Designing in CATIA?

[Michael Hill]

I'm just curious if anyone's stepped up to designing their parts in CATIA yet. It seems to be the CAD program of choice to teach a lot of university students anymore (at least interested in the aerospace field). I'm just curious if any of that's filtered down through FIRST.

If you haven't heard of it yet, wikipedia is a friend: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CATIA

It's a lot more computationally demanding than a lot of other CAD packages, but I feel it's a lot more advanced than others. There are quite a few Digital Mockup plugins to easily see clashing among other things.

[Zflash]

I did use Catia to design a base and drive train in. However since I was the only one who knew Catia we quickly switched to other Cad packages. Catia is a great program for more complex parts such as oddly curved sheet metal. However for most FIRST robots it is more complex then needed. Add to that it's price tag vs. free student versions of inventor or solid works, not to mention that both of those programs are easier for most students to learn, and Catia just isn't seen as a viable option by most. If your going into the aerospace or automotive industry then Catia is a definite feather to have in your cap.