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ApproachesinAutomation
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BasicConceptsofCAAV5(https://catiatutor.com/catiaautomation/basicconceptsofcaav5/)

ThisarticlegivesyouOverviewofVariousapproachesinCATIAV5Automation

AdvantagesofAutomation/Customization
CostReduction
ImprovedEfficiencies
ImprovedQualityThroughStandardization
Customization
Provideadditionalfunctionalitynotprovidedinnativeproducts
Manipulateexistingfunctiontobetterfitcustomerprocesses

ExamplesofAutomation
Theapplicationofautomationinthedesignprocessisvirtuallyunlimited.Someexamplesofautomationatwork:
batchscriptfortheconversionofdrawingfilestoPDF
exportofpointsfromExcelspreadsheettoCADmodel
exportofpointsfromCADmodeltoExcelspreadsheet
gridofpoints,centeredinCADmodel(forelementlayout)
automaticsplinecreation(fromselectionofpoints)
createnormal(perpendicular)linestoasurface

Automationtools

CATIAV5
CATScript,
VBScript
VBA
VB6.0
CAA
Pro/Engineer
Mapkey
Pro/Program
Pro/Web.Link
JLink
Pro/Toolkit
AutodeskInventor
AutodeskInventorAPI
UnigraphicsNX
KnowledgeFusion(KF)
UFUNC

CATIAV5AutomationTiers
CATIA(ComputerAidedThreedimensionalInteractiveApplication)
Openarchitectureallowingtooptimizesolutions.
Processcentricsolutions

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NativeCATIAAutomation
1.ParametersAfeaturedefiningadocumentorobjectproperty.
2.FormulaAfeatureusedtodefineorconstrainaparameter
3.DesignTableAtablecontainingvaluestobeappliedtoadocumenttomanageparameter
4.TemplatesADocumentusedtostoreandreuseintent
5.PowerCopyAsetoffeatures(geometricelements,relations,
constraints)groupedinagenericcontexttobeusedinaspecificcontext
LetusseetheminDetail

1.PARAMETERS
IntrinsicParameters
CreatedbyCATIAasabyproductofgeometrycreation
Cannotbedeletedwithoutdeletingassociatedgeometry
UserDefinedParameterscreatedbytheuserforaspecificpurpose
Magnitude(Real,Length,Speed)
String
Boolean
Geometric(Point,Circle,Plane)
ImportFromSpreadSheet

2.Formula
FormulaeRelationsspecifyingaconstraintonaparameter.
FormulaWizardAtoolprovidedtoassistwiththesyntaxandformatwhileapplyingaformulatoaparameter.

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3.DesignTables
DesignTable
Providesameanstocreateandmanagecomponentfamilies.
Thesecomponentscanbeforexamplemechanicalpartsdifferingintheirparametervalues.
AnassociativelinkiscreatedbetweenspreadsheetandPartorProduct
DesignTablescanbecreatedinfollowingformats
ExcelSpreadSheet

TabDelimitedTextFiles
CATIADesignTable

4.Templates
Adocument(Part,Product,Drawing,Process)createdinageneralcontextforreuse
inaspecificcontext.
Thenewcontextisdefinedbemodifyingparametersorreplacingspecificationgeometry.
5.PowerCopy
APowerCopyisasetoffeatures(geometricelements,formulas,constraintsandsoforth)thataregroupedtobeusedinadifferentcontext,and
presentingtheabilitytobecompletelyredefinedwhenpasted.
AGraphicalinterfaceisprovidetoguideuserthroughselectionofinputsandvaluationofparameters.
CanbeinstantiatedfromaDocumentorfromafeaturecatalog.

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CATIAKnowledgeware
TheCATIAV5Knowledgewareturnsimplicitdesignmethodsintoexplicitknowledgeforobtainingtheoptimumdesign.
Quickassessmentofthebestalternativeforadesignamongstnumerouscombinationsofparametersandconstraints.
Disadvantages
ComplexModelsDifficulttoMaintain
LacksDebuggingHelp
RequiresAdditionalLicenses
KnowledgewareApplications
1.KnowledgeAdvisor
2.KnowledgeExpert
3.ProductEngineeringOptimizer

1.KnowledgeAdvisor
KNOWLEDGEADVISORisaCATIAproductwhichallowsuserstoembedknowledgewithindesignandleverageittoassistinengineeringdecisions,inorderto
reduceerrorsorautomatedesign,formaximumproductivity
Knowledgecanbeembeddedindesigninformof
1.Parameters(AlreadyCoveredinNativeCATIAAutomation)
2.Formulae(AlreadyCoveredinNativeCATIAAutomation)
3.Rules
4.Checks
TheruleandcheckcapabilitiesrequiretheKnowledgeAdvisorproduct.
ARULEisasetofconditionalstatements,wherebytherelationshipbetweenparametersiscontrolled.
ACheckisasetofinstructionsusedtoanalyzethevalueofspecificparameters.Itcausesnoevents.Itsimplyprovidesfeedbacktousersinfollowing
ways
Silent:Nomessageisdisplayed
Information:Auserdefinedmessageisdisplayed

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2.KnowledgeExpert
TheKnowledgeExpertproductallowsyoutocreateandmanipulaterelationtypefeatures.Theseparticularfeaturesareorganizedintoahierarchy.
ExpertRule:Anexpertruleisasetofinstructionswherebyyoucanstartanactionforanyobjecthavingatypedefinedinatypelist.
ExpertCheck:Anexpertcheckisarelationwhichonlyverifiesthataconditionistrueforalltheobjectsofoneormoregiventypes.Itdoesnotmodifythe
documentitisappliedto.

3.ProductEngineeringOptimizer

TheProductEngineeringOptimizeristooltooptimizeproductandpartdesignsbyminimizing,maximizingortargetingspecificparametervalues.
ProblemTab

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ConstraintsTab

ComputationResultsTab

VB/VBA
Macros/.CATScripts
Free,RapidDeployment,EasytoReuseRecordedmacros,LimitedFlexibility,DifficulttoDebug
Greattoolsforrapiddeploymentofsimpleautomationapplications
Personaltimesavingoperations
Theyarelimitedinscopeandflexibility.
VBA/.CATvba
Free,GraphicalUserinterface(Forms),EditorProvidesDebuggingCapability
Offerincreasedflexibilityandcomplexitythroughimplementationofuserinterfaceformsandmodules
Requiresashortlearningcurve
VBAEnvironmentisNotObjectOriented
VB6&VB.NETRunsOutsideofCATIA,IncreasedImplementationofComponentsandTypeLibraries,IndividualModuleFilesMakesCollaborationand
SharingCodeEasier.

HOWVBAUTOMATIONWORKS?
Howdoesitwork?
DassaultSystemeshasexposedseveralCATIAobjectssothattheycanbecreated,manipulated,anddeletedbyCOMcompliantapplications
HowdoesVBtalktoCATIA?
dllsDynamicLinkedLibraries
ThesearecompiledfilesthatcontainallofthefunctionsthatmakeCATIAV5performanaction.

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Thesefilesarebothcompiledandencrypted
ThesefilesarelocatedintheUNLOADdirectoryforCATIAV5(normallyc:\programfiles\DassaultSystemes\B20\intel_a\code\bin)
tlbsTypeLibraryFiles
ThesefilesarenecessaryforexposingfunctionstoWindows.
TheyactasmapswhichpointtothemangledfunctionsinsideofthedllfilesthatmakeCATIAV5work.
ThetlbfilesarelocatedintheUNLOADdirectoryforV5.
Anyexternalapplicationneedstohaveaccessto(andreference)thesetype
libraries

CAA
CAA(ComponentApplicationArchitecture)
MorePowerfulandFasterthanVB,HardertoLearn,ProvidesAccesstoInterfacesnotcurrentlyavailabletoVisualBasic.
ThePrimarylanguagefordevelopmentisC++.Javaisalsosupportedbutitnotascommon.
AdvantagesofCAA
SinglesourcecodeforbothWINDOWSandUNIX
Newwizardslikeworkbenches,interactivecommands,dialogboxesetc.,canbecreated
Addnewdataandbehaviorsonanexistingfeaturewithoutoverloadingstandardbehaviors
NospecificRuntimelicenseisrequired
CustomizedGUIusing

Conclusion

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