CATIA Concept Design - IDE

Sketch integration

CATIA Concept Design allows the integration of stylists' work (such as Photoshop 2D Sketches) into the CATIA 3D environment, as the design reference for 3D modeling. It provides intuitive toolset to calibrate the working environment. The user will first position and scale the image in 3D then use the curve and surfacing tools to build the geometry over the sketches.

Direct modeling with CATIA Live Shape

In a feature-based approach, design changes can be time consuming due to the complex history trees of feature-based industrial parts. Designers may feel reluctant to try several alternatives or even light modifications, as it looks to be difficult on a detailed design. CATIA Live Shape delivers an ultra fast modeling & modification technology, enabling all users to sketch from scratch any idea in 3D with an intuitive user interface and a direct modeling paradigm. In a refined environment, the user shapes directly the product, pushing or pulling its faces & bodies or entering exact values. Contextual tools are available at a click of the mouse, and the extensive real-time feedback makes design intuitive.

Ultra fast modeling with Imagine & Shape Subdivisions surface Technology

Dedicated to aesthetical shapes creation for conceptual design, Imagine & Shape (IMA) introduces very new concepts of modeling. It combines a powerful technology, based on subdivision surfaces, with a simple user interface. This new paradigm, similar to clay modeling, allows non CAD specialists to create simply & rapidly very complex Shapes. IMA makes 3D accessible for Designers. It helps to explore many variations of Design in few seconds.

Suite of comprehensive and easy to use Surfacing modeling tools

CATIA Concept Design drastically simplifies the shape design process by unifying all types of free-form curves and surfaces in a single math-free representation. With the comfortable Windows interface, intuitive surface sculpting and real-time diagnosis and visualization, designers are able to reduce their design cycle time. CATIA Concept Design provides surface-based tools to help designers create styled shapes and surfaces, enabling even casual users to easily smooth and trim curves and surfaces. Real-time quality checking is possible through curve and surface diagnostic and analysis tools.

Comprehensive set of associative wireframe and surfaces features

With CATIA Concept Design, you can create in context specification driven shapes based on a combination of wireframes and extensive multiple surface features. CATIA Concept Design provides an extensive set of tools for creating and modifying mechanical surfaces used in the design of complex shapes or hybrid parts.

Instant & Asynchronous collaboration tools to easily share data and ideas

CATIA Concept Design enables peer-to-peer collaboration between all participants across the extended enterprise in order to promote the sharing of data and ideas. It helps for a better collaboration between Design and Engineering. Via the PLM toolbar, instant collaboration with the collaborative Heads-Up Display is available at any time. Designers can chat, communicate around the 3D Product definition, exchange design contents or organize a 3D meeting.

Real time High-End Visualization & photorealistic Rendering with MentalRay

CATIA Concept Design enables designers to interactively create realistic renderings in real-time. They can dynamically create and manipulate materials, lights and environments and immediately view the result of any modification. CATIA Concept Design also provides users with an easy way to generate high quality photo-realistic images of a digital mock-up, for designers needing to quickly create high quality renderings. CATIA Concept Design is based on mental image®'s last generation rendering software component, mental ray®. Mental ray® is widely acknowledged to be the industry leading rendering core system in the Digital Content Creation and PLM markets.

Drafting Generation on multiple views

CATIA Concept Design allows users to automatically generate associative drafting from 3D designs and assemblies produced with CATIA V6. CATIA Concept Design addresses 2D design and drawing production requirements. It offers a highly productive, and intuitive interactive drafting system with both integrated 2D interactive functionality and a productive environment for drawings dress-up and annotations.

Layout Viewing Workbench

It is now possible to browse 2D Layout for 3D Design data without the need for an LO1 authoring license. This allows exchanging a fully comprehensive 3D master model with suppliers or any other third party having a 3D authoring license but no LO1 authoring license, making wider the scope of people accessing layout information. Layout data will be displayed to allow non-persistent measure, print, etc. No creation or edition of layout data is allowed with this browsing license.

Export STL files for Rapid prototyping machining

CATIA Concept Design enables the designer to create meshes in a fast and accurate way by tessellation of CAD data. It allows the import of existing STL files, the display of meshes. The product offers advanced tools to improve the quality of meshes by local editing of triangles. The meshes can be exported as standard binary STL file for rapid prototyping machines.

Industrial Design workflow solution

CATIA Concept Design is the ideal Industrial Design workflow solution to meet the Styling and Design challenge. It includes all the I.D. workflow tools for Design Sketch integration, Ultra fast 3D Ideation concept modeling with Subdivision surfaces, High-End Surfacing, High-End Real-time Visualization and Photo-realistic Rendering with MentalRay.

Easy integration of 2D stylists' work into a 3D environment

CATIA Concept Design enables to easily transform ideas into exact 3D geometry models in a few minutes, starting from scratch for 3D Creativity or 2D sketches. Designers can quickly and easily import their 2D creations, and work for example directly with native Photoshop files.

Unleash your creativity, capture innovative ideas and explore multiple variations in a natural way with easy to use and Ultra-fast modeling tools

CATIA Concept Design enriches the traditional approach of concept surface modeling by introducing a new comprehensive approach methodology. It provides ultra fast & intuitive Modeling tools to express concept ideation in a natural way:

Based on the power of the unique subdivision technology, Imagine & Shape stimulates innovation by accelerating the 3D Creativity of complex Aesthetical shape. The subdivision technology offers an unrivaled freedom to define and control intuitively a shape and enables the creation of surfaces compliant with any CATIA V6 applications.

Leveraging CATIA powerful geometric modeler, CATIA Live Shape offers an intuitive fast modeling technology to shape surfaces and control its modifications via direct manipulation, pushing and pulling faces or edges. This conceptual design can be reused as a preliminary shape in other workbenches for further detailed design.

Convince and accelerate the validation of your design with high end real time visualization and rendering with MentalRay

CATIA Concept Design enables designers to interactively create realistic renderings in real-time and provides users with an easy way to generate high quality photo-realistic images of a digital mock-up. By providing the ultimate dynamic display of your mock-up, you can efficiently evaluate and validate your design at any time during the product development process.

Take advantage of the complete CATIA Design environment

CATIA Concept Design workflow solution enables Designers to embrace the Styling & Design creation directly in the CATIA V6 environment for a better and faster collaboration between Designers & Engineers. It is the unique solution in the market allowing designers to leverage the manufacturability of their concept models. The full associativity between the styling and the other CATIA V6 applications means that any modification is quickly propagated across the global team.

Quickly share concepts and ideas with powerful collaboration tools

The V6 collaborative environment promotes spontaneous communication at any time with instant collaboration tools including chat, live 3D collaboration, 3D snapshots exchanges or review sessions. This enables designers to easily share and debate data and ideas within their community (Engineers, cost estimators, manufacturing specialists, marketing & sales people) very early in a project, for comments, evaluation and approval.