CATIA Translator Reference

CATIA® (Computer Aided Three-dimensional Interactive Application) is a multi-platform CAD/CAM/CAE commercial software suite. CATIA V4 runs on UNIX variants, while CATIA V5 runs on Windows as well. The file formats used by CATIA V4 and CATIA V5 are different. The IMPORT command supports CATIA V4, CATIA V5, and CATIA V5-6R2019.

The following data types are translated:

• Assemblies
• Parts
• Surfaces
• Solids
• Wireframe geometry (2D & 3D)

Note: Some formats in this topic might not be available in all AutoCAD-based products.

CATIA V4

The IMPORT command supports all versions of CATIA V4.

The following CATIA V4 file types can be imported:

• *.model (model files)
• *.session (session files)
• *.exp and *.dlv (export files)

The IMPORT command maps all CATIA V4 assembly structures to blocks and block references. Each individual part in an input CATIA V4 file is mapped to a block, which in turn is referenced from model space. Assemblies are formed by nesting "part" blocks.

• CATIA V4 models can contain components that are set to be invisible/hidden. However, once imported, all geometry is visible, regardless of their visibility state in CATIA.
• A CATIA V4 *.exp file can contain more than one model. However, you can import only one model per IMPORT session. Hence, when IMPORT detects multiple models, it prompts you to specify which model to import.

CATIA V5

The IMPORT command supports CATIA V5 releases 9 through 20 and V5-6R2019.

The following CATIA V5 file types can be imported:

• *.CATPart (CATIA part files)
• *.CATProduct (CATIA assembly files)

Importing *.CATPart files produces blocks that have the same name as the source file. If the file name contains invalid characters, they are replaced by the underscore (_) character in the corresponding block.