User Guide

Using the Product

Default Translations

Default Translation - via the Unified Interface

The Unified Interface can be started via the Start Menu - if a shortcut was added during installation.

Alternatively, the Unified Interface can be run via a Windows Explorer selection in:

<UI_installation_directory>\bin\Unified_Interface.cmd

The following interface will be launched:

The default layout is split into 4 primary areas, which can be altered to the users prefer:

• File Browser — browse source files

• Active Configurations — select and configure translation targets

• Translation Activity — view translation progress

• Output Logs — view detailed log output

  

Default Translation via the Unified Interface

The simplest way to translate from CATIA V5 or CADDS is to drag a file from the File Browser Pane on to the Active Configurations for the translation you require.

On completion, the Unified Interface will display the activity information and details from the log file created during the translation, if requested, in the Translation Activity and Output Log panes, respectively.

The generated output data can be located by selecting the translation from the Activity pane and opening the output folder:

Default Translation via the Command Line

Running a translation via the command line can be carried out via the cad_run.cmd file located in the <installation_directory>\bin directory.

CATIA V5 to CADDS:

<Translator_installation_directory>\bin\cad_run.cmd CATIA5[XX]_CADDS <input_file> <output_file>

CADDS to CATIA V5:

<Translator_installation_directory>\bin\cad_run.cmd CADDS_CATIA5[XX] <input_file> <output_file>

Note

Replace the [XX] with the version of CATIA V5 you are using. E.g. for CATIA V5 R28, use CATIA528.

The example above will translate a CATIA V5 sample file provided within the installation and produce the following screen output: The file will be output to the target location.

In this case: C:\\nist_ctc_01_asme1_ct5210_rd/_pd

Translator Customization

SpinFire Convert allows the information that is read from the source system and written to the target system to be tailored via a set of user specified arguments. Commonly used arguments are supported via the Unified Interface, with Advanced Arguments being described within this document for use in the Unified Interface or via the Command Line invocation.

Common Options for CATIA V5 to CADDS

Within the Configuration Manager pane of the Unified Interface, arguments that can be specified when publishing CATIA V5 data into CADDS are grouped into 4 areas:

• CATIA V5 Read - Those arguments that affect how data is read from CATIA V5

• CADDS Write - Those arguments that affect how the data is written to CADDS

• Entity Mask - Those arguments that allow specific read entities to be masked

• General - Those arguments that are common to ALL Publishing activities regardless of source data

CATIA V5 Read Arguments

The image below shows the CATIA V5 Read arguments that are available, with their default settings:

Each of these options is described below:

Option	Description
Retain Assembly Structure	Enables Assembly Structure to be retain. Default is ON. Disabling this option will remove all assembly structure and collapse ALL geometry into a single selectable object - Command Line Syntax: - off_ditto - to turn off
Read FTA Reference	Geometry Enables reading of FTA Reference Geometry (Default is Off) - Command Line Syntax: - read_geometry - to turn on
Maintain CATIA V5 Instance Names	Honours CATIA V5 Tools->Options->Infrastructure->Product Structure->Nodes Customization panel settings (Default is Off) - Command Line Syntax: - ditto_naming V5 - to turn on

CADDS Write Arguments

The image below shows the Write CADDS arguments that are available, with their default settings.

Each of these options is described below:

Option	Description
Part Format	Defines the format of the output file to be cadds4x or cadds5 - Default is cadds4x - Command Line Syntax: - cadds5
Part Precision	Specifies the output part to be written in single or double precision - Default is double - Command Line Syntax: - single
Geometry Type	Defines whether NURBS or ASD geometry is written - default is NURBS - Command Line Syntax: - asd
Simplify Geometry Tolerance	Tolerance value for CADDS simplify of psurfs - Default tol =0.001 in part units - Command Line Syntax: - c4simplify <tol>
Explode	Explode brep to faces - Default off - Command Line Syntax: - split_brep
Overwrite	Overwrite existing parts - Default is use existing parts - Command Line Syntax: - no_overwrite - use existing parts - overwrite - overwrite existing parts
Concatenate Name	Concatenate top level assy name to all subcomponents - Default is no_concat_assy - Command Line Syntax: - concat_assy / no_concat_assy

CATIA V5 to CADDS Entity Masking Arguments

The image below shows the Masking arguments that are available, with their default settings:

Option	Description
Mask File	Specifies the Mask File to be written to, that can be referenced by future translations. A Mask file MUST be specified if masking is required. The first line in this file is OFF ALL ENT: - Command Line Syntax: - Mask <filename>
Entity Types Translated	Specifies a selection list from which to select which entity types are to be processed. The following types are available: “POI”,”CUR”,”SKI”,”SOL”,”ISO”,”TEX”,”AXI” - Command Line Syntax: - Add any of the above to the specified mask file, one entry per line prefixed by the word ON, e.g.: ON POI to ensure they are considered in the translation
Layers Translated	Specifies a selection list from which to select which layers are to be processed. - Command Line Syntax: - A single entry of ON ALL LAY Must precede any Layer Mask command. - Add a list or range of numbers representing layer to be processed to the specified mask file to ensure they are NOT considered in the translation - e.g.: OFF LAY 114,149,166,167,168
Convert NO SHOW Geometry	Enables Hidden geometry to be processed (Default = Off) - Command Line Syntax: - Add the following entry to the Mask file ON NOSHOW
Convert NO SHOW Structure	Enables Hidden Assembly Structure to be processed (Default = Off) - Command Line Syntax: - Add the following entry to the Mask file ON NOSHOW STR
Convert NO SHOW PMI	Enables Hidden PMI to be processed (Default = Off) - Command Line Syntax: - Add the following entry to the Mask file ON NOSHOW PMI

CATIA V5 to CADDS General Arguments

The image below shows the General arguments that are available, with their default settings:

Each of these options is described below:

Option	Description
Mass Properties	Allows Mass Property information to be read from the source data and written as attributes. Default is OFF. - Command Line Syntax: - mprops - to turn on
Out-of-range Layers	How to handle layers from the input system that are out-of-range in the output system. Default is ‘Map To Layer’. - Command Line Syntax: - Map To Layer: Default - Layer Modulus (Cycle): cycle_layer
Layer Number	A secondary option used with Out-of-range Layers when ‘Map To Layer’ is selected. Allows the layer number to be specified. Default is 256. - Command Line Syntax: - base_layer 256
Advanced	Allows any of the Command Line Advanced arguments to be passed to the Unified Interface invocation.

Common Options for CADDS to CATIA V5

Within the Configuration Manager pane of the Unified Interface, arguments that can be specified when publishing CADDS data into CATIA V5 are grouped into 4 areas:

• CADDS Read - Those arguments that affect how data is read from CADDS

• CATIA V5 Write - Those arguments that affect how the data is written to CATIA V5

• Entity Mask - Those arguments that allow specific read entities to be masked

• General - Those arguments that are common to ALL Publishing activities regardless of source data

CADDS Read Arguments

The image below shows the CADDS Read arguments that are available, with their default settings:

Each of these options is described below:

Option	Description
Maintain Blanked Entities	Read blanked entities and maintain their show/hide state. Default is OFF. - Command Line Syntax: - maintain_blanked
Use CADDS Entity Colours	Use CADDS entity colours rather than part colours. - Command Line Syntax: - ecol
Assembly Search Path	Specify the search paths that contain assembly parts.
Name Assembly Nodes from Associated Geometry File	- Command Line Syntax: Default is OFF - mapitem
Process Part Revision Information	Read assembly revision info from _ps file. - Command Line Syntax: - read_rev
Assembly Units	Specify the units when reading an assembly. - Command Line Syntax: - assy_units <mm/inch>

CATIA V5 Write Arguments

The image below shows the CATIA V5 Write arguments that are available, with their default settings:

Each of these options is described below:

Option	Description
Output Geometry File Type	Output Geometry file type. Default is CATPart - Command Line Syntax: - CATPart: output_type CATPart - Model: output_type model - Cgr: output_type cgr - Igs: output_type igs - CATShape: output_type CATShape - Tessellated: create_cgr
Write Face Colours	Writes face colours. Default is ON. - Command Line Syntax: - FACE_COLOUR - SOLID_COLOUR - to turn off
Show Reference Planes	Creates reference planes. Default is OFF. - Command Line Syntax: - Show: dont_blank_planes
Retain Assembly Structure	Maintain assembly structure in derive output. Default is ON. - Command Line Syntax: - off_ditto
Property Mapping File	Assign a property mapping file - Command Line Syntax: - cad_prop_map_file <path_to_file>

CADDS to CATIA V5 Entity Masking Arguments

The image below shows the Masking arguments that are available, with their default settings:

Each of these options is described below:

Option	Description
Mask File	Specifies the Mask File to be written to, that can be referenced by future translations. A Mask file MUST be specified if masking is required. The first line in this file is OFF ALL ENT: - Command Line Syntax: - Mask <filename>
**Entity Types Translated **	Specifies a selection list from which to select which entity types are to be processed. The following types are available: “POI”,”LIN”,”ARC”,”CON”,”CUR”,”SUR”,”FAC”,”SOL” - Command Line Syntax: - Add any of the above to the specified mask file, one entry per line prefixed by the word ON, e.g.: ON POI to ensure they are considered in the translation
**Layers Translated **	Specifies a selection list from which to select which layers are to be processed. - Command Line Syntax: - A single entry of ON ALL LAY Must precede any Layer Mask command. - Add a list or range of numbers representing layer to be processed to the specified mask file to ensure they are NOT considered in the translation e.g.: OFF LAY 114,149,166,167,168

CADDS to CATIA V5 General Arguments

The image below shows the General arguments that are available, with their default settings:

Each of these options is described below:

Option	Description
Advanced	Allows any of the Command Line Advanced arguments to be passed to the Unified Interface invocation.

CATIA V5 Configuration

Introduction

This section details how to define and configure the CATIA V5 and SpinFire Convert environment to work together.

Conventions

Release of CATIA V5

To indicate a release of CATIA V5 the notation <XX> shall be used. This needs to be replaced with the specific release to be used i.e. 25, 26, 27, 28 or 29.

Platform specific directory

Within the installation directory of CATIA V5 there is a platform specific directory i.e. win_b64. This directory shall be referred to as <OSDS> in this section.

SpinFire Convert Installation directory

The SpinFire Convert translator installation directory is set at installation time in the translator ts_env.bat file. This directory shall be noted as <%TS_INST%> in this section.

CATIA V5 Installation Directory

Upon installation of a CATIA V5 product the user will be asked to specify the installation directory. This is the directory which contains the platform specific <OSDS> directory.

Having selected the CATIA V5 installation directory via the browse button, the installation process will record the location of the CATIA V5 installation directory in the ts_env.bat file. This file is located in the Theorem translator installation directory. If the location of CATIA V5 subsequently changes, the translator can be guided to the changed location by modifying this file using a text editor to modify the ts_env.bat that is located in the translator installation directory.

If no entry is included for DSLICENSING a warning dialog will be displayed which warns of the empty field. Selecting Yes to continue will allow the installation to continue.

Running CATIA V5 Translators

Before running the translator the user must run CATIA V5 interactively at least once to configure the CATIA V5 environment and license settings. This can be achieved by running the catia5r<XX>_start script as follows:

%TS_INST%\bin\catia5r<XX>_start.cmd

Once CATIA has been run the Translator can run as described in the relevant product User Guide.

CATIA V5 Environment (DIRENV & ENV)

The default location for CATIA V5 to store its global environment files is in the global directory:

Windows XP:

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\DassaultSystemes\CATEnv

Windows 7 & 8:

C:\ProgramData\DassaultSystemes\CATEnv

Or

%APPDATA%\CATEnv

You can find this location by running:

%CATIAV5_INST%\<OSDS>\code\bin\setcatenv -h

The environment files are named in the form CATIA.V5RN.B<XX>.txt

If when installing CATIA V5 the default environment file location was replaced with another location then this location needs to be indicated to the CADverter by defining in the ts_env.bat the environment variable CATIAV5_DIRENV:

set CATIAV5_DIRENV=/some/directory

If the Theorem installation is needed to support multiple releases of CATIA, then the user can define release specific locations using:

set CATIAV5R<XX>_DIRENV=/some/directory

The translator will attempt to create its own environment file called TheoremCatia5R<XX>.txt. The user must therefore have write permission to the CATEnv directory. If this is not possible an existing environment file can be specified using the variable CATIAV5_ENV. e.g.

set CATIAV5_ENV=CATIA.V5R19.B19

Note

The extension .txt is not required. The user can specify a release specific name using CATIAV5R<XX>_ENV e.g.

set CATIAV5R19_ENV=CATIA.V5R19.B19

Checking the CATIA V5 Environment

A script is provided to check that the CATIA V5 environment is set up correctly. In a command window run the command script:

%TS_INST%\bin\checkcatia5r<XX>env.cmd

Checking the Theorem Shared Library

A script is provided to ensure that the CATIA V5 environment is compatible with the Theorem shared library. In a command window run the command script:

%TS_INST%\bin\checkcatia5r<XX>cadverter.cmd

A successful output is an indication that the location for CATIA V5 has been specified to the Theorem translator correctly and that the correct version of the Theorem CATIA V5 translator products have been installed.