The interface works in a Reader mode.
This is a stand-alone reader which does not require that the CATIA V5 system be installed.
No CAD associativity support.
No CAD Parameter support.
This interface can be configured during Ansys installation or by using the Product & CAD Configuration Manager.
See Product & CAD Configuration Manager for usage information.
For detailed installation information about the Product & CAD Configuration Manager, see:
| Windows: Configuring CAD Products> Using the CAD Configuration Manager |
| Linux: Configuring CAD Products> Using the CAD Configuration Manager |
Support
At the time of release, detailed version support information for the Windows and Linux platform is accessible via Geometry Interface Support.
For information about post-release CAD system compatibility with Ansys Workbench, see the Platform Support section of the Ansys Website.
Document import supported by interface: Part (*.CATPart) and Assembly (*.CATProduct)
Versions: V5R8 – V5–6R2023 (Linux)
Versions: V5R8 – V5–6R2024 (Windows)
Table 7: Import Preference Support for CATIA V5 Reader Interface
| Import Solid Bodies | Yes | ||
| Import Surface Bodies | Yes | ||
| Import Line Bodies | Yes | ||
| Parameter Processing and prefix/suffix key | No | ||
| Attribute Processing and prefix |
| ||
| Named Selection Processing and prefix |
| ||
| Material Processing |
| ||
| Analysis Type |
| ||
| Associativity | No | ||
| Coordinate Systems |
| ||
| Work Points |
| ||
| Reader Save File | No | ||
| Instancing | No | ||
| Smart Update | No | ||
| Enclosure and Symmetry Processing | No | ||
| Mixed Import Resolution | No | ||
| Decompose Disjoint Geometry | Yes |
Notations
Selective Update (Windows) — This interface fully supports the Selective Update feature.
Length Unit — The length unit specified in the part or assembly is automatically read from the geometry file and is transferred into Ansys Workbench. The Length Unit field in the Details will be read-only. If a unit system is not detected in the geometry file, the Length Unit field in the Details will be active, allowing the Length Unit to be specified.
Hidden parts — Parts that are hidden or suppressed in CATIA V5 are skipped automatically by this interface.
Import CAD Color as an Attribute or Named Selection —
Attribute: specify the "Attributes" option and set the "Attributes Key" to "Color" or a list of specific Colors delimited by a semicolon (for example: "Color:255.0.0; Color:255.255.0").
Named Selection: specify the "Named Selections" option and set the "Named Selections Key" to "Color" or a list of specific Colors delimited by a semicolon (for example: "Color:255.0.0; Color:255.255.0").
Import CAD Layer as an Attribute or Named Selection —
Attribute: specify the "Attributes" option and set the "Attributes Key" to "Layer" or a list of specific Layers delimited by a semicolon (for example: "Layer:0;Layer:1;Layer:3").
Named Selection: specify the "Named Selections" option and set the "Named Selections Key" to "Layer" or a list of specific Layers delimited by a semicolon (for example: "Layer:0;Layer:1;Layer:3")
Import CAD Publication as an Attribute or Named Selection (Windows) —
Attribute: specify the "Attributes" option and set the "Attributes Key" to "Publication" or any number of prefixes with each prefix delimited by a semicolon (for example: "NS_ForceFaces;NS_FixedSupports;NS_BoltLoaded").
Named Selection: specify the "Named Selections" option and set the "Named Selections Key" to "Publication" or any number of prefixes with each prefix delimited by a semicolon (for example: "NS_ForceFaces;NS_FixedSupports;NS_BoltLoaded").
Caveats and Known Issues
The CATIA V5 Reader has the following limitations:
CATIA V5 R8 and earlier files are not supported — CATPart files created in V5R8 or earlier that have been opened and re-saved in a later version of CATIA V5 are not supported.
How to convert CATIA V5 R8 and earlier files to a newer supported version which will import with CATIA V5 Reader. —
open original CATPart and copy PartBody
open new Part then “Paste special” with “as result” option in part
close original CATPart
save new CATPart
File Names. — The reader supports reading file names only within the ISO-646 subset of characters with the following limitations (file names with the following special characters are not supported):
> (greater than)
< (less than)
* (asterisk)
: (colon)
“ (quotation mark)
? (question mark)
\ (backslash)
| (vertical bar)
/ (slash)
Additionally, all the national accented characters are also not supported.
The Reader reads file names having their full path. The reader cannot read the file by file name only , or by using a relative path (for example, “...\”, "\\"or “.\”).
Reading Manufacturing Information. — The reader does not support reading:
Hole features from assembly files
User-defined patterns and its member hole features
Product Manufacturing Information without geometry ownership
No Support for Transparency from an Assembly File. — The reader does not support reading transparency values in assembly (CATProduct) files.
No Support for Captures from an Assembly File. — The reader does not support reading captures from assembly (CATProduct) files. Currently, support for captures is limited to part (CATPart) files only.
No Support for CATPart Files Created in Small or Big Scale. — The CATIA V5 UI allows CATPart files to be created in Small or Big Scale. Also, the CATIA V5 UI allows the creation of CATProduct files referring to CATPart files from different Scales. The CATIA V5 Reader does not support reading of CATPart files created in Small or Big Scales. Similarly for the same reason, CATProduct files referring to such CATPart files might not be read partially or completely.
Publication — Publication name defined with English characters is supported. Publication name defined with non-English characters is not supported.
Small Scale — Small Scale models require the CATIA V5 Geometry Scale to be set to Small Scale. To change the scale setting to allow the import of Small Scale models:
Open a native CATIA V5 session
Select Tools: Options
Select General: Parameters and Measure
Select Scale tab
Change Geometry Scale from "Standard Scale" to "Small Scale"
Exit native CATIA V5 session
Set environment variable: CATUserSettingPath=C:\Users\MyAccount\AppData\Roaming\DassaultSystemes\CATSettings
Now start Ansys Workbench and the CATIA V5 model will import correctly. Note: replace "C:\Users\MyAccount\AppData\Roaming" with your %appdata% value
Body Naming — Requires libXm.so (included in Motif package).
Limited Support — Non-Commercial, Education Edition, Alpha, Beta, and PR versions (even of supported official versions) are not supported.
Troubleshooting
See the CATIA Errors Related to CAD Integration section in CAD Integration Troubleshooting for detailed information.