Importing a part from a V5-format file

Select File Import Part from the main menu bar to import a part from a V5-format file directly into Abaqus/CAE. You can import CATIA-format parts, but you cannot export a CATIA-format part. For information about the versions of CATIA V5 supported by Abaqus/CAE, see the Dassault Systèmes Knowledge Base at http://support.3ds.com/knowledge-base/.

See Also
Editing techniques
Using file selection dialog boxes
What is an Abaqus/CAE model?
Using the File menu

Context:

Note:

You can directly import CATIA V5-format files only if you have a license for the optional add-on CATIA V5 Associative Interface. For more information, see What can I do with the associative interfaces?.

An imported CATIA part forms the base feature of a new part in Abaqus/CAE; you cannot modify this base feature directly, but you can add additional features to it, such as a solid extrusion or a blind cut.

  1. From the main menu bar, select FileImportPart.

    The Import Part dialog box appears.

  2. From the File Filter menu at the bottom of the Import Part dialog box, select CATIA V5 (*.CATPart*, *.CATProduct*).

    Abaqus/CAE lists all the files in the selected directory with acceptable file extensions.

  3. Select the CATIA file containing the part to import, and click OK.

    Abaqus/CAE displays the Create Part from CATIA File dialog box.

  4. Click the Name-Repair tab to set the following:

    Name

    The name of the new part. For more information, see Using basic dialog box components.

    Repair Options

    Abaqus/CAE automatically repairs a CATIA part during the import process.

    Part Filter

    A CATIA file can contain more than one part, and Abaqus/CAE imports all of the parts in the file by default. If you import all the parts in the CATIA file, you can create individual Abaqus parts for each of them or you can combine them together into a single Abaqus part; in addition, if you combine these parts, Abaqus/CAE enables you to stitch these imported parts together using a user-specified stitching tolerance value.

    If you want to import an individual part from the CATIA file, you can toggle on Import part number and enter the number of a single part to import from the file.

  5. Click the Part Attributes tab to set the following:

    • The modeling space of the part being imported. When you import a part, Abaqus/CAE scans the file and tries to determine the modeling space.

    • The type of the part being imported. Abaqus/CAE always assumes that the part type is deformable. Alternatively, you can select Discrete rigid to import a discrete rigid part or select Eulerian to import an Eulerian part. For more information, see Part types.

    Again, in most cases you should accept the default settings; for more information, see What are the part attributes?.

  6. Click the Scale tab to scale the part during the import process.

    • Choose Multiply all lengths by, and enter a scale factor. Abaqus/CAE applies the scale factor to all of the coordinates in the file. As a consequence, any offset from the origin will be scaled accordingly.

  7. Click OK to import the part and to exit the Create Part from CATIA File dialog box.

    Abaqus/CAE scans the CATIA file and starts the repair process, depending on the options selected. If you want to cancel the import process, click Stop in the prompt area.

  8. When you import a single part, Abaqus/CAE displays a message indicating if the part contains any validity or precision problems. If you import multiple parts from a single CATIA file, you can use the Part Manager to check if any of the parts are invalid or imprecise. If necessary, use the Query toolset to locate areas of invalid and imprecise geometry. For more information, see Using the Query toolset in the Part module.