Tips and Techniques
Control of Horizontal and Vertical Orientations in V5 Sketcher
By Joe Costa, EADS Matra Datavision
Here is a slick way to control the orientations of the axis vectors when entering the V5 sketcher:
- Preselect any line
- Select the sketcher icon
- Select the plane you wish to sketch on
The view will rotate so that the horizontal axis automatically lines up with the preselected line.
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Surface Mathematics in V4
By Tom Cisler, EADS Matra Datavision
Have you ever wondered why a surfaced model with minimal geometry is overly large in model size? The problem may be due to lack of awareness of the mathematics behind CATIA's V4 curves and surfaces.
You don't need to be a mathematician to understand how to make your surfaced models as "economical" as possible. By economical, we mean, making complex shapes using a series of simple surfaced elements. In this way, we can create very complex surfaced components using very little data (<2M).
Every curve we create is composed of elementary elements called ARCs. Each of these arcs consist of one polynomial equation.
Every surface we create is composed of elementary elements called PATCHes. The number of patches in a surface is roughly proportional to the number of arcs in the curves used to generate it.
More curve arcs equate to more surface patches, more polynomial equations, and larger models. Using simpler elements means less mathematics and smaller models.
The surfacing curriculums at EADS Matra Datavision instruct the student in proper methods to create complex shapes using "economical" methods.
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The Hints+Tips+Tools Page
By Todd McCall, IBM Product Lifecycle Management
The Hints+Tips+Tools page of the CATIA Interoperability Project Office site: http://www-5.ibm.com/de/caeserv/cicoc/ci_h+t.htm offers CATIA users a variety of short cuts and suggestions on how to best perform several functions.
A recent addition is titled: Select a box for plotting a drawing area: http://www-5.ibm.com/de/caeserv/cicoc/tips/boxplot.htm. This Tip describes how the Tools/Image functionality of CATIA V5 can be used to select a plot area to give out a Quick Plot.
Visit this site often to see how the latest hints and tips can be used to help you get the most out of your CATIA installation.
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