CATIA FAQ
What are the P1, P2, and P3 Platforms?
To address the need for varying levels of capabilities required for various tasks and processes, CATIA V5 products are organized on three different platforms. This allows for the most cost effective implementation, while still allowing for expansion as needs and your company grows.
CATIA V5 P1 platform delivers affordable 3D PLM productivity with the security of potential growth to advanced generative applications. With the CATIA V5 P1 platform, associative product engineering, product knowledge reuse, end-to-end associativity, product validation and collaborative change management capabilities are now available to all small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).
CATIA V5 P2 platform enables further PLM process optimization through knowledge integration, process accelerators and customized tools for automated design through to manufacturing. The CATIA V5 P2 platform drives generative product engineering, using the most comprehensive application portfolio available in the marketplace. Design-to-target optimization allows the user to easily capture and reuse knowledge, in addition to stimulating collaborative innovation.
CATIA V5 P3 platform maximizes the productivity of specific advanced processes using focused solutions. These are designed to support expert engineering and advanced innovation with highly specialized applications that integrate product and process expertise.
Is CATIA V5 hard to learn?
No. The learning curve for CATIA V5 is very short. Workbenches, menus, and icons are logically grouped allowing users to pick it up very quickly. The Windows-based allows those familiar to Windows programs to feel at home when using CATIA V5. At the end of our 40 hour fundamentals class, our students are able to create industry-standard parts, assemblies, and drawings with confidence.
Is CATIA too costly for my small manufacturing company?
With CATIA’s modular configuration there are many packages that can be implemented for relatively low cost. We can work with you to determine what level of CATIA functionality suites your company best. Many times we can find areas where using CATIA will actually improve processes or reduce flow time and allow for a short return on investment. Often a small company will be ‘forced’ into CATIA V5 by a customer only to find out that it has begun to reduce time and costs in areas not seen before.
What kind of on-line documentation is there for CATIA V5?
CATIA V5 comes with on-line documents that integrate seamlessly with CATIA itself. With both function-related and process-related help documents, any user will have a great source for quick help at their fingertips.
Can I read CATIA V4 models and drawings with CATIA V5?
Yes. Most CATIA V5 packages will allow you to read native CATIA V4 data. Be careful when ordering CATIA V5 modules since some of the entry level packages are intended to be used as stand-alone design systems and may not allow this V4/V5 functionality. |
