Supercharge CATIA V5 with the new “Power’By” 3DEXPERIENCE

In Short

• Dassault Systèmes introduces an all-new CATIA V5 integration to the 3DEXPERIENCE platform
• CATIA V5 data can be managed in the 3DEXPERIENCE platform “on-cloud” for the first time
• View CATIA V5 data and build/edit assemblies through a web browser, even on mobile devices
• Other multi-CAD (xCAD) integrations coming soon using the same technology
• Mixed xCAD and CATIA 3DEXPERIENCE (V6) product structures are possible
• Available from February 2018 in 3DEXPERIENCE R2018x

Introduction

CATIA V5 has been revitalized for 2018 and beyond, with the introduction of “Power’By 3DEXPERIENCE” (available February 2018). In a nutshell, it is now possible to natively manage CATIA V5 data in the 3DEXPERIENCE platform (On-Cloud or On-Premise) using the same data structure as the 3DEXPERIENCE native apps (e.g. CATIA V6).

This allows V5 customers to benefit from the performance and flexibility offered by “V6-style” assembly management, and gives direct access to the huge range of 3DEXPERIENCE platform apps and technologies that can work with V5 data; all without moving away from CATIA V5.

For example, V5 data can now be used directly in the following (all on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform):

• ENOVIA apps for EBOM, DMU, Project Management and Engineering Change
• DELMIA apps for MBOM, NC manufacturing and work instructions
• SIMULIA apps for structural, thermal, fluid or multi-physics simulation
• 3DEXPERIENCE platform apps for collaboration, search, dashboarding and analytics

Key Elements of Power’By:

New CATIA V5 integration with 3DEXPERIENCE

This is the “connector” that CATIA V5 needs to be able to communicate with the 3DEXPERIENCE platform and to interact with users. This has been added to current releases of CATIA V5:

• CATIA V5-6R2015 SP6
• CATIA V5-6R2016 SP4
• CATIA V5-6R2017 SP2
• CATIA V5-6R2018 GA

It also includes a new toolbar and open/search/save dialogues, activated when Power’By is deployed. This is the only visible change to CATIA V5 itself – new features and capabilities are delivered through the 3DEXPERIENCE platform and the way V5 data is managed.

Product Structure Editor Web Application

This is a very impressive new ENOVIA app on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform which allows users to view, edit and/or build product structures using V5 or V6 parts. It brings a lot of existing “Native Application” (V6) functionality to a web browser and will be of benefit to customers using CATIA V5 and/or full 3DEXPERIENCE native applications.

So How does it Work?

CATIA V5 parts and assemblies are stored in the Platform in the same way as native (V6) data, which allows some of the functionality available in V6 to be made available to V5 users. E.g. common PDM functions, proximity-based loading, browsing links and impacts on other data and applying a “colour wash” to 3D data to highlight important information and help with decision making.

Importantly, the Power’By integration and the Platform apps that go with it do not need any browser plugins and use the very latest web technology. This means Power’By can be used with Dassault Systèmes’ “On-Cloud” version of the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, so CATIA V5 users can now benefit from the most comprehensive cloud-based PLM offering on the market, with near-instant deployment time and zero infrastructure investment.

How do I Get it?

Customers who wish to use Power’By must first adopt the 3DEXPERIENCE platform. This need not be a costly or complicated endeavour thanks to the availability of the Platform “On-Cloud”, which has been operational for over 4 years. Read more about 3DEXPERIENCE On-Cloud.

It is also possible, of course, to take the traditional approach of deploying a PLM/PDM system by installing the Platform “On-Premise”, using a company’s own servers and IT infrastructure. Contact us to find out more about 3DEXPERIENCE On-Premise deployment.

It is important to note that Power’By is only available on the currently supported releases of CATIA V5 (see above). Dassault Systèmes has not yet disclosed if they have any plans to issues updates to equip older releases of CATIA V5 with Power’By capabilities.

Past and Future CATIA Releases

What about the existing CATIA V5 integration to 3DEXPERIENCE (and other xCAD integrations)?

The existing CATIA V5 integration (using what was formerly known as “Designer Central”) will continue to be supported. There are no plans to stop the development and support of these products. Customers using one of these existing CAD integrations who are interested in moving to Power’By should contact TECHNIA to discuss the best approach. This is likely to require a staged approach and a period of coexistence between the old and new technologies (depending on the quantity of data involved).

Where does this leave full CATIA 3DEXPERIENCE (V6)?

The 3DEXPERIENCE Native Applications (e.g. CATIA “V6”) are recognised as the most powerful and feature-rich 3D authoring tools on the market. These products should continue to be the first choice for companies looking to deploy the very best PLM solutions; however, by introducing Power’By, Dassault Systèmes is recognising that existing customers need choice, flexibility and the time and technologies to define and follow a PLM strategy that works for them.

And there’s more to come…

In this article the focus has been on CATIA V5, but the Power’By framework will ultimately be extended to accommodate all “non-native” authoring tools (xCAD) that DS wish to integrate with the 3DEXPERIENCE platform. In fact, Power’By for SOLIDWORKS is available in March 2018, sharing much of the same capability as its V5 equivalent. More Power’By integrations will be released in the second half of 2018, including NX, Creo, Inventor and Solid Edge.

Deploying Power’By – The TECHNIA advantage

Power’By is a new addition to the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, focusing on CATIA V5 and related engineering processes (e.g. EBOM). To get the best out of this mixture of new and existing technology requires the help of a trusted partner.

• As an engineering consultancy, TECHNIA has used CATIA V5 since it was released (Technia was an engineering company before it was a software vendor). Our CATIA V5 expertise is second to none.
• As users (early adopters) of CATIA on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, TECHNIA has 5 years’ worth of hands-on expertise in getting the best out of the software. This includes general application usage as well as methodology and administration expertise. We use and believe in the products we sell!
• As vendors of the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, TECHNIA currently supports over 1600 users in the UK and South Africa at organisations of all sizes. Our customer service is second to none and we are ISO9001:2008 accredited.
• As world leaders in the provision of 3DEXPERIENCE products and services to companies of all sizes, TECHNIA is the logical choice to be your deployment partner.  TECHNIA makes up the #1 global Dassault Systèmes Value Solutions Partner.

Conclusion

To sum up, in terms of CATIA V5 developments it could be said that Power’By 3DEXPERIENCE is the biggest news since the introduction of the 64bit version of CATIA V5 (Release 16, November 2005). For customers wanting to take the next step into the world of PLM, without changing their CAD authoring software, then Power’By 3DEXPERIENCE is the answer.

Power’By for CATIA V5 and SOLIDWORKS is available on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform R2018x (On-Cloud or On-Premise) from February 2018.