Useful Tips

Useful tips and restrictions concerning parameters, formulas, and design tables are available in the CATIA Infrastructure User's Guide.

Relations

When using some objects, you need to indicate the destination of the formulas and the rules that valuate the parameters of these objects. If you valuate a time parameter in a kinematic simulation for example, the relation will not be located below the Relations set but in the mechanisms and commands tree of the simulation.

Hiding relations

You can hide a knowledge relation (formula, rule, check, ..) by right-clicking this relation in the specification tree and by selecting the Hide command.

  • A visual indicator located at the Relations set level indicates that the set contains hidden relations.
    Note that this indicator is not recursive.
  • If you try to delete a relations set containing hidden relations, a message is displayed asking you if you want to delete the relations set that contains hidden relations.
    Note that if you try to delete a relations set containing another relations set with hidden relations, the message will be displayed.

Relations Updates

The evaluation of relations containing measures can be integrated to the Part update only. In a .CATProduct or in a .CATProcess file, to create a parameter

  1. Create the relation containing the measure at the Part level.

  2. Integrate the relation evaluation to the Part update.

  3. At the Product or the Process level, create a relation that valuates the parameter by using the result parameter of the relation created at the Part level. To get an example, see KwrUpdate.CATProduct.

  4. Perform a local update at the Relations level.

Syntax errors in relations message

 

When loading a document, the message opposite can appear. It means that during the load, some relations appeared as broken.

These relations use functions that are not recognized by the dictionary because the library containing the definition of the function is not still loaded. That's why you are asked if you want to load all the libraries containing functions definition. But loading all libraries may have an impact on performance. So, we recommend you to load only the libraries you are interested by. To do so, select the required libraries in the Knowledge Environment tab (Tools>Options>General>Knowledge>Knowledge Environment.)

 

Rules  

Geometrical Features and Rules

In a rule using features that need the geometry to return the type (such as extrudes), when the feature is deactivated, the type cannot be returned. To solve the problem, use the Set command to indicate the type in the rule. For more information, see KwrSetType.CATPart.

Rules and Update Cycle

This configuration is allowed because a modification of the parameter activity does not impact the formula update. But:

  • In such a case, it is highly recommended to use the reaction feature.

  • If you want to use a rule, do not deactivate and reactivate the activity parameter.

  • When working with a UDF feature, make sure that you have inserted the relation set when defining the UDF.

Loops  

  • Generic Naming: Generic naming is a CATIA technique which creates a label whenever an element has been selected interactively. This label is a coded description of the selected element. When you specify a fillet to be applied to a face, you must select interactively the face definition but prior  to doing this you must of course have generated the face to be filleted. This is why scripts requiring face, point or edge definitions cannot be generated in one shot. You don't have to mind about the generic naming itself as it is automatically captured from the geometry area. The thing you have to mind about is the order your instructions are to be written and executed in the script.
  • Message "property does not exist...": Check in the browser that the attribute name is correct. For attributes of list type (Fillets and Chamfers), check the indexes. The indexes specified must be consecutive  from 1 to n without any gaps.

  • Specifying a File Path (2 methods)

Syntax

There are 2 ways to specify the file path:
  • import "File path"; : Indicate the path of the file to be imported:
    import "E:\users\kwecx\Models\PartImport.CATPart" ;. Note that you must enclose the path within quotation marks and end the import statement with a semicolon (;).
  • import "File Name"; : Indicate only the name of the file to be imported if this file is located in the same directory as the document containing the loop: import "PartImport.CATPart";. Note that:
    • You must enclose the document name within quotation marks and end the import statement with a semicolon (;).
    • The file to be imported must be located in the same directory as the document containing the loop.
    • The document containing the loop must be saved.
To specify a file to be imported, you can use Insert File Path from the contextual menu. Selecting this command displays a file selection window. Quotation marks are automatically included but not the semicolon

  •  Importing Sketches: Recommendation

When designing a document to be generated by a script, it is better to group all the required sketches in a single file. That way:

  • you minimize the overall size of your sketch-related data
  • no matter the method used to specify the input file, specify the path once
  • the design of the final document is made easier. You get a global view of the sketches on which the other features rely.

  • Specifying Strings: Recommendation: Double quotation marks as well as single quotation marks of apostrophe type (`) can be used to delimit strings. Single quotations marks (`) must be used to enclose character strings which contain other strings.

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