CATIA User Interface

•Let’s review the following key features:

ÄMulti-document support

ÄStandard and specific menus & toolbars (File, Edit, Insert, …)

ÄStandard manipulation (Copy-Paste, Drag & Drop, …)

ÄIntuitive (Highlight, copilot, cursor shapes, …)

ÄContextual menu (Mouse Button 3)

ÄSpecification Tree (including all technological features, constraints, relationships, …)

ÄWorkbenches and associated toolbars …

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 CATIA User Interface
• IMPORTANT

ÄThe next pages are very important to use CATIA correctly.

ÄYou MUST READ these pages and refer to them if you don’t remember
how to use some of the functionalities.

ÄFirst, open a CATIA file.

8Launch CATIA if it is not already launched

8Click on the Close button
8Maximize the CATIA window
8Close the Product1 window
8Open the file polepiece.CATPart under the
…\DATA\Assembly Design\ directory
8Select the polepiece.CATPart file
8Click on the Open button

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 CATIA User Interface
CATIA window Use the Window menu to list & swap Icons to minimize, maximize or close
open windows window

Menus
Icon of active
Window of workbench
active
document Use this icon to
quit a function
Tree
&
Toolbars of active
Geometry workbench

Tree Double arrows indicate

scrollbar more toolbars

Toolbars Drag the >> sign to move

unseen toolbars
Prompt zone

Undo icon to
cancel actions

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 CATIA User Interface
• Dialog boxes provide parameters for the
definition of features. They are standardized
across all functions.
ÄEX: if you double-click on a hole you will get the Hole Click the question mark and select a field to get help
Definition dialog box. Click the cross to close the dialog box

Name of the task

Select a tab to define particular attributes

Select an option from the drop down list
Key in a value or click up and down arrows

Fields not selectable (locked)

Select button to activate the option

Click check box to activate the option
Inactive field

Click OK to confirm
Click Apply to pre-visualize the result
Click Cancel to leave the function

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 CATIA User Interface
•Using the Mouse Function

MB2
To manipulate
objects
MB3
To display the
contextual menu

MB1
To select and edit
objects

MB means Mouse Button

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 CATIA User Interface
•Panning Objects

ÄIt’s important you practice using the

mouse.

81. Position the cursor anywhere on the screen

82. Press and Hold Mouse Button 2 (MB2)

83. Move the mouse where you want to drag the part
.The cursor will change to a cross

G If the part disappears, get it back with the Fit-All-In icon in the View toolbar.

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 CATIA User Interface
•Rotating Objects

81. Position the cursor anywhere on the screen

82. Press and Hold mouse button 2 (MB2)

.The axis appears in the center of the screen

83. Press and Hold mouse button 1 (MB1) while keeping MB2
pressed
.The cursor changes to a hand and a red circle appears representing
a virtual space ball

84. Move the mouse to rotate the part

.The cursor will change to a cross

GTo change the rotation axis, click once on MB2 on the

element that you want at the center of the screen.
GP.S.: if you see a « + » or a Forbidden sign it means that
you have not held MB1 and you will duplicate the
geometry

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 CATIA User Interface
•Zooming

81. Position the cursor anywhere on the screen

82. Press and Hold mouse button 2 (MB2)

.An axis and a circle appear in the center of the screen

83. Press and release MB1 while keeping MB2 pressed

.The cursor changes to a double arrow

84. Move the mouse up to zoom in

85. Move the mouse down to zoom out

G To zoom step by step click on + and – icons in the View toolbar

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 CATIA User Interface
•Moving the Tree

ÄUsing the Scrollbar ÄUsing the Mouse

.When and only when the size of the tree .Moving the tree anywhere
exceeds the window you can use the
scrollbar to display the tree downward or
upward

Click up arrow to display

the top of the tree

Drag the bar up and down

as you wish

Click down arrow to

display the bottom of the
tree

Click mouse button 1

Position the cursor (MB1) and drag the
on a tree branch. mouse to move the tree.
The cursor changes The cursor changes to a
to a pointing finger small hand

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 CATIA User Interface
•Adjusting and Expanding the Tree
To adjust tree size:
Geometry dimmed while adjusting the size of the tree

Click on + to expand
Click on – to shrink

Click mouse Expand / Shrink

button 1 (MB1)
on a tree branch

To reactivate the geometry, click

Zoom in and out as
again on a tree branch
explained two
pages before

.Note that you can use the scrollbar to display the top or bottom of the tree

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 CATIA User Interface
•CATIA Documents
ÄWhen working in CATIA you can create, modify and
save geometries within documents
ÄDocuments are containers Current workbench

ÄDifferent Types of Documents Current document

The type of document depends on the workbench you
use to create and modify a geometry :

Assembly Design .CATProduct

Part Design

Sketcher .CATPart

WireFrame & Surface

Generative &
.CATDrawing
Interactive Drafting

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 CATIA User Interface
•Terminology

ÄA Product Structure is a way to structure and organize your products

logically. You can navigate within the structure and work on its different
components
ÄA Document is a file including data you can create and manage with the
associated workbench (specific extension)
ÄA Workbench is a set of tools that allows you to create and manage your
geometry

Not active
Current (or active)
documents have a
workbench
gray title bar

Workbench
toolbars…
Current document
(blue title bar)

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SKETCHER Workbench Presentation

IBM Product Lifecycle Management Solutions / Dassault Systemes

 Learning Sketcher
• Exercise

ÄOpen a new Part : Start + Mechanical Design + Part Design

Select a plane, a Solid face,

1 or a Planar Surface to
Sketch on

Access the Sketcher

2 Workbench

Select the Polygon icon

3 and draw a sketch as
shown
.Click and release MB1 where you want to start a line
.Click MB1 where you want to finish the line
.Hold MB1 then move the mouse and release MB1 to
draw an arc
.Double-click when you want to finish your profile .If you want to exit the
function click on the
Select icon

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 Learning Sketcher
• Exercise

Select the Constraints icon

4 and set dimensions
.To set a dimension, select a line, drag the
dimension to the desired position
.Click to create it

5 Change Dimensions as shown

.To modify a Dimension,

double-click on the green
dimension value box.
.Change the value and click
OK to validate

6 Exit the Sketcher

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 Learning Sketcher
• Exercise

7 Click on the Pad icon

.Select the Sketch if necessary

8 Click OK to validate

.You can change the length value

before validation

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 Learning Sketcher
• Exercise

9 Double-Click on Sketch.1 in the Tree to

enter Sketcher

.Double-click on the 110

dimensions
.Change the value to 120
.Click OK to validate
.Exit the Sketcher

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 Learning Sketcher
• Exercise

10 Select the face as shown and

enter Sketcher

11 Select the Circle icon

.Click to define the circle
center
.Drag the mouse to define the
radius
.Click to create the circle

12 Exit the Sketcher

13 Select the Pocket icon

14 Click OK to validate
.You can change the depth value
before validation
Close all the windows except the CATIA
15 one. This is the END of the Sketcher
Training

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 SKETCHER Workbench Presentation
• Let’s have a short Debriefing…

.The Sketcher is a set of tools to help the user quickly generate 2D geometry

.The completed Sketch can then be used to generate solids and surfaces

.The capability to define constraints between elements in the Sketcher allows for quick
modifications of the Sketch on subsequent solids or surfaces

.Others tools such as Animate Constraints enable the user to explore design alternatives

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 Learning Sketcher
• Accessing the Workbench

ÄSelect Start + Mechanical Design + Sketcher

ÄSelect a plane or a face of an object

You can also access the Sketcher by

selecting the Sketcher icon from any
Workbench

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 Learning Sketcher
• Sketcher Workbench overview

ÄA new Sketch will appear in the Part Tree when entering the Sketcher Workbench

Tools & Operations

Part tree
Go to 3D
view
Exit a
function
New Sketch
Constraints
Icons

Sketcher
Design Tools

Standard Work in
tools normal view

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 Learning Sketcher
Exit Sketcher
• Sketcher Tools
Profile
Rectangles, Keyholes, Polygons…
Circles, Ellipses, Arcs…
Spline
Ellipse
Line
Axis
Points…

Corner
Chamfer
Trim options…
Break
Symmetry
Projection

Constraints dialog box

Constraints
Auto Constraints
Animate Constraints

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 Learning Sketcher
• Terminology

The Sketch is the holding place for a group of 2D elements on a

specific plane. There can be more than one Sketch using the same
plane as support.

The V-H Axis is the origin of

the Sketch.

Sketches generally consist of a

Profile, Constraints, and
Dimensions (a type of Constraints).

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 Learning Sketcher
• General Process

Select a plane, a Solid face, 3

1 or a Planar Surface to
Sketch on An In-Work Sketch is
added to the
Access the Sketcher Specifications Tree
2 Workbench

4
Create Geometric 5
Elements and
Constraints
Exit the Sketcher

Use the Sketch to create a

Solid or a Surface

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Before Starting CATIA
Set the environment

IBM Product Lifecycle Management Solutions / Dassault Systemes

 Setting the environment
WB

•In the next pages you will configure CATIA

to do some exercises

•This chapter will not explain the purpose of

each parameter

•By experience you will learn how to prepare

the Settings according to your needs

Icons

IBM Product Lifecycle Management Solutions / Dassault Systemes Page 27

 Setting the environment
WB

•Start CATIA
ÄMaximize Product1
•Tools/Options
ÄSelect the Tools+Options pulldown menu

ÄOn the left side you can filter the different

workbenches

ÄOn the right side, you can access the various

folders of one selected workbench or domain of
customization
.For example, here you will set the general
environment because you are in the General folder of
the General item
Icons

IBM Product Lifecycle Management Solutions / Dassault Systemes Page 28

 Setting the environment
WB

•Tools/Options
ÄUnder General select Display on the tree

8Select Performances tab

.You are modifying these values because you will be
zooming in on small holes. This will increase
accuracy
8Select Proportional

8Select Tree Tab

.Select Fixed Size
.Enter « 50 » characters
G This is to limit the length of the displayed identifiers in the
tree Icons

IBM Product Lifecycle Management Solutions / Dassault Systemes Page 29

 Setting the environment
WB

•Tools/Options
ÄUnder General select Parameters on the tree
ÄSelect Knowledge tab
8Check With Value and With Formula
.This will show all parameters and formulas in the
tree

8Select Load extended language libraries

.Click OK in the information box

ÄSelect Parameters Tolerance tab

8Uncheck Default Tolerance
.This will eliminate the tolerances (visible as ) when
you create a geometry on the Sketcher

Icons

IBM Product Lifecycle Management Solutions / Dassault Systemes Page 30

 Setting the environment
WB

•Tools/Options
ÄUnder Infrastructure select Product Structure in
the tree
8Select Product Structure tab
8Under Part Number check Manual Input
8Under Specification Tree Check Parameters
and Relations
.These will now be shown in the Specification tree

Icons

IBM Product Lifecycle Management Solutions / Dassault Systemes Page 31

 Setting the environment
WB

•Tools/Options
ÄUnder Mechanical Design select Part Design in
the tree
8Select General tab
8Under External References check Keep link
with selected object and check Confirm when
creating a link with selected object
.With these parameters checked we will keep the link
when designing a part in the context of an assembly.
We will get a message each time we create a link.

8Select Display tab

8Under Specification Tree check Constraints
and Parameters and Relations
.In these 4 scenarios the tree will display all
information
Icons

IBM Product Lifecycle Management Solutions / Dassault Systemes Page 32

 Setting the environment
WB

•Tools/Options
ÄUnder Mechanical Design select Assembly
Design in the tree
8Select General tab
8Under Update check Automatic
.Selected parts will go into place as soon as a
constraint is applied

ÄUnder Mechanical Design select Sketcher in the

tree
8Select Sketcher tab
8Under Grid uncheck Snap to point
.This allows smoother movement while sketching and
dragging a geometry

Icons

IBM Product Lifecycle Management Solutions / Dassault Systemes Page 33

 Setting the environment
WB

•Tools/Options
Ä(optional)Under Mechanical Design select
Drafting in the tree
8Select Dimension tab
8Under Dimension Creation check Manual
positionning at creation

8Select Create associativity dimension

line/geometry
8Select Never create non-associative
dimensions
8Deselect Active analysis display mode

ÄSelect OK to close the Options dialog box Icons

IBM Product Lifecycle Management Solutions / Dassault Systemes Page 34

 Setting the environment
WB

•Tools/Linked Documents Localization

G This step has the added benefit of not needing to search
through directories when opening the first part
8From the Tools menu, select Linked
Documents Localization

8Select Other folders in the Linked Documents

Localization dialog box
8Click 3 times on the Up button until Other
folders is on the first line
8Select Configure
8In the Other Folders dialog box browse the
disk and find the directory where you have
installed the scenarios data
.In this case E:\T4A\Hobble\Data
8Click on the Add button
8Click OK to close the Other Folders dialog box
8Click OK to the Warning
8Click OK to close the Linked Documents
Localization dialog box
Icons

•Exit CATIA

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