CAD Translation Gets Doctored Up

Elysium releases CADdoctor SX5.3.3.

Elysium announced the release of CADdoctor SX5.3.3, which adds the import of CATIA V5 R32 and now supports V5 from R7 through R32 (V5-6R2022). SX5.3.3 also adds support for the NX 2007 series and now covers NX from UG10 through 2007 series.

CADdoctor is stand-alone interoperability software that is used to verify, repair, optimize and simplify translated CAD data. Product data quality (PDQ) checks are the first step in supporting interoperability in your model-based engineering (MBE) operations.

If your organization regularly needs to import from or export to other CAD sources or does so irregularly but in great volume, you will benefit from tools that make this translation process smoother. All CAD operators who work with translated data know that translation errors using the native CAD tools can be error prone and very difficult to find and remedy within the CAD tools themselves. A third-party tool such as CADdoctor can streamline this part of the process and avoid the extra work of manual data repair.

In July 2021, CADdoctor was integrated with ASFALIS, DirectTranslator and other software components to create Elysium 3DxSUITE, which includes validation, data packaging capability, bundling and product configuration tools.

CADdoctor supports more than two dozen geometry formats for the import and export of geometry as well as attributes and product marketing information (PMI). This can operate as a one-stop translation validation tool to get you back and forth between CAD packages without worrying about translation errors or missing data.

Data packages can be used when sending out information for quotes to ensure that all bidders receive the same data, or to ensure that an organization is using the same data for the entire process downstream from engineering.

CADdoctor can be used for on-demand or automated batch mode to facilitate mass conversions or checks. It also produces reports in 3D PDF, HTML or XML to summarize results and highlight areas that require additional attention.

Healing of imported errors can be done automatically or interactively. Requirements can be adjusted to meet industry standards or customer-specific quality rules, such as military standards, or specifications for individual companies or consortiums such as Nissan, Boeing, LOTAR or others.

Simplification can be used to remove features like holes or very small fillets to prepare plastic parts for CAE analysis, molding or other manufacturing processes. This can help with data package size, large data performance requirements, IP protection and manufacturing preparation. Simplification can also create a solid envelope, conveying the outer shape while omitting internal assembly details.

Translations include original CAD colors, PMI information, layers/groups and assembly trees.

Elysium validation enables you to compare all the data comprising the translated model. This includes:

  • System attributes
  • User attributes
  • Notes
  • Datums
  • Datum targets
  • GD&T (geometric dimensioning and tolerancing)
  • Saved views
  • Dimensions
  • Face attributes
  • Face geometry

Elysium also provides tools such as CADfeature that will translate CAD data feature for feature into history-based trees and maintain assembly relationships, associated drawings and associated meta data properties. This type of migration can help users of history-based software to move design intent and live-model editing capabilities from one software package to another—functionality that is often desired but rarely delivered in actual functional models.