CATIA V4 Part

Use

You can import and view CATIA V4 part files (.dlv, .model).

Supported

  • Hierarchical structured Scene Tree

  • File properties, Model properties

  • Object Attributes color, opacity, visibility, and object names

  • Solid or Mesh import option

    • Tessellation control with mesh import and dynamic tessellation option for solid import

    • Normals and UV coordinates

  • Support for multiple workspaces (creates multiBOM in the Visual Enterprise scene)

  • Construction geometry; for example, Points, Coordinate Axis, Surfaces/Curves, planes (imported as wireframes) with line-style support

  • 2D drawing file support

Limitations

  • No Kinematics and animation support

  • No texture support

  • PMI not supported

  • Metadata in the Scene Tree sorts in alphabetical order so the original order is not preserved.

  • Initial view is not respected when loaded in SAP 3D Visual Enterprise Author or SAP 3D Visual Enterprise Generator

  • If the model is made up of surfaces, results sometimes have wrong normals and holes in the joint of patches

  • 2D drawing files: Not all embedded OLE objects other than bitmaps are imported. Last saved only from cached geometry

  • 2D drawing files: Semantic PMI information not supported

Features

This format contains import options. You can use them to customize the way in which your file is opened.

Import Interface

Field

Functional Description

Loading Option

Defines the options for loading

  • 2D/3D Loading: Loads 2D vectors and 3D solids, 3D solids only, or 2D only

Drawing

Defines the drawing settings. This option is only available when 2D has been included in the Loading option.

  • Drawing: Selects a background color for layout

Common

Defines the general settings including tessellation (arrangement and density of the polygons)

Geometry: Defines the geometry settings

  • Import Filters: Defines the import filter settings

    • Import Hidden Objects: Imports all hidden objects. If you modify any visible objects that contain hidden subobjects after import, those hidden objects are also modified.

    • Display Hidden Objects: Displays all hidden objects in the viewport after importing the file

    • Import Metadata: Imports file metadata from the original CAD file (stored inside the file as the metadata category CADMetadata)

    • Collapse Geometry: Collects all the surfaces, and tessellates collectively, treating loose surfaces as one object. This option is used to avoid seams and gaps, and produce unified normals.

    • Double Sided Surfaces: Makes corrections where incorrect or inverted normals for a given mesh result in gaps in the tessellated geometry

    • Workspaces: Imports the Master workspace (Default), or all the workspaces available. The Master Only option loads only the master workspace of the file. The All option shows the file in SAP 3D Visual Enterprise Author with a MultiBOM option, which allows you to display the required workspace.

Tessellation Settings: Defines the tessellation settings

  • Import Splines, Surfaces and Solids: Determines whether splines, surfaces, and solids are imported

  • Tessellation Level: Applies different resolutions based upon preselected values for chord height ratio and normal tolerances. If you select User Defined, further options become available.

    • Angular Tolerance: Determines the maximum angular deviation (in degrees), allowed between an analytical surface and its triangulation. Pairs of triangles do not incorporate a dihedral angle greater than this amount. For example, this setting dictates the minimum number of facets around a smaller circle or cylinder regardless of the Surface Deviation setting. This parameter gives you added control over faces with small radii. Lower values result in finer tessellations, while higher values produce coarser tessellations.

    • Chord Height Tolerance: The value between the analytical surface and its triangulation that determines the distance and accuracy of the tessellation. The lower the value, the more accurate the result. 0.00001 is the minimum unit (high detail), and 1 000 000 is the maximum unit (low detail).

    • Chord Height Behavior: Determines how accurately the chord height tolerance is applied. Absolute applies the chord height tolerance as it is. Scaled adjusts the values depending on the scale of the object being tessellated.

PMI Captures Model Views: Defines settings for PMI

  • Import PMI: Imports any Product Manufacturing Information (PMI) within the file. You can access the PMI data objects from within the 3D Objects list.

Geometric Entity Filter: Defines settings for the construction geometry

  • Import Axis Systems: Imports and draws axis systems as defined in the CAD file. There may be one or more axis systems defined in the CAD file, for one or more nodes.

  • Import Surfaces: Imports all construction geometry

  • Import Points: Imports all 3D point data stored inside the CAD file and draws points as saved in CATIA files

  • Import Planes: Imports all infinite 3D plane data stored inside the CAD file and draws planes as transparent mesh

  • Import Wireframes: Imports all wireframes if any exist

  • Draw Wireframes on Top: Draws wireframes on top of other 3D geometry

Geometry Transformation
Transforms (rotate, position, and scale) the scene along the X, Y, and Z axes:

  • Rotation: Sets the degrees of rotation around each axis from 0 degrees to 360 degrees. The rotation values can be entered with up to 6 decimal places.

  • Scale: Scales the object along the X, Y, and Z axes

  • Position: Sets the position of the scene along the X, Y, and Z axes
Related Information