CATIA V5 Tutorial: How to Export CATDrawing to DXF with

Layers Intact

By default, when you save a CATDrawing containing Layers as DXF (Drawing Interchange Format), CATIA
puts all the layer items in a single layer. It does not import names of Layers too. In this article, we will show
you how to change the settings to make CATIA export Drawing details keeping the Layers intact.

1.Go to Tools > Options.

2. In the left pane, select Compatibility and then click on DXF tab. This tab gives you all the options for
importing and exporting DXF.

3. In the Export section, change the Export mode to Semantic. Under Semantic options , select
Export layer name.
5. Click OK.
You are done. Now CATIA will export all drawings to DXF with Layers.

CATIA V5 Tutorial: How to Disable Hybrid Part Design

Many times we come across projects in which modeling of the CATPart is to be done only in Non-Hybrid
mode. By default CATIA V5 enables Hybrid Design mode. Accidentally if modeling is started in Hybrid
mode, it is very hard to convert the CATPart into Non-Hybrid model. In complex model, its impossible to do
so. Its better to disable Hybrid Part Design mode for such projects.

1. Go to Tools>Options
2. Select Part Infrastructure from the list
3. Click on Part Document tab
4. Uncheck Enable hybrid design inside part bodies and bodies. Check Create a geometrical
set in the list (refer image below).

5. Click OK
You are done. Now CATIA will start with Non-Hybrid mode during New Part Creation.

CATIA V5 Tutorial: What is Blend Corner and How to use it

Many times we come across corners during modeling components. Fillets in such zones are always
challenging and in some complex cases, filleting becomes a major time taking process. Blend Corner option
in Fillet command of Part Design and GSD Workbench of CATIA V5 gives more control of the shape you
desire.

We shall now illustrate how to use Blend Corner in Part Design workbench.
Consider a simple block (CATPart) as shown in image below. The part is modeled in Part Design
workbench.

Click on Edge Fillet toolbar icon and then select one after the other, 3 edges of the corner for which you
want to apply blended option.

Click on More button in the Edge Fillet Definition dialog box. You will now have more control in the
resulting fillet. Click on Blend corner(s) button. Preview the fillet. Give a Setback distance value as you
desire.
The Setback Distance determines the area of blending for the corner. The Default value is 10mm. You can
directly double click the set back distance value on the 3D model and change it. The set back distance along
each edge can have its own value. Change the values as you like depending upon the shape you need.

After finishing, click OK.

The effect of applying blended corner to a part can be see in the image below.

The same part, after an edge fillet, but without a blended corner is shown in the image below. You can see
the difference in the normal edge fillet part and the part with the blended corner by comparing the two
images.

CATIA V5 Tutorial: How To Get GSD Toolbar In Part Design

Workbench
This CATIA V5 tutorial is especially useful for solid modeling projects which needs some sort of work in GSD
(Generative Shape Design). In such cases swapping between Part Design and GSD workbench may be
irritating.

So its better to have a Toolbar with commands which I use many times in GSD and bring it to Part Design
workbench. This increases productivity and also reduces hassles of swapping workbenches.

Step1: From Part Design workbench, Go to Tools> Customize

Step2: Click on Toolbars tab

Step3: Now Click

New Button.
Step4: A New Toolbar window pops up. In the workbenches section, scroll down to Shape Design
Workbench and select Surfaces from the Toolbars list. Give a name to the toolbar. e.g. My GSD and
click OK.

Step5: My GSD
toolbar will appear in the Toolbars list. Now you need to add/remove desired surface based commands in
it. Note that Adding/removing any commands to this toolbar will not affect any standard toolbars in CATIA. To
add commands Click Add commands button as shown in image above. You can then see list of all
surface based features. You can add as many as you like. In my example, I have added Positioned Sketch,
Join, Split, etc.
Step6: Similarly you can remove any commands which you find not useful.

Step7: When you are done your new toolbar My GSD will appear in the right-click context menu list
of toolbars, which you can access in Part-Design itself!

Enjoy!

CATIA V5 Tutorial: Creating Stiffeners using PAD Thickness

Option

There are several methods of adding Stiffeners for a Sheet metal part. This includes using Stiffener
command, using Rib command, etc. In this example we will explain you how to create stiffeners for a simple
part using PAD command in Part Design Workbench. This is one of the fastest ways to add stiffeners.

Consider a simple Part as shown in the image below. The part is kind of a tray. Stiffeners are to be added all
over the surface to make it stiffened.

Create a Sketch of profiles where you need ribs. In our scenario, we are adding few straight ones. The
profile ends need not get trimmed to the end of the Part. PAD feature can be used right away to merge the
ends to the Part.

Sketch is shown in the image below. You can see clearly that the lines are not merged to the ends. The
sketches also need not be closed.

Now click on PAD command and select the sketch. CATIA warns that the Sketch contains several open
profiles and asks whether to use the selected sketch anyway. Click Yes.

Now with in the PAD definition, click on More button and expand the definition. Check Thick box and
give Thin Pad Thickness value. E.g. We gave 3mm. Also check the Neutral Fiber to create the pad
keeping the sketch profile as the center curve.
Now check the Merge Ends box if you want the stiffeners to be automatically trimmed as per the part
shape. This will only work if the ribs can be closed with the existing face.

After giving all the options, Click OK.

CATIA V5 Tutorial: What is Federation and How to use it

Federation is grouping elements like surfaces and curves in a Join for easy picking of surfaces/curve later.
Federation can be found in Join and Extract command in CATIA V5 GSD(Generative Shape Design)
Workbench. This is useful grouping feature. We shall explain you what is it and how to use it.

Consider a set of simple surfaces as shown in the image below. The Geometrical set consists of 4 surfaces.

Surface 1, Surface 2, Surface 3 and Surface 4 is included in Join.1. In the Federation tab of join
command we have added Surface 4 and Surface 3 as shown in the image below.

Join.1 with F is reflected in the Join command icon in the model tree.
For comparison, we have created a simple Join.2 without Federation. Join.2 is join of Surface 1, Surface
2, Surface 3 and Surface 4.

Extract command on Join.2 gives 4 elements selection (refer image below).

Where as Extract on Join.1 gives only 3 elements. Thats because Join.1 involves Federation of two
surfaces. Those two surfaces are grouped together.

This way in a complex geometry you can group several surfaces and involve it in a Federation. Later
selecting of those surfaces is very simple and will happen in a single click.

CATIA V5 Tip: Set Memory Trigger warning before CATIA

Crashes!
Everyone working with CATIA V5 must be aware of the famous CATIA Termination error. Upon heavy usage
of systems memory, CATIA most often crashes without warning. If you are in middle of something and didnt
save your work, you might lose all your precious work.

A precautionary measure option in CATIA V5 when set gives you a warning of exceeded memory usage. At
this time you can immediately save your work

How to set Memory Warning Trigger Limit in CATIA V5?

1. Go to Tools> Options.
2. In the General Options, select the General tab.
3. In the Memory Warning section, check Trigger Memory Warning at __% of memory use.
You can set the percentage value depending on your RAM size and how early you wish to get the memory
exceeded warning.
4. Checking the Trigger Memory Stopper box will activate a memory stopper mechanism for applications
unable to proceed when memory consumption is too high. You may leave this unchecked.

CATIA V5 Tutorial: How to Create and Insert a Ditto in a

Drawing
While creating a Drawing, you will come across instances in which you need to add repetitive details like
Datum Symbols, Machining Symbols, etc. In such cases its better to create one symbol in a detail sheet and
call the symbol instance in the drawing so that you can replicate it as many times as you wish. In this article
we will show you how to create a ditto and replicate it within a Drawing. Ditto is a general term given for a
Symbol.

How to Create a Ditto (2D Component) or Symbol and instantiate it in

CATDrawing?
1. Open a CATDrawing.
2. Go to Insert> Drawing> Sheets> New Detail Sheet

3. You will now see a New Detail Sheet in the Specification Tree.

4. Activate the Detail Sheet.

5. Create a Ditto that you want to instantiate in the Drawing. For example we have created a standard
Dowel Hole Symbol using a Circle and then hatching it with Black Color.

6. Right-click> Properties> and rename the 2D Component. In our example we renamed it as Dowel
Symbol.

Now Ditto is ready. It can be called in any drawing sheet of the CATDrawing. In our example, we have two
views in which we will place the Dowel Hole created in the Detail Sheet.

7. Activate the View in which you want to place the Ditto.

8. Click on Instantiate 2D Component and then click on the ditto in the specification tree.

9. Place the ditto in desired location and resize it by dragging.

10. You can replicate the same Ditto any number of times in the Drawing.

CATIA V5 Tutorial: How to Create 3D Text and Logos in a

Part
Module: Part Design
At times you need to create text like Manufacturer logo, description text, etc in a Part. Its a painful task to
create sketch based of letters and then pad them to get the 3D text. In this article we will show you quick
and easy way of creating text in Part Design without using any macros.
1. Create a Drawing (*.CATDrawing)
2. Use the Text command in Annotations toolbar to create a text of desired font and size.

3. Save the Drawing file in DXF format by using Save As.

4. Now open the Part (*.CATPart) in which you want to put the text.
5. Create a Sketch on a Plane where you want the text positioned.
6. Open the saved DXF (from Step 3) in same session of CATIA V5 and copy the text from it.
7. Go to the Part and Paste the copied text in the Sketch.

8. You are done. Pad it to desired length using PAD command. Check out our sample of created 3D text in
below image.

Enjoy!

Test PC Performance Using HeavyLoad

Do you want to know how reliably your PC will work under heavy loads? You can do this by using a good
load testing software. HeavyLoad is a free tool for Windows which lets you perform stress tests on your PC
to check the reliability of your computers CPU, RAM, Hard Disk etc. Apart from testing your PCs hardware,
HeavyLoad also tests the network, Operating System, database servers etc.

HeavyLoad generates an artificial load on selected devices like CPU, memory, hard disk etc by running
some intensive programs in an infinite loop. Its performance monitor gives you an overview of your PCs
usage as a graph. HeavyLoad logs all test results to a file in your computers temp folder in case of abrupt
termination.
After using HeavyLoad, memory is fragmented heavily and the swap file of your OS could be very
large due to working under sever performance. So you should restart your PC after a stress test. In order to
do a good stress test, you will need to run HeavyLoad for several hours. Use this software with caution as it
may hang up your system during the tests.

Download HeavyLoad