LEUVEN, Belgium, February 12, 2010 - Capvidia presented the latest version of their FormatWorks Gold Certified product designed to smoothly import CAD models directly into SolidWorks at SolidWorks World 2010 in Anaheim. New enhancements for CATIA V5 translation and numerous workflows for dealing with all kinds of complex data translation were presented to the delight of many SolidWorks users and resellers.

FormatWorks allows users to import CAD models in formats not supported in SolidWorks (CATIA V4 or CATIA V5). Native CATIA files can be directly imported into SolidWorks easily using FormatWorks. It also provides a better translation of IGES and STEP models than SolidWorks direct import. The continued success of FormatWorks is related to its advanced repair and healing technology.

FormatWorks Bi-directional CATIA Solution

Many users are often confused with the compatibility between SolidWorks and CATIA. Both products come from the same company Dassault Systems, but there is no direct interface to work with CATIA V5 models in SolidWorks that allow you open a native CATIA file directly. FormatWorks solves this issue in a very elegant way. It is based on Spatial InterOp which provides the same libraries as CATIA to read native CATIA data. Once read the data is submitted to the repair & healing process, which is an integral function in all Capvidia data translation solutions. The repair & healing module resolves incompatibilities between CATIA and SolidWorks 3D models ensuring correct model representation in SolidWorks. You get editable and precise models in SolidWorks, which can be used as a basis for further design. 

Solution for Large Complex CATIA Models

FormatWorks is both suited for translation of CATIA parts as well as large and complex CATIA assemblies. The unique preview capability enables you to manage and minimize the imported model size. You decide which parts of the native CATIA data you want in SolidWorks. The definition of the model can be simplified to further reduce the size of the model in SolidWorks.

Capvidia also demonstrated how FormatWorks is used by Honda Engineering to import large CATIA parts and assemblies directly into SolidWorks.  FormatWorks was selected by the Honda Engineering team after extensive evaluation as the best solution offered on the market today.

Feature Recognition

FormatWorks also provides functionality to improve feature recognition. Although the translation does not preserve the original feature tree, it enables SolidWorks feature recognition work significantly better on models imported through FormatWorks.

The explanation is very simple accordingly to Lyle Fischer Technical Marketing Director of Capvidia ”First of all, our translation process gives clean and well defined model. We are also able to simplify NURBS geometry to analytical surfaces such as planes, cylinders, spheres, and surfaces of revolution. A precise model and analytical surface representation allow SolidWorks feature recognition algorithms work in much more efficient and reliable way”.