What is CATIA?

In today's AI-driven world, engineers need advanced 3D modelling, surfacing, assembly, systems engineering, simulation, and collaborative development tools to design complex products.

CATIA meets these needs with a broad set of design and engineering capabilities, including cloud collaboration, lifecycle management, AI-assisted engineering, and Virtual Twin workflows.

Let's get started!

Table of Contents

• Types of Design Software
• CATIA - An Overview
• 3DEXPERIENCE CATIA - An Overview
• AI Capabilities of CATIA
• Comparison Between 3DEXPERIENCE CATIA and CATIA V5
• CATIA 3DEXPERIENCE Role-based Solutions
• CATIA Workbenches
• Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE)
• Integration with SIMULIA
• CATIA in the Cloud
• CATIA vs  AutoCAD
• CATIA vs SOLIDWORKS
• Example of Generative Experiences
• CATIA Career Path
• FAQs
• Conclusion

Types of Design Software

Several design software products are available, including CATIA, AutoCAD, SOLIDWORKS, Fusion 360, Ansys, Creo, etc. CATIA is a widely used CAD/CAE/CAM software suite, particularly in industries such as aerospace, automotive, and industrial equipment.

Let’s learn the basic types of design software.

1. CAD (Computer-Aided Design)

Computer-aided design (CAD) is a technology that you can use to design and analyse models defined by geometrical parameters. These models are typically displayed on a computer screen as 2D drawings and 3D models.

CAD software supports product modelling, documentation, design validation, and preparation of design data for downstream engineering and manufacturing processes. When integrated with PLM/PDM systems, CAD data can support a controlled source of product information.

2. CAM (Computer-Aided Manufacturing)

Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM) uses software and computer numerical control (CNC) machines to automate manufacturing. CAM primarily refers to computer software used to plan and program manufacturing operations, including toolpath generation and CNC programming.

A CNC machine can read G-code. G01 specifies a linear interpolation move. X and Y values define coordinates, while F specifies feed rate. T and S specify tool selection and spindle speed, respectively.

CATIA - An Overview

CATIA, or Computer-Aided Three-Dimensional Interactive Application, is Dassault Systèmes’ portfolio of design and engineering solutions. CATIA is primarily positioned around design, engineering, systems engineering, and related product-development capabilities.

Dassault Systèmes also provides CAM and simulation capabilities across its broader portfolio, including DELMIA and SIMULIA. CATIA integrates with the broader Dassault Systèmes portfolio and 3DEXPERIENCE platform for design, engineering, simulation, manufacturing, and lifecycle management.

The software is commonly used in manufacturing industries and by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to improve the design, analysis, and management of new products. It is a solid-modelling tool that combines 3D parametric features with 2D tools and even addresses the design-to-manufacturing process.

It also supports creating sections, auxiliary views, isometric views, detailed 2D drawings, and orthographic drawings. You use CATIA across industries such as aerospace, automotive, manufacturing, and more.

What does CATIA do?

CATIA lets you visualise designs in 3D. It is mostly used for 3D modelling, surfacing, assembly design, drafting, systems engineering, simulation integration, and collaborative product development. It is widely used in many industries such as automotive, defence, aerospace, and industrial equipment.

It integrates a multidisciplinary approach with a cross-disciplinary development platform. It supports advanced surface modelling, 3D workflows, and collaborative design environments. Also supports the design of electrical, electronic, and distributed systems. Moreover, the graphical user interface is intuitive.

Features of CATIA

CATIA offers a complete engineering toolkit in a single work environment. Its composite and electrical design capabilities include traditional surfacing, drafting, and solids workbenches within a unified user interface. The key capabilities include:

• Shape design, styling, surfacing & Class-A modelling
• AI-powered design with generative experiences
• Virtual companions for guided engineering
• Command intelligence
• Simulate objects using a 3D digital mockup
• Web-based collaboration design in 3DEXPERIENCE CATIA
• Generative 3D Mesh from image using AI.

3DEXPERIENCE CATIA - An Overview

3DEXPERIENCE CATIA R2026x is the latest release of the CATIA platform. It introduces AI-driven design, simulation, Virtual Twin capabilities, Space of Possibilities, Augmented Engineering, Virtual Companions, and more.

3DEXPERIENCE CATIA connects CATIA with capabilities from other Dassault Systèmes brands, including ENOVIA, DELMIA, and SIMULIA. 3DEXPERIENCE CATIA R2026x includes AI-driven design, simulation, and Virtual Twin capabilities.

It connects with other areas of the organisation. It provides an environment for all design and engineering activities. It supports cloud-native engineering, Virtual Twin, AI-assisted engineering, generative experiences and collaborative product development.

These activities are arranged in groups that reflect real-world workflows, standardise the icons, provide role-based access to applications and workflows, make it easier to find the appropriate functions, and deliver productivity gains.

Its portfolio supports more than 170 roles across multiple disciplines, including mechanical, electrical, construction, aerospace, marine, and more.

CATIA R2026x Key Capabilities

• Industry World Model

This model powers LEO and Generative Experiences. It is Dassault Systèmes' multimodal and knowledge-guided AI foundation. It integrates engineering knowledge, physics-based simulation, and Virtual Twins.

It minimises hallucination by grounding AI outputs in engineering knowledge, 3D product data, and physics-based reasoning, rather than statistical pattern matching. It makes CATIA's AI trustworthy for safety-critical engineering sectors, including aerospace and automotive.

• Modular Design Infrastructure

This architectural approach lets you manage geometry, annotations, and specifications independently across the product lifecycle. It also improves variant management and change traceability.

Annotations link directly to requirements, creating a digital thread from design through drawings to manufacturing specifications.

• Product-Level 3D Tolerancing

This tolerancing capability provides you with a consistent way to define geometric requirements across assemblies. This reduces design errors, strengthens compliance, and improves accuracy.

• Apple Vision Pro Integration

Cloud-based CATIA models can be rendered on the Apple Vision Pro XR headset with a single click. You can also overlay SIMULIA CFD aerodynamic simulations at 1:1 scale for visual inspection while reviewing designs.

• Box Deformer for Designers

Box Deformer gives you direct, intuitive control over complex shapes. It offers high-quality real-time visualisation and review tools, including support for Apple Vision Pro. It helps you make informed decisions earlier by identifying issues before you build a physical prototype.

• Generative-Driven Design

This CATIA capability produces high-performance geometry in fewer cycles with parametric optimisation and faster convergence.

AI Capabilities of CATIA

CATIA integrates AI capabilities into the broader 3DEXPERIENCE environment. These capabilities help engineers automate design tasks, explore alternatives, reuse engineering knowledge, and accelerate product-development workflows.

AI capabilities in CATIA include:

1. CATIA Visual Scripting

CATIA Visual Scripting is a visual, node-based programming feature that you can leverage to automate and customise engineering and design workflows. It combines graphical automation with intelligent design workflows.

One advantage is that it does not require extensive programming expertise. You can build logic by connecting graphical nodes that represent geometry, parameters, operations, and data. Typical applications of CATIA Visual Scripting include:

2. CATIA xGenerative Design

xGenerative Design is a CATIA 3DEXPERIENCE feature that you can use to create and explore design alternatives based on engineering requirements, constraints, and design objectives. It offers a full UI redesign for better productivity. 

With this CATIA capability, you can:

3. Virtual Twin in CATIA

A Virtual Twin is a digital representation of a physical product, system, or process. In other words, it is a dynamic, multiscale digital model that represents the entire lifecycle, behaviour, and environment of a physical product, system, or process.

It is a virtual model that lets you assess the impact of physical changes, new products, and operational processes without building physical prototypes. 

With the help of a Virtual Twin, you can:

4. Command Intelligence

Command Intelligence offers intelligent context-aware command suggestions. It helps reduce design time by 30% by providing the right functions for the actions.

5. Generative Engineering

Generative Engineering includes capabilities such as generative constraints, resilient modelling, assembly design, motion design, and generative functional tolerancing.

It explores automatically generated solutions based on engineering objectives. This approach uses engineering requirements, rules, constraints, and objectives to automatically explore or generate design solutions. 

It also represents a shift from traditional geometric drafting to rule-based, algorithmic design optimisation. Generative engineering can help maximise performance and minimise material waste.

6. Generative Experiences

Generative Experiences automate industrial processes by transforming multimodal inputs, such as text, documents, drawings, and 3D scans, into outputs.

They can generate structured specification models from PDFs, design features from 3D scans, complete parametric parts from a single image, full assemblies from mechanical interfaces, and production-ready drawings.

7. Virtual Companions

Virtual Companions are AI-powered assistants in the CATIA/3DEXPERIENCE environment. They help accelerate the product-development process.

Let's take a look at the different virtual companions.

• AURA: It is a chatbot-style Virtual Companion that gives users access to an LLM for in-context guidance. AURA brings corporate knowledge and CATIA documentation into the workflow. It helps users navigate CATIA capabilities, understand design tasks, and get contextual assistance as they work.
• LEO: It is the generation-and-validation engine. It generates, scores, and refines designs, then presents the resulting design for engineer approval. LEO runs on the Dassault Systèmes Cloud, where customer data is not used to train Dassault Systèmes AI models. It can also generate full parametric parts from a single image, build assemblies from predicted mechanical interfaces, and automatically create production-ready drawings.
• MARIE: It supports simulation-related activities, helping you set up, analyse, and interpret simulation workflows. It connects generative engineering with the Virtual Twin, providing instant access to simulation validation. It enables a closed loop between generation and validation that can run autonomously.

Comparison Between 3DEXPERIENCE CATIA and CATIA V5

The table below shows the differences between 3DEXPERIENCE CATIA R2026x and CATIA V5-6R 2026:

Features	CATIA V5-6R 2026	3DEXPERIENCE CATIA R2026x
Typical terminology	V5-6R 2026	R2026x/3DEXPERIENCE R2026x
Product family	CATIA V5	3DEXPERIENCE CATIA
Deployment	On-premises	Cloud and on-premises
Primary focus	CAD design and engineering workflows	CAD, PLM, simulation, and virtual twin workflows
Data Management	V5/ENOVIA-based environments	Native 3DEXPERIENCE platform data and lifecycle management

CATIA 3DEXPERIENCE Role-based Solutions

3DEXPERIENCE platform solutions are packaged as Roles to work more efficiently. A role is a predefined set of permissions and responsibilities. It determines the applications,  tools, and data that a user can access within the 3DEXPERIENCE platform.

The following table shows a few CATIA roles and their job responsibilities:

CATIA Role	Responsibility
Mechanical Designer	They create and modify 3D mechanical parts, assemblies, and detailed product designs.
Surfacing	Create and edit complex surfaces for products requiring advanced shape and styling.
Systems Architect	Define system architectures, components, interfaces, and relationships for complex systems.
Generative Designer	They use generative design tools to explore and develop optimised product concepts.
Manufacturing Engineer	Prepare and optimise product designs and manufacturing processes for production.
3D Asset Explorer	They explore, search, and review 3D assets and product data within the 3DEXPERIENCE environment.
3D Motion Creator	Create and analyse 3D mechanical motion and kinematic simulations.
3D Pattern Shape Creator	Create complex 3D shapes and patterns using advanced shape-design capabilities.

CATIA Workbenches

CATIA provides specialised workbenches for different design and engineering tasks. The most commonly used workbenches and their functions are described below:

1. Part Design Workbench

Let’s examine some common Part Design commands used in the Part Design workbench.

• Pad: Pad creates a solid feature by extruding a sketch along a specified direction.
• Fillet: Fillet creates a rounded transition along selected edges or faces.
• Pocket: It creates a recessed or cut feature in a solid using a sketch and specified extent.

2. Assembly Design

You can use Assembly Design to position and constrain components to create assemblies. An assembly design can represent mechanical interfaces and create assemblies from individual parts.

You can define assembly constraints and evaluate component positioning and motion. It combines the parts to create a complete assembly or machine. You can also assemble components into an entire machine or structure.

3. Generative Shape Design

The Generative Shape Design workbench lets users create wireframe elements and develop mechanical part designs with wireframe and surface features.

It provides a rich set of tools for creating and editing shape designs. It supports creating both simple and complex surface geometries.

4. Generative Structural Analysis

Generative Structural Analysis allows users to perform mechanical analysis for 3D systems. It includes:

• ELFINI-based structural analysis provides tools for evaluating structural behaviour.
• It supports dynamic structural response analysis.
• Generative Assembly Structural Analysis is used to analyse the mechanical behaviour of assemblies.

5. Generative Sheet Metal Design

Sheet Metal Design allows users to perform feature-based modelling. It supports feature-based sheet-metal modelling and creates folded and unfolded representations for manufacturing-oriented design.

6. Kinematic Simulation

Kinematic simulation defines mechanisms using components and joints and evaluates their motion. These joints define how the assembly moves.

It helps engineers study mechanism motion under defined constraints and analyse the mechanism in relation to its motion.

7. The Generative Drafting Workbench

The Generative Drafting Workbench allows users to create 2D drawings and documentation from 3D models and assemblies.

Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE)

MBSE is an approach to systems engineering that uses digital models to define, analyse, design, validate, and manage complex systems throughout their lifecycle.

By adopting the MBSE approach, you can:

• Reduce reliance on document-centric systems engineering
• Represent requirements, behaviour, interfaces, components, and relationships using connected models
• Maintain traceability between requirements, design decisions, and validation
• Support multidisciplinary systems such as automotive, aerospace, industrial, and defence systems
• Detect inconsistencies and analyse system interactions at an early stage
• Integrate systems engineering with CAD, simulation, PLM, and Virtual Twin workflows.

Integration with SIMULIA

CATIA design workflows can work with the SIMULIA portfolio for simulation and virtual testing within the 3DEXPERIENCE platform.

This integration enables you to:

CATIA in the Cloud

3DEXPERIENCE CATIA R2026x allows you to create, modify, simulate, and collaborate on product designs through cloud-based applications rather than relying solely on on-premises CATIA software.

It runs in a web browser and doesn't require client installation. You can access design, collaboration, and AI tools from any device.

CATIA's cloud capabilities help you to:

• Access CATIA design and engineering applications through the 3DEXPERIENCE platform.
• Work with shared product data and design information.
• Manage product models, revisions, specifications, and related engineering data.
• Create and manage detailed virtual representations of products and systems.
• Enable generative design, automation, and AI-assisted engineering workflows.

Differences Between CATIA and AutoCAD

CATIA and AutoCAD are widely used CAD applications. Let’s examine some of the major differences between them:

Features	CATIA	AutoCAD
Primary focus	Designed for 3D modelling and surfacing	Best suited for 2D modelling and drafting
Developed by	Dassault Systèmes	Autodesk
2D Drafting	Supports 2D drafting	Strongly supports 2D drafting, annotation, and layouts
3D Modeling	Provides extensive solid, surface, and hybrid modelling	Supports 3D solid, surface, and mesh modelling
Surfacing	Offers advanced surfacing capabilities for complex consumer-product shapes	Provides surface modelling tools, but not equivalent to CATIA
Assemblies	Designed for complex product assemblies, product structures, and constraints	Supports 3D assemblies and external references
Pricing	More expensive than AutoCAD	Cheaper than CATIA.

Differences Between CATIA and SOLIDWORKS

Here we will go through the differences between CATIA and SOLIDWORKS in detail:

Aspects	CATIA	SOLIDWORKS
Primary focus	Focuses on complex product development, systems engineering, advanced surface modelling, and large assemblies	Focuses on mechanical 3D design, assemblies, drawings, and product development
Surface modeling	Offers advanced capabilities for highly complex and Class-A surfaces	Provides capable surface-modelling tools for less complex product shapes
Systems Engineering	Supports systems engineering and multidisciplinary product development	Limited native capabilities for large-scale systems engineering
Colloboration	Integrates with the 3DEXPERIENCE platform for collaborative design, data management, and PLM	Integrates with 3DEXPERIENCE but has fewer use cases
Applications	Commonly used for aerospace, automotive, and transportation	Commonly used for mechanical design, machinery, and consumer products.

Example of Generative Experiences in CATIA

Suppose you need to design a lightweight aircraft bracket. Follow the steps below.

• Define requirements such as mounting points, loads, material, and manufacturing constraints.
• CATIA generates multiple possible design concepts based on these requirements.
• Evaluate the alternatives for weight, strength, and other parameters
• Refine the best option into a detailed 3D model for further engineering and manufacturing.

Simply put, Generative Experiences helps you explore multiple design possibilities based on your requirements, rather than manually creating and refining just one design.

CATIA Career Path

Next, we will explore the career opportunities for CATIA professionals.

1. Job Roles

Gaining CATIA skills helps you apply for various CATIA job roles, including:

• CATIA Designer
• Aerospace Structural Designer
• Automotive CAD Engineer
• Surface Designer
• PLM Administrator.

2. Salary Prospects

According to 6figr, candidates with 3DEXPERIENCE skills can earn an average of ₹19.3 lakhs per annum in India. In the US, CATIA design engineers can earn an average of $98,500 per annum, according to ZipRecruiter.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How do I create a G2-continuous fillet?

Use a curvature-continuous fillet option and adjust the radius and continuity settings to achieve G2 continuity.

2. What is the best approach for this surface join?

Use appropriate surface-join tools and verify tangency or curvature continuity to get a smooth, gap-free result.

3. How does LEO in CATIA differ from traditional generative design?

LEO in CATIA uses AI to generate design content from natural-language requirements and engineering intent. In contrast, traditional generative design relies on predefined parameters, constraints, and optimisation algorithms to produce design alternatives.

4. Is CATIA better than SolidWorks?

CATIA is best suited to complex product development, advanced surfacing, large assemblies, systems engineering, and enterprise-scale PLM/3DEXPERIENCE workflows. On the other hand, SolidWorks is well-suited for mechanical 3D modelling, assemblies, drawings, and product design, particularly for small-to-medium engineering workflows.

Conclusion

CATIA is a robust application that supports many product design and development methods. CATIA is widely used for complex product design and engineering, particularly in aerospace, automotive, and industrial equipment.

If you are interested in learning more about CATIA, you can join MindMajix’s CATIA course. By the end of the training, you will acquire the skills to create effective 3D models and stay ahead in the age of AI.