CATIA Tutorials

CATIA Tutorials

Many web-based and video-based tutorials are of such poor quality (slow or missing pages, bad or unintelligible audio, incredibly slow pacing and over-reliance on slides) that they are unusable. Since a lot of our customers are CATIA users, we wanted to help clarify where the best CATIA tutorials are. If you know of good quality free or pro CATIA tutorial resources that are not listed here, please let us know via social@TransMagic.com and we will add them to this list. Free CATIA Tutorials Online CATIA V5k Tutorials – This free web-based tutorial resource has a lot of value and depth, being divided into categories of Part Design, Assembly Design,...
CATIA File Converter

CATIA File Converter

A CATIA file converter can translate to and from CATIA CAD and polygonal formats. The majority of CATIA files you will encounter will be .CATPart, or part files, and .CATProduct, or assembly files, although there are three other formats you may run into. This article will deal with what those formats are, best practices to consider when reading or writing to a CATIA format, and how to get access to a CATIA file converter.  CATIA Formats .Model – The .model extension is used for CATIA V4 parts and assemblies. Having the same name for parts and assemblies can create some confusion until the file is actually opened. .CATPart – A CATPart file is a part file or...
CATPart to STEP

CATPart to STEP

CATPart to STEP refers to translating or converting a native CATIA CAD model to the neutral STEP CAD format. This article will discuss some of the reasons you may want to do this, reasons you may not want to do this, and other formats you might want to consider translating to. This translation can also appear as CATIA to STEP, .CATPart to .STEP, CATProduct to STEP, .CATProduct to .STEP, .CATPart to .stp, and .CATProduct to .stp. The CATPart Format The CATPart format is created by CATIA. The other two 3D CAD formats which can be created by CATIA are CATProduct, and Model. CATPart and CATProduct extensions are used for CATIA V5 and V6; the difference between...
What is Model Based Definition? Why Implement It?

What is Model Based Definition? Why Implement It?

This article is in collaboration with Dimensional Control Systems, authored by Ben Reese, DCS Marketing, and Norm Crawford, Model Based Definition Specialist. Part 2 of the MBD Series with Norm Crawford – understanding what MBD is and the value of implementing MBD The second part of the DCS series of Model Based Definition (MBD) articles, Norm Crawford, an expert in MBD implementation, discusses MBD with us at DCS, and shares his experiences in both successes and failures in Model Based Definition. Read the Other Parts: Understanding Model Based Definition with an Expert in GD&T What is Model Based Definition MBD? Why Implement Model Based Definition? The...
5 Ways to Improve Your Engineering Department

5 Ways to Improve Your Engineering Department

In 5 Ways to Improve Your Engineering Department we have compiled some of the best and highest-ranking advice for engineering managers and team members. Here’s the overview: Hire Smart, Humble Workers who Demonstrate the Ability to Get Things Done Keep Communication Flowing Between Design and Production Teams Encourage Open Debate, Make a Decision, Stop the Debate and Explain the Decision Examine Workflows and Define Processes Facilitate Continuous Improvement   Hire for Smarts and Humility You want to hire the best possible person, so during the interview,  don’t ask yes/no questions, but ask open ended questions that will give you some indication...
Parasolid to STEP

Parasolid to STEP

Parasolid to STEP translation is essentially moving from a geometric modeling kernel to a neutral CAD format. Parasolid is the one of the most popular geometric modeling kernels in use today, and is the next best format to use when converting from a Parasolid-based CAD application. The best format is always the native CAD format. Parasolid to STEP can also appear as .x_t to .STP or .x_t to .STEP. An Illustration of X_T to STP Let’s say you are working with some CAD data that originally came from Solidworks, NX or Solid Edge (all CAD systems that use Parasolid as their geometric modeling kernel). You need to bring the Parasolid data into a CAD-related...