CATIA version 5 is a process-centric computer-aided design/computer-assisted manufacturing/computer-aided engineering (CAD/CAM/CAE) system that fully uses next generation object technologies and leading edge industry standards. Seamlessly integrated with Dassault Systems Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions, it enables users to simulate the entire range of industrial design processes from initial concept to product design, analysis, assembly, and maintenance. The CATIA V5 product line covers mechanical and shape design, styling, product synthesis, equipment and systems engineering, NC manufacturing, analysis and simulation, and industrial plant design. In addition, CATIA Knowledge ware enables broad communities of users to easily capture and share know-how, rules, and other intellectual property (IP) assets.CATIA V5 builds on powerful smart modeling and morphing concepts to enable the capture and reuse of process specifications and intelligence. The result is an easily scale able, Web-enabled system that covers all user requirements within the digital extended enterprise, from the simplest design to the most complex processes. This capability allows optimization of the entire product development process while controlling change propagation. CATIA V5 moves beyond traditional parametric or variation approaches, accelerating the design process and helping designers, engineers, and manufacturers increase their speed and productivity. CATIA V5 has an innovative and intuitive user interface that unleashes the designer's creativity. Context-sensitive integrated workbenches provide engineers with the tools they need for the task at hand, and they are beneficial for multi-discipline integration. The workbenches have powerful keyboard-free direct object manipulators that maximize user productivity.CATIA V5 applications are based on a hybrid modeling technology. These applications provide expanded digital product definitions, process definitions, and review functions capable of operating on projects with any degree of design complexity. CATIA V5 has produced domain-specific applications that have addressed global digital enterprise requirements that span the areas of mock-up, manufacturing, plant, and operations.CATIA V5 expands scalability across processes, functions, and platforms to deliver the right solution to the desktop of each team member in the product development chain. Tailored solutions meet the needs of a broad range of users, from a small supplier shop to a large multinational corporation.
This is the first version of CATIA that can be run on either UNIX or Windows. You can select an operating system to match your corporate IT strategy. For example, if your other office and technical applications all run on Windows, you can move CATIA to that environment and eliminate the need for UNIX. This system will be more convenient to use because users can access all applications from a single workstation, and it will be easier to administer because the integration of UNIX and Windows is no longer necessary. If you choose to run CATIA V5 on Windows, a number of key questions and issues will occur: How should the installation be configured? Which Windows services will need to be configured? How can the administrative effort involved be minimized? If you have been running CATIA V4 on UNIX, you must consider the migration of your existing data to the new environment and the communication between UNIX and Windows during the migration. These are the questions and issues this guide was written to address. The information included in this guide is gathered from consultants working in the field, tests carried out to prove the concepts, and from customer issues that have already been confronted and solved during migration. The amalgamation of this experience constitutes current best practices. CATIA stands for Computer Aided Three-Dimensional Interactive Application. It is also how you say “Kathy” in Russian or Italian, but you pronounce the software name “kah-TEE-ah”.This is the software that’s used by the big automotive and aeronautical companies. Boeing, AirBus and Bombardier use CATIA for their planes. Both the 777 and 787 were designed in CATIA. Lots of auto manufacturers use CATIA – Bentley, BMW, Citroen, Chrysler, Fiat, Ford, Hyundai, Peugeot, Renault, Tata, Tesla, Toyota, Volkswagen, Volvo and more. CATIA is also used by Goodyear, and the United States Navy for shipbuilding. World-renowned architect Frank Gehry used CATIA to design his many curvy buildings. Generally CATIA isn’t taught at the college level and isn’t used by small businesses because the licensing is pretty expensive, more than an individual can generally afford (like $25,000). When you learn it, it’s usually in-house by private trainers that cost your company quite a bit. There are quite a few books on CATIA and one private company that offer a good low-cost CATIA course (video-tutorials.net). Otherwise you pay hundreds a day for in-house training somewhere. CATIA version 4 is Unix-based, and some companies are still using V4, but in the last few years even most of the big guys started switching to V5, the Windows-based version of the software. The kernel of V4 and V5 is different, so sometimes conversions result in a loss of data. You can imagine what a pain in the butt this must have been for a company like CERN or Boeing. The versions are of course are not backward compatible; you can’t open a V5 file in V4. None of the products have backward compatible capability (of course!)
CATIA has already got a Version 6, still Windows based, but generally CATIA is so expensive that not many of the big companies have migrated to it, and not much training material is available. CATIA v6 has a 2011 release currently and Dassault continues to improve the V5 release (R20 these days). CATIA was developed by a French aircraft manufacturer, Avions Marcel Dassault, in 1977. It was written in C++. It’s not like you have to write raw code anymore; the object-based environment of Visual Studio and the CATIA help files let you get by pretty well without much programming experience. Doesn’t the fact that a Frenchman was at the heart of CATIA put you off; it is generally considered to be much more versatile and flexible in the domain of surface modeling and design than the other products. For example, if you’re trying to model something like an irregularly shaped tomato with a bruise, it’s a lot easier to do in CATIA than using the free-form surfacing tools in Solid Works or Inventor. Keep in mind that 3D software breeds cliques that put teenage girls to shame: CATIA users really turn up their noses at Inventor and Solid Works. CATIA is the preferred tool for creating what are called Class A surfaces. This is a term used in automotive design to describe freeform surfaces which look great, work well and are of high-quality (technically they need at least G2 and preferably G3 continuity, whereby, for example, two body panels on a car transition smoothly together with a continuous rate of curvature between the two sections, so that they appear connected and smooth.
Industry using CATIA.
Aerospace:
The Boeing Company used CATIA V3 to develop its 777 airliner and used CATIA V5 for the 787 series aircraft. They have employed the full range of Dassault Systems' 3D PLM products — CATIA, DELMIA, and ENOVIA LCA — supplemented by Boeing-developed applications. The development of the Indian Light Combat Aircraft has been using CATIA V5. Chinese Xian JH-7A was the first aircraft developed by CATIA V5 when the design was completed on September 26, 2000. European aerospace giant Airbus has been using CATIA since 2001. Canadian aircraft maker Bombardier Aerospace has done all of its aircraft design on CATIA. The Brazilian aircraft company EMBRAER uses Catia V4 and V5 to build all airplanes. Vought Aircraft Industries uses CATIA V4 and V5 to produce its parts. The Anglo/Italian Helicopter Company AgustaWestland uses CATIA V4 and V5 to design their full range of aircraft. The Euro fighter Typhoon has been designed using both CATIA V4 and V5. The main supplier of helicopters to the U.S Military forces, Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., uses CATIA as well. Bell Helicopter, the creator of the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey, has used CATIA V4, V5, and now V6.
CATIA has a strong presence in the Industrial Equipment industry. Industrial Manufacturing machinery companies like Schuler and Metso use CATIA, as do heavy mobile machinery and equipment companies like Claas, and also various industrial equipment product companies like Alstom Power and ABB Group.
Shipbuilding:
Dassault Systems has begun serving shipbuilders with CATIA V5 release 8, which includes special features useful to shipbuilders. GD Electric Boat used CATIA to design the latest fast attack submarine class for the United States Navy, the Virginia class. Newport News Shipbuilding also used CATIA to design the Gerald R. Ford class of super carriers for the US Navy. In 2004, it has been adopted by the Beneteau Group for development of new sailing and leisure motor boats.
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