Automated CATPart & CATDrawing creation

[Runz]

Here is what I would like to accomplish. I have a CATPart and an associated CATDrawing of a part (Call it Bolt_1). I would like to be able to change parameters within the CATPart of Bolt_1 and have a new CATPart and drawing (Bolt_2) created automatically. A person within our company informed me of another company that is set up to where they can enter values into a spreadsheet and have a model and associated drawing created automatically. I don't know if this is possible or not, but was tasked with looking into it.



Is this possible? Can it be done with Design Tables? Is anyone doing this now? I assume that some type of programming would be involved if it was possible.



Any help or information would be greatly appreciated.

 

[itsmyjob]

you can do something like that with a script (like VBA) using DesignTable.

In fact it would be the same file saved as a new name for each instance of the desing table. It should not be too difficult to create that code.

Eric N.
indocti discant et ament meminisse periti ​

 

[Runz]

I am not very familiar with VB. Would you know of any godd resources for VB and Catia Scripts?

Thanks for the reply

 

[AHay]

The best place to start would be by recording a macro in your Catia session as you change the parameters (Tools -> Macro -> Start Recording). That will generate some code that will get you started. You need to be careful though because the macro recorder does not always capture everything.

You may also want to look at the V5Automation.chm file in the Catia "bin" directory on your machine.

If you want to just use the in-built functionality, without resorting to coding then design tables are the way to go. They are very easy to use and you should find enough information in the documentation to get started. I always found that it was easier to create the design table from the model parameters initially and then modify the spreadsheet to fit your needs.

If you are looking for a more flexible solution that does not require VB or design tables then I may be able to help.

 

[Runz]

AHay,

What do you mean by a "More flexible solution"?

VB or design tables are not a requirement and any help I could get would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

 

[AHay]

The company that I work for have developed a product for documenting and automating processes. Recently, we have developed an application for a customer that allows them to control Catia. For simple tasks like reading a spreadsheet and setting parameters in a model there is no real coding involved. It is simply a case of stating which cell value links to which parameter value.

Our product may be overkill for what you are trying to achieve and I would start out using design tables if they fit your needs. Particularly since you already have access to the product functionality and it is part of the Catia update mechanism. You can use design tables to create some very nice looking user interfaces once you get familiar with the way that they work.

Andy

http://www.eptworld.com