering? Knowledge Management is the discipline of extracting, storing, classifying, balancing and maintaining relevant information for use in various tasks, one of which is Engineering. Knowledge Engineering is the discipline of leveraging this Knowledge by dissemination, automation, process inclusion, CAD connection, run-time document creation, and cross database connections for higher level analysis. What are the Best Practices for Power Copies? Creating a PowerCopy As far as possible, minimize the number of elements making up the PowerCopy. When defining PowerCopies including sketches, use profiles constrained with respect to edges or faces rather than to planes. Additionally, set the option Create geometrical constraints off before sketching. Generally speaking, it is always preferable to use profiles both rigid and mobile. It is preferable to constrain elements with respect to external references such as faces, edges, reference or explicit planes. It is preferable not to use projections nor intersections in your sketch if you want to use your sketch in a PowerCopy. Avoid constraints defined with respect to reference planes. Before creating your PowerCopies, make sure that your sketch is not over-constrained. Make sure that your sketch is iso-constrained (green color). You can use non-iso-constrained sketches, but it will be more difficult to understand and control the result after instantiation. Create sketches on an axis system, in order to better control the Sketch position. Avoid access to sub-elements. Formulas are automatically included if you select all the parameters. For complex design, integrate knowledge rules. Managing inputs: Always rename your inputs to help the end user understand what he needs to select. A formula is automatically included in a Power Copy definition when all its parameters are included. Otherwise, i.e. if at least one parameter is not selected as part of the Power Copy, select the formula to make it part of the definition. If you do so, all the formula parameters that have not been explicitly selected, are considered as inputs of the Power Copy. Note that when including

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parameters sets containing hidden parameters in a PowerCopy, the hidden parameters are automatically 5. 6. instantiated when instantiating the PowerCopy. Preview: In a Part document, create only on How do I disable License errors at startup? Add this Variable string to your Environment file CATLM_ODTS=1 How can I enable Wilson's spline curves? Add this string to your Environment file L_WILSON_LAN=1