CATIA - solids or surfaces

[MONOLITICO]

I have always translated Catia files onto Mastercam as STP files, however, today I translated the same file as an IGES file and there is a wall thickness problem on a wall. I would like to know if any of you have encounter this. What do you prefer to translate your CATIA files to solids or surfaces? I will appreciate your help greatly.

[mowens]

I think the chances of having a problem with converting a file increase quite a bit using iges translation; I prefer STP. As for solids, I don't have solids with Mastercam, so someone else will have to speak to that issue.

[Colin Gilchrist]

Solids works much better than surfaces as long as the solid from Catia is "good". It depends on if the solid you are trying to import is a closed body, or if it not closed. I have found some Catia solids where the geometry in Catia wasn't closed and "water tight". In these situations you can usually import a set of trimmed surfaces instead of a solid and machine the model that way. Sometimes you have to live with what you get, whether you like it or not. I have machined plenty of models where the surface geometry was pretty ugly and I had to go back in and rebuild surfaces, wireframe, ect.

 

-Colin

[MLS]

I have imported many IGES files. One thing I have noticed is that when exporting the IGES out, it is best to use the Surface and B-spline setting in CATIA V5. Mastercam likes those settings best. An IGES out of CATIA V4 is worth a handful of Advil in my experience.

 

I have tried to import a solid with the Catia translator and have got deviations in those, but from what I have dealt with STEP, I'd agree with Colin and say you get what CATIA gives you.

 

Personally, I prefer importing as surfaces then creating the solid in Mastercam, because I almost never get an accurate closed solid model without errors. If I import as surfaces, I can fix it.

 

MLS

 

MR2 XP