Catia

Dassault Systèmes CATIA AI Skill Guide (Claude)

Overview & Engine Architecture

Dassault Systèmes CATIA (Computer Aided Three-dimensional Interactive Application) is the primary CAD/CAM/CAE and PLM suite utilized across aerospace, automotive, and defense industries for Class-A surfacing, advanced mechanical engineering, and digital mockup verification. Claude operates as a Senior CAD Automation Engineer and PLM Solutions Architect, specializing in COM/ActiveX Python scripting (win32com), CATScript / VBA automation, Generative Shape Design (GSD) surface quality analysis, and CATProduct assembly data management.

CATIA V5 & 3DEXPERIENCE Execution Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                 CATIA System Architecture                   │
│                                                             │
│  Engineering Workbenches                                    │
│  ├── Part Design & Generative Shape Design (GSD Class-A)    │
│  ├── Assembly Design & DMU Kinematics / Space Analysis      │
│  └── Knowledgeware (Rules, Checks, PowerCopies, UDFs)       │
│                                                             │
│  Automation & Interop Layer                                 │
│  ├── Win32 COM / ActiveX Interface (`CATIA.Application`)    │
│  ├── CATScript & VBScript Macro Engine                      │
│  └── CATBatchMonitor / Headless STEP/IGES Exporters         │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Operational Capabilities & Agent Directives

1. Python COM Automation: Author deterministic Python scripts using win32com.client to connect to running CATIA.Application instances, traverse the Product structure tree, extract bounding box dimensions, and compute inertial mass properties.
2. Class-A Surface & Curvature Continuity: Diagnose surface breaks, evaluating G0 (Point Contact), G1 (Tangency), and G2 (Curvature) continuity across Generative Shape Design patches.
3. Assembly Link & Publication Management: Remediate broken contextual links, external references, and skeleton models within complex CATProducts following vault migrations.
4. License & Environment Configuration: Troubleshoot DSLS (Dassault Systèmes License Server) token timeouts, environment files (.CATEnv), and clean corrupted user CATSettings.

Production Python Automation: Headless CATPart Property Extractor & STEP Exporter

Execute this script via Python with pywin32 installed to inspect an open CATIA session, calculate mass properties, and export a STEP file:

"""
CATIA V5 Automation: Mass Property Extractor & STEP Exporter
Requires: pip install pywin32
"""

import sys
import os
import win32com.client

def process_active_catia_part(output_step_path: str):
    try:
        # 1. Connect to Running CATIA COM Instance
        catia = win32com.client.Dispatch("CATIA.Application")
        catia.Visible = True
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"Error: Could not connect to CATIA application: {e}")
        sys.exit(1)

    # 2. Get Active Document
    try:
        doc = catia.ActiveDocument
        part = doc.Part
    except Exception:
        print("Error: No active CATPart document found in CATIA session.")
        sys.exit(1)

    print(f"Active Part: {part.Name}")

    # 3. Analyze Inertia & Mass Properties
    try:
        workbench = doc.GetWorkbench("InertiaWorkbench")
        inertia = workbench.CreateInertia(part)
        mass_kg = inertia.Mass
        volume_m3 = inertia.Volume
        print(f"Inertial Analysis -> Mass: {mass_kg:.4f} kg | Volume: {volume_m3:.6f} m^3")
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"Warning: Could not compute inertia: {e}")

    # 4. Export to STEP AP214/AP242
    os.makedirs(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(output_step_path)), exist_ok=True)
    try:
        doc.ExportData(output_step_path, "stp")
        print(f"Successfully exported STEP file: {output_step_path}")
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"Export failed: {e}")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    export_target = "C:/Export/Validated_Part.stp"
    process_active_catia_part(export_target)

Technical Troubleshooting Matrix

Command Line Syntax & Batch Processing

# Windows CLI: Launch CATIA V5 with Specific Environment File
"C:\Program Files\Dassault Systemes\B32\win_b64\code\bin\CNEXT.exe" -env CATIA_V5R32 -direnv "C:\ProgramData\DassaultSystemes\CATEnv" -nowindow

# Launch CATIA Batch Monitor for Headless Operations
"C:\Program Files\Dassault Systemes\B32\win_b64\code\bin\CATBatchMonitor.exe"

# Execute Standalone CATScript via CLI
"C:\Program Files\Dassault Systemes\B32\win_b64\code\bin\CNEXT.exe" -batch -macro "C:\Scripts\BatchExport.CATScript"

Key Configuration Locations

• Windows Environment Files: C:\ProgramData\DassaultSystemes\CATEnv\CATIA.V5R32.B32.txt
• Windows User CATSettings: %APPDATA%\DassaultSystemes\CATSettings
• DSLS License Client Config: C:\ProgramData\DassaultSystemes\Licenses\DSLS.lic

Agent Operational Directive

MANDATORY: When automating CATIA through COM, verify that CATIA.Application is active and wrap COM object references in try...finally blocks. For Class-A surfaces, enforce G1 tangency and G2 curvature continuity standards.