INTRODUCTION

CATIA (an acronym of computer-aided three-dimensional interactive application) is a multi-

platform software suite for computer-aided design (CAD), computer-aided manufacturing
(CAM), computer-aided engineering (CAE), PLM and 3D, developed by the French company
Dassault Systèmes.
CATIA commonly referred to as a 3D Product Lifecycle Management software suite, CATIA
supports multiple stages of product development (CAx), including conceptualization, design
(CAD), engineering (CAE) and manufacturing (CAM). CATIA facilitates collaborative
engineering across disciplines around its 3D EXPERIENCE platform, including surfacing &
shape design, electrical, fluid and electronic systems design, mechanical engineering and systems
engineering.
CATIA facilitates the design of electronic, electrical, and distributed systems such as fluid and
HVAC systems, all the way to the production of documentation for manufacturing.

Mechanical engineering
CATIA enables the creation of 3D parts, from 2D sketches, sheet metal, composites, molded,
forged or tooling parts up to the definition of mechanical assemblies. The software provides
advanced technologies for mechanical surfacing & BIW. It provides tools to complete product
definition, including functional tolerances as well as kinematics definition. CATIA provides a
wide range of applications for tooling design, for both generic tooling and mold & die. In the
case of aerospace engineering, an additional module named the aerospace sheet metal design
offers the user combine the capabilities of generative sheet metal design and generative surface
design.

Design
CATIA offers a solution to shape design, styling, surfacing workflow and visualization to create,
modify, and validate complex innovative shapes from industrial design to Class-A surfacing with
the ICEM surfacing technologies. CATIA supports multiple stages of product design whether
started from scratch or from 2D sketches(blueprints).

Electrical systems
CATIA v5 offers a solution to formulate the design and manufacturing of electrical systems
spanning the complete process from conceptual design through to manufacturing. Capabilities
include requirements capture, electrical schematic definition, interactive 3D routing of both wire
harnesses and industrial cable solutions through to the production of detailed manufacturing
documents including form boards.
Fluid systems
CATIA v5 offers a solution to facilitate the design and manufacturing of routed systems
including tubing, piping, Heating, Ventilating & Air Conditioning (HVAC). Capabilities include
requirements capture, 2D diagrams for defining hydraulic, pneumatic and HVAC systems, as
well as Piping and Instrumentation Diagram (P&ID). Powerful capabilities are provided that
enables these 2D diagrams to be used to drive the interactive 3D routing and placing of system
components, in the context of the digital mockup of the complete product or process plant,
through to the delivery of manufacturing information including reports and piping isometric
drawings.

Industries
CATIA can be applied to a wide variety of industries, from aerospace and defense, automotive,
and industrial equipment, to high tech, shipbuilding, consumer goods, plant design, consumer
packaged goods, life sciences, architecture and construction, process power and petroleum, and
services. CATIA V4, CATIA V5, Pro/ENGINEER, NX (formerly Unigraphics), and Dassault
Systèmes' own SolidWorks platform are the dominant systems.

Automotive
Many automotive companies use CATIA to varying degrees, including BMW, Porsche, McLaren
Automotive, Chrysler, Honda, Audi, Jaguar Land Rover, Volkswagen, SEAT, Škoda, Bentley
Motors Limited, Volvo, Fiat, Benteler International, PSA Peugeot Citroën, Renault, Toyota,
Ford, Scania, Hyundai, Tesla Motors, Rolls-Royce Motors, Valmet Automotive, Proton, Elba,
Tata motors and Mahindra & Mahindra Limited. Goodyear uses it in making tires for automotive
and aerospace and also uses a customized CATIA for its design and development. Many
automotive companies use CATIA for car structures – door beams, IP supports, bumper beams,
roof rails, side rails, body components because of CATIA's capabilities in Computer
representation of surfaces. Bombardier Transportation of Canada is using this software to design
its entire fleet of Train engines and coaches. Webasto uses CATIA to design its roof.

Shipbuilding
Dassault Systèmes 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 supercarriers for the US
Navy. In 2004, it has been adopted by the Beneteau Group for development of new sailing and
leisure motor boats.
High tech
Some high-tech companies are using CATIA to design their products. You can find for example:
Nikon, Nokia, Pegatron.

Energy, process and utilities

Suzlon uses CATIA to manufacture turbine blades.
Gamesa uses CATIA to design and manufacture wind turbines.

DISCUSSION
For the subject ENT 334 Component Design, we are requested to perform lab with CATIA V5
for 4 lab module which included basic sketches and part design (Lab 1), sketches-based features
(Lab 2), Assembly (Lab 3) and generative part structural analysis (Lab 4).

Lab 1 – Basic Sketches and Part Design

Student are requested to draw a cake mold. Its all started with part design workbench. The node
tree is an important guideline to show where and which surface the user is working on it. CATIA
is a 3D based drawing CAD software, which student need to identify the three planes of the
object, XY-plane, XZ-plane and YZ-plane. The three planes also indicated in the three
overlapped square in the middle of the workbench.
After selected the desired plane to draw, user click on the ‘Sketcher’ icon to enter the sketcher
workbench. There is only two axis in the sketcher workbench. User sketch the basic profile
shape of the product with the ‘profile’ tool. ‘Corner’ is used to obtain a round corner, the radius
of round corner can be set to desired dimensions.
‘Constraint’ is a useful tool not only to get the distance, angles, but also radius and diameter
which allow user to set the desired value for the drawing part.

After user is satisfied with the drawing, user has to click on the “exit workbench” icon to go back
to the part workbench which we can see the 2D drawing in 3D view. For the next step, we use
the ‘pad’ function to make the 2D drawing to become 3D with a desire length. After click the ok,
user we get a beautiful 3D shape of the drawing.
The next tool, ‘draft’ allows the user to draft drawing either surface of the drawing with selected
neutral face. ‘Edge fillet’ tool allows user to filleted the selected surface edge to be rounded with
desired radius.
‘Mirror’ function is to make a copy of the drawing with responded axis or reference face.
‘Pocket’ function is to cut a desired shape from an object with selectable length, or type (up to
last, up to next, up to plane).
‘Shell’ function is to make a 3D drawing become hollowed with desired thickness.

Below are some of the example of drawing practice,

Basically practice 1 is drawing a circle with preset diameter and radius. The most challenging
part of this drawing is the curved ‘sausage shape’ which is the drew by a reference circle with
radius 100mm, and two circles with 94mm and 106mm and corner it to get the corner radius with
12mm. The same thing go to the 23mm corner is draw by circle with radius (100+23mm) and
circle with radius (100-23mm).

Practice 2 is drew with three circles with different diameter. This drawing is done by getting ¼
of the drawing and using the function ‘rotate’ under “mirror’ with 3 instances and 90° angle to
make the three identical ‘sausage shaped’ and cut circle curves.
Lab 2 – Sketches Based Features
This lab is basic introduction about the basic 3D function of the CATIA V5. We learned to use
‘pad’, ‘pocket’, ‘shaft’, ‘groove’, ‘rib’, and ‘slot’ function.

Pad and pocket

Both pad and pocket function are similar and the different of the function is pad act like a ‘+’
function while pocket is ‘- ‘function. Pad add a desired shape or profile to the drawing while
pocket cut a desired profile or shape from the drawing with respect to desire dimensions(length)
or type (up to next, up to last, up to plane).
Shaft
For the shaft, user has to draw a shaft profile in one sketch and draw the rotation axis in another
sketch in order to perform the function. During lab time, we failed to get the shaft as we draw the
profile and axis in the same sketch.
Groove
For the groove function, we need to pad a cylinder with a circle. Then select the correct face
(ZX-plane) to draw the profile and rotational axis. Same, the rotation axis and profile cannot be
in the same sketch.
Rib
For the rib, we have to draw the profile and center curve in different plane. For me, I draw the
profile in XY-plane while the center curve is draw in ZX-plane. The center curve must not be too
curve or else we will get an error in performing the rib function.
Slot
Slot function is performed with pad a rectangular box and draw a slot profile at the top face of
the box and a center curve at the surface of the box.

Below are some of the practice drawing:

This drawing is draw by a profile shaped ‘E’ and pocket it to get the desired shape. The circle is
draw on the surface of the second branch of E shape with random radius. The circle is then
pocket with the type (up to next) which it cut till the end of the third branch of E shape.

Practice 2 is in black as I set the material to aluminum material. Same as practice 1, draw the C
shape profile and pad it. The draw a circle at the inner surface of the drawing and pocket it to get
the tube. The swollen part is draw with shaft function with the help of ‘plane’ function to set the
datum.
The drawing is a bit different with the drawing show in the module but as I set the diameter of
the circle too big. The drawing start with sketch a circle in XY-plane and then draw the J shape
center curve in XZ-plane. Then perform the rib function to the shape. The curve part of the J
shape center curve must be long enough or else the rib will be overlapped.

Lab 3 – Assembly
Lab 3 is to assembly the part that we draw. The workbench is different with the previous lab. We
start at the Start > Mechanical Design > Assembly Design. Then we click on the ‘existing
component’ icon to add the part that we already draw.
The ‘compass’ function is useful in moving the part separately and easier for us to see and
arrange our drawing. However, the moved part with compass is not accurate, as compass only
function as a guideline as the arrangement for the product. Compass allow user to move the part
freely, either move in 2D direction or 3D direction(rotation).
‘Coaxial constraint’ allow the user to align the part perfectly with the selected axis. In this lab,
we choose the middle point of the circle on the both drawing.
When all the coaxial constraint is performed, we can assembly the part with the function ‘contact
constraint’ to assembly all the part.
Lab 4- Generative Part Structural Analysis
Lab 4 is basically about perform the analysis of a designed structure under certain stress. It all
started with selected the desired material for the product. For the lab, we choose aluminum for
the part.
We need the ‘clamp’ function to set the mounting part of the product. Then we selected the
‘distributed force’ function to set the desired force apply to the part with desired plane (X Y or
Z).
After that, we just compute and computer will stimulate and compute the greatest force applied
on the body. In this lab, we use the CATIA to perform five types of test, which are deformed
mesh, Von Mises Stress (Nodal value), Translational displacement vector, Stress principal tensor
symbol and Estimated Local Error.
Rough understanding of the computed result is that the red part is the part where it takes the
maximum stress in the whole body.

CONCLUSION
The CATIA V5 is a powerful yet user friendly program as a computer aided design
(CAD)program. As compare to the AutoCAD, it is easier to draw a 3D drawing in CATIA. It
allows the user to sketch the profile shape randomly instead of AutoCAD request precise
dimension to start the drawing, besides that, when editing the desire faced of a drawing in
CATIA, user just click on the surface and start the sketch. However, in AutoCAD user need to
set the UTS to do so.
The biggest benefit of CATIA compare to AutoCAD is CATIA allow user to compute and
analysis the drawing with selected material and selected force exerted point, which is very useful
in engineering design.