Macro, 3DEXPERIENCE, Performance, Troubleshooting, and Industry Guide

Overview

Running CATIA in real production takes more than modeling — it also takes automation (Macros), platform migration (3DEXPERIENCE), ENOVIA integration, performance tuning, and error-recovery know-how.

This page bundles Macro fundamentals with automation examples, V5 → 3DEXPERIENCE migration practice, PDM / PLM integration, large-assembly performance optimization, representative error messages and how to recover, 2024 – 2025 new features, and industry-specific focus (automotive, aerospace, shipbuilding).

Refer to pages 01 – 05 for workbench basics.

1. Macro (CATScript · VBScript · VBA · VB.NET)

1.1 Choosing a Language

CATIA supports four automation languages.

Language	Traits	Use
CATScript	CATIA-native, the oldest	Legacy assets
VBScript (CATVBS)	General-purpose, lightweight, easy to distribute	Most day-to-day automation
VBA	Embedded in CATIA, supports UserForm	Tools that need a UI
VB.NET / C#	Advanced automation, needs Visual Studio	Large tools, COM servers

The field default is CATVBS, VBA when you need a UI, and VB.NET when productizing an in-house tool.

1.2 Writing Your First Macro

1. Tools → Macro → Macros, or Alt+F8
2. New → pick CATScript or CATVBS
3. Write code in the editor → save
4. Run to execute, or bind to an icon on the ribbon / toolbar

1.3 Basic Structure (CATVBS)

Sub CATMain()
    Dim oPartDoc As Document
    Set oPartDoc = CATIA.ActiveDocument

    Dim oPart As Part
    Set oPart = oPartDoc.Part

    Dim oBody As Body
    Set oBody = oPart.MainBody

    MsgBox "Body Name: " & oBody.Name
End Sub

The CATIA global object is the entry point, and you descend the hierarchy ActiveDocument → Part → Body → Features.

1.4 Automation Examples

Example 1 — Mass report for every Product in an assembly

Sub CATMain()
    Dim oDoc As Document
    Set oDoc = CATIA.ActiveDocument
    Dim oProduct As Product
    Set oProduct = oDoc.Product

    Dim i As Integer
    For i = 1 To oProduct.Products.Count
        Dim oChild As Product
        Set oChild = oProduct.Products.Item(i)
        MsgBox oChild.Name & ": " & oChild.Analyze.Mass & " kg"
    Next
End Sub

Example 2 — Export the Drawing BOM to Excel Walk the BOM Table on a drawing and write each cell into an Excel workbook. One of the most common patterns in the field, used for automating BOMs handed to purchasing and QA.

Example 3 — Batch-convert a folder to STEP A loop that uses FileSystemObject to open each .CATPart in a target folder, exports STEP via Part.ExportData, then closes. Used to run overnight batch conversion of hundreds of delivery files.

1.5 Macro Practical Tips

• AutoCompletion — enable it at Tools → Options → General → Script Editor → AutoCompletion
• Infer Tool (Macro Recorder) — records commands and drafts a CATScript skeleton. Extremely useful as a starting point.
• Object Browser — press F2 to navigate COM objects
• Error Handling — pair On Error Resume Next with Err.Number checks
• PartNumber ≠ Name — a Part's PartNumber is the part number (e.g., A-100), while Name is the Instance name. Confusing the two tangles BOM extraction.

1.6 Resources

• scripting4v5.com — tutorials and samples
• Dieter R. Ziethen, CATIA V5 Macro Programming with VB Script, McGraw-Hill (2013)
• Emmett Ross, CATIA V5 Macros (eBook)
• COE (CATIA Operators Exchange) forum

2. Migrating to 3DEXPERIENCE

2.1 Why Migrate

• All new Dassault Systèmes investment is focused on 3DEXPERIENCE
• V5 is in maintenance mode (limited new functionality beyond R2025)
• Integrates PLM / BOM / Simulation / Manufacturing
• Cloud collaboration and remote work
• AI features introduced from R2024x onward

2.2 V5 → 3DEXPERIENCE Transition Map

Area	V5	3DEXPERIENCE
Launch	Windows Start menu	Compass (web / client)
Functional grouping	Workbench	Role + App
Storage unit	Local files like .CATPart	3DXML + PLM DB
Save	File → Save	Save with options (PLM)
Search	Windows Explorer	6WTags (platform search)
Permissions	OS-level	Collaborative Space
Revisioning	Manual	Automatic (A, B, C …)

2.3 Compass and Roles

The Compass (blue circle at the top left) has four sectors.

• Information Intelligence (north) — search, dashboards
• Content & Simulation (east) — CATIA, SIMULIA, DELMIA apps
• 3D Modeling (south) — Part / Assembly / Shape apps
• Social & Collaborative (west) — 3DSwym, 3DSpace, 3DDrive

2.4 Key CATIA Apps

• Part Design, Assembly Design, Drafting
• Generative Shape Design, Imagine & Shape
• xDesign — web-based lightweight modeling (SOLIDWORKS-like UX)
• xShape — Sub-D surfacing
• xGenerative Design — Visual Scripting + Generative (Grasshopper-like)
• Function-Driven Generative Designer (FGD) — Topology Optimization
• Sketch Tracer / Natural Sketch

2.5 Migration Practical Tips

• V5 users tend to get lost on day one. The fastest entry path is to search app names with Compass's Search.
• Most V5 shortcuts survive. Add Compass-switching shortcuts on top.
• "A save is effectively a DB commit." Clicking Cancel or the Unlock button by mistake can lose work, so discipline matters.
• V5 assets are migrated via a dedicated Data Upload tool. Feature preservation exceeds 95%, but Class A and specialty features need verification.
• Invest in Dassault's official three-day training for at least your key users.

3. ENOVIA / PDM Integration

3.1 ENOVIA Overview

Dassault Systèmes's PLM. Optional in V5 (ENOVIA V5 VPM, SmarTeam), built in for V6 / 3DEXPERIENCE.

• Vaulting — central repository
• Check-in / Check-out — file locking
• Revision Control — automatic version management
• Lifecycle — In Work → Frozen → Released → Obsolete
• Change Management — ECO / ECR
• BOM — EBOM (Engineering) / MBOM (Manufacturing)

3.2 Save Options

When saving an Assembly in V5, distinguish these four choices.

• Save — current file only
• Save All — every referenced file
• Save Management — change paths / names (rename)
• Save with Link (ENOVIA) — PLM save that preserves links

3.3 Release Process

1. In Work — work in progress
2. Frozen — editing locked, in review
3. Released — approved, production-ready
4. Obsolete — retired

Each transition is bound to the internal ECO / ECR workflow.

3.4 3DEXPERIENCE Collaborative Space

• Collaborative Space — a permission scope per project
• Maturity State — Private / Collaborative / Protected / Released / Obsolete
• Bookmarks / Tags — search and classification
• 3DMessaging — real-time collaboration messaging

4. Performance and Large Assemblies

4.1 Cache System (CGR)

Path: Tools → Options → Infrastructure → Product Structure → Cache Management.

• Working with cache — a .CGR is generated automatically when a .CATPart is loaded
• Cache Size — default 2 GB, large assemblies call for 10 – 50 GB
• Local Path — a fast local SSD
• Release Path — a network share where the team shares CGRs

.CGR carries tessellation and representation only, with no mathematical geometry. At about one-tenth the size of the original, it is ideal for bulk loading.

4.2 Design Mode vs. Visualization Mode

• Design Mode — fully loaded, editable, higher memory
• Visualization Mode — CGR only, non-editable, lower memory

Switch via Part right-click → Representations.

4.3 Large-Assembly Tips

• Open → arrow → Advanced to partially load only selected Sub-Products
• Tick Tools → Options → Product Structure → Product Visualization → Do not activate default shapes on open
• Reduce the Undo Stack Size from 20 to 5 (Tools → Options → General → PCS)
• Hide regions outside the current work area
• Enable Hyperthreading in BIOS
• Aircraft-scale assemblies demand 128 – 256 GB RAM, NVMe SSD, and a Quadro / RTX A-series GPU

4.4 Performance Optimization Checklist

• Cache enabled + local SSD
• Lower-fidelity Display options applied
• Large Database mode
• Reduced Undo Stack
• Default shapes disabled
• Visualization Mode as default
• Minimal Workbench Startup
• Unused Workbenches unloaded

5. Troubleshooting

5.1 CATDUA V5 — Data Recovery

A built-in CATIA diagnostic / recovery utility. File → Desk → right-click Document → CATDUAV5.

• Repairs broken links
• Fixes Feature Tree index errors
• Removes sources of performance degradation
• Cleans invalid references

5.2 Broken Links

Causes include renamed / relocated referenced files, network-drive changes, structural shifts due to revisions, and copy-paste (CCP) in unusual orders.

Fixes: Edit → Links → select the broken entry and use Replace / Deactivate / Isolate, restore the source file's original name, run CATDUA, or, worst case, Isolate to cut the link and rebuild.

5.3 Update Errors

If a red gear icon appears during Update, check these.

• Open sketch, or over-/under-constraint → fix inside the Sketch
• Missing referenced geometry → Edit → Links
• Excessive pattern-instance count → reduce count
• Boolean conflict → reorder Bodies
• Always read the cause log in the Edit → Update dialog first

5.4 Unresolved References

References shown as (...) in the Tree. An unloaded external reference, deletion, or rename is the cause. Use Tools → Parents/Children to trace the reference chain and re-point the path.

5.5 R2 (Release-to-Release) Errors

Occur when exchanging between different CATIA Releases. Moving from V5R21 → V5R29 can bring feature-incompatibility issues.

5.6 Frequent Error Messages

Error	Cause	Fix
"The profile is not closed"	Gap in sketch	Sketch Analysis → Geometry
"Feature cannot be updated"	Referenced geometry deleted	Edit → Links
"Cannot resolve specifications"	Over-constraint	Remove a constraint
"License error"	License-server issue	Contact IT, Tools → Options → License
"Memory allocation error"	RAM shortage	Visualization Mode, close other apps
"The document is locked"	Another user holds the PDM lock	Wait for check-in

6. R2024x / R2025x New Features

6.1 AI-Driven

• Command Intelligence — AI predicts the user's next command
• Mechanical Interface Prediction — auto-predicts assembly interfaces
• Interference-based Connection Assistant — interference-aware assembly assistant
• Sketch Generative Constraints — auto-applies constraints to ISO rules (avoids over-constraint)

6.2 Generative Design

• Function-Driven Generative Design — feed loads and manufacturing conditions → topology is generated automatically
• CAE-driven Design Optimization (SIMULIA integration)
• Lattice Structure — automatic lightweight lattices
• Integration with additive manufacturing (AM)

6.3 Visual Scripting

• Parametric Animation — auto-generates videos across a Parameter's range
• Block-based Programming — no-code automation
• xGenerative Design — procedural generation

6.4 Immersive / AR / VR

• Mixed-reality review (HoloLens)
• VR design review (Meta Quest, Varjo)
• 3DLive web viewer

6.5 R2025x Highlights

• Major upgrades to xGenerative Design
• Official release of AI-powered Sketch Generative Constraints
• New Parametric Animation commands
• Expanded Mechanical Interface Prediction
• Sustainability Indicator — carbon-emission tracking
• Broader cloud collaboration

7. Industry Focus

7.1 Automotive

Body-in-White (BIW) — 10,000 – 20,000 parts, 3,000 – 5,000 spot welds. A Sheet Metal + GSD stack, shared Skeleton (A / B / C pillar reference lines), with Spot Weld patterns generated in batch via Macro.

Class A exterior panels — ICEM Shape Design / ICEM Surf, G2 / G3 continuity, Zebra / Highlight analysis, shut-line precision at ±0.2 mm.

Powertrain — Mold Tooling Design (die casting), draft analysis for ejection feasibility, mandatory design-intent annotations on the Tree.

Interior — Imagine & Shape (Sub-D), plastic-draft analysis, tactile evaluation via Human Builder + DMU.

7.2 Aerospace

Skins / fuselage — Aerospace Sheet Metal Design (ASL), hydroforming process, Double Curved Flange, Composites Design as a separate workbench.

Structure — Structure Design + Weld, rivet patterns via Catalog, Airbus standard ICY (Iconic Component) utilization.

Engines / turbines — combined GSD + FreeStyle, blade profiles built on Splines / Conics, SIMULIA thermal-analysis integration.

7.3 Shipbuilding

• AEC Plant (Piping, HVAC)
• Structure Design (hull framing)
• Cable Tray (electrical)
• The Dassault Marine & Offshore dedicated solution

7.4 Heavy Industry / Construction Equipment

• Large Assembly Management is the core issue
• Many welded structures — leverage Weld Design
• Configuration management via Knowledgeware
• 3D layout of hydraulic systems

7.5 Consumer Goods / Appliances

• Exterior studies in FreeStyle / Imagine & Shape
• Plastic-draft and shell analysis
• Internal metal frame in Sheet Metal

Field Checklist

• For repetitive tasks, was a draft sketched with the Macro Recorder?
• Was the PartNumber vs. Name confusion verified in your macros?
• If migrating to 3DEXPERIENCE, are Collaborative Space permissions designed?
• In an ENOVIA setting, is check-in / check-out discipline established?
• Is the Release Lifecycle (In Work → Frozen → Released) tied to the ECO / ECR process?
• Are large assemblies run in Visualization Mode + CGR Cache?
• Do your Undo Stack and Default Shapes settings match the performance guide?
• Is CATDUA run on a weekly cadence?
• Are internal and partner CATIA releases aligned for R2 compatibility?
• Are you investing in R2024x+ AI features (Sketch Generative, Mechanical Interface)?
• Are industry-recommended workbenches (ASL, ICEM, AEC Plant, etc.) reflected in the team guide?