CATIA V6 redefines CAD from the purely physical product definition and expands it from digital mock-up to functional mock-up, taking into account the multiple views that necessitate the product development (i.e. Requirement, Functional, Logical and Physical).
V6 technologies enables users to automate the design process through the safe use of advanced relational design techniques, by allowing users to create network and relationships between the parts designed. CATIA solutions have been widely deployed by customers worldwide in various industries.
CATIA V6 puts 3D collaborative innovation at the heart of the enterprise and helps companies accelerate companies’ transformation towards a full PLM 2.0 approach. Several companies in multiple industries worldwide have taken advantage of CATIA V6′ virtual design capabilities to ensure product success.
CATIA V6 is now marketed worldwide by IBM. V6 is a radical departure from other 3D CAD systems. Instead of storing geometry in files managed by a computer’s operating system, Catia V6 stores geometry, part attributes, and assembly relationships in a database managed by Dassault Systèmes’ Enovia V6 product data management software (a direct descendent of MatrixOne, a PDM system dating from the early 1990s).
For additional flexibility and mobility, travelling users who don’t have an internet connection can now continue to design with CATIA V6 even when they are not connected to the server. With CATIA Offline, “On –the-go”, users can access their current data even when it is not possible to connect to the enterprise ENOVIA V6 Server. Simply selecting “work offline” downloads the required data. CATIA function will then be available “on the go”, when working from home or when no network is available. Once back on site, un-checking the “work offline” switch reconnects to the ENOVIA V6 Server, and work can be re-synchronized and shared.
A new product, CATIA Composites Fiber Modeler (CFM), provides robust and accurate fiber simulation to optimize ply shapes and provide accurate manufacturing information. This proven and widely used technology from Simulayt, acquired by Dassault Systemes in October 2011, is now fully integrated into CATIA V6. CATIA Composite Solutions integrate the design, analysis and manufacture of structures made from fiber-reinforced materials.
CATIA V6 enables the full spectrum of next generation collaborative virtual design including systems engineering, shape design, mechanical and equipment engineering, and company knowledge capture and reuse, to power up design industry. In V6, CATIA expands 3D design to user communities outside of the design office, addressing each profile with the right modeler capabilities such as direct 3D modeling, geometrical surfaces handling, feature-based design and history-free functional modeling.
The principal benefits of V6 accrue to makers of complex products. Most of these companies already have some sort of CAD and PDM system, and few are inclined to switch brands. If Dassault Systèmes can demonstrate that V6 is much more efficient than Siemens NX or PTC’s Creo, it might entice some of these customers to join the CATIA family.