About the Robot

The Robot provides quick and easy access to most commonly used transformation functionalities associated to object movement, modification, and sculpting capabilities. You can influence the robot behavior using the Transform options.

This page discusses:

See Also
Transforming using the Robot

Concepts

The axes and directions are identified by the colors red, green, and blue, following the "RGB" color sample as memory aid:

  • The Red axis is oriented to the X axis of the model coordinates or in U direction of a geometry object,
  • the Green axis to model y axis or in v direction, and
  • the Blue axis to model z axis or normal direction.

For transforming using Remote Mode, the mouse button functions are also assigned according to the axes order:

Transforms in x or u direction.
Transforms in y or v direction.
Transforms in z or normal direction.


R

G

B
Axis X Y Z
Direction U V N
Mouse Button Assignment
Important:
  • To avoid accidental movement of objects, for example when using Remote Mode, the Transform section is disabled by default in object selection mode.
  • Switching to subobject mode automatically activates the Transform section.
  • The robot is attached to the first selected object. In object selection mode, it is positioned on the geometry center. In subobject mode, it is positioned on the point nearest to the pick position.

Transform Section

You can choose various translation modes used with different robot types. The robot type and the number of axes depend on the selected Transform option. It can have 3 or 5 axes which are not imperatively orthogonally to each other.

Activate Transform
Toggles Transform options availability.
Local Modification
Only available for subobject manipulation.
The robot is oriented locally, that is the movement direction is specified in each geometry point.
Notes:
  • Scaling and rotating is not possible in this mode.
  • The axes are not oriented orthogonally to each other.
Depending on the selected subobject type, two robot types are used:
UVN Orientation
The UVN oriented robot has three axes and is used for the manipulation of
  • Greville Points
  • Global Points
  • Corner Points
The axes are oriented as follows:
Red Surface U direction
Green Surface V direction
Blue Surface N ormal direction
Mesh Orientation
The mesh oriented robot has five axes and is used for the manipulation of Control Points .
The axes are oriented as follows:
Red Surface U direction
Magenta Surface opposite U direction
Green Surface V direction
Yellow Surface opposite V direction
Blue Surface N ormal direction
Global Modification
The robot is oriented globally, that is all selected objects and subobjects are moved along the axes of the robot at the current position. The axes are oriented orthogonally to each other.
In this mode, you can choose the robot types:
XYZ Orientation
Selected objects and subobjects are moved along the x-, y-, or z-axis of the current robot orientation, or rotated around an axis.

UN Orientation
At the attachment point of the selection object or subobject, the robot axes are oriented as follows:

x-axis U direction
y-axis Crosswise to U direction
z-axis N ormal direction

VN Orientation
At the attachment point of the selection object or subobject, the robot axes are oriented as follows:
x-axis Crosswise to V direction
y-axis V direction
z-axis Normal direction
View Plane Orientation
The robot z-axis is oriented in normal direction of the view plane and points towards the user out of the screen. It is fixed in the current view plane and not aligned when changing the view.

View Plane Align Orientation
Like View Plane Orientation type, but not fixed in the current view. When manipulating the view, the robot is dynamically aligned to the new current view plane.
OmniPlane Orientation
The robot z-axis is oriented in normal direction of the current OmniPlane.

Translation
The robot is oriented globally, that is all selected objects and subobjects are moved along the axes of the robot at the current position.
Scaling
Only available for Global Modification .
The selected objects and subobjects are scaled depending on the selected orientation in xyz or uvn direction. The robot origin is the scaling center.
The robot shape changes to

Rotation
Only available for Global Modification .
You can rotate the selected entity without dragging directly a robot axis. The robot behavior depends on the Remote Mode setting in the More section.

Additional Options (More section)

Click More to display additional Transform options.

Note: If Geometry is modified using Controls options, the settings of the Transform options are stored with the modification step. If the settings are changed without further geometry modification and an Undo is carried out, the settings used with the modification step are restored. However, if afterwards a Redo is carried out, only the modification undone is restored but not the option settings.

Example:

  1. Select Controls with Dynamic Measurement cleared.
  2. Modify a surface.

    Dynamic Measurement cleared is stored with this step.

  3. Select Dynamic Measurement.
  4. Undo the modification.

    Dynamic Measurement is cleared.

  5. Redo the modification. Dynamic Measurement remains cleared.
Robot Behaviors
Remote Mode
None
Remote mode is disabled.
Mouse Buttons
Depending on the Remote rotation setting in the Transform section, you can translate (Remote Rotation cleared) or rotate ( Remote Rotation selected) the selected entity without dragging directly a robot axis.
Translation along x axis or rotation around x axis in yz plane
Translation along y axis or rotation around y axis in xz plane
Translation along z axis or rotation around z axis in xy plane
Important: If you use Catia Navigation Mode, use Shift + mouse buttons for translation. For more information, see Navigation Mode.
Screen zone
Left-drag moves the entity in direction of the axis closest to the mouse position.
Dynamic Axis
Controls the robot's visibility.
  • On: The robot is always visible on the first selected object.
  • Over: The robot is only visible when moving the cursor over the robot. The origin is always visible and displayed as small circle.
  • Off: Only the robot's origin is visible.
Size
Modifies the robot's size.
Mouse Warp
Lets you modify the translation ratio between mouse movement and robot movement on the screen. With factor 1, the point movement corresponds exactly to the cursor movement (transition ratio 1:1).
You can set a translation factor between 1 and 10,000 by
  • entering a value in the box,
  • moving the slider,
  • pressing v + click or v + right click to decrease or increase the value in steps to 1, 10, 100, 1000, and 10000, or
  • pressing v + turning the mouse wheel down or up to decrease or increase the value continuously.
In the work area, the selected value is displayed.
Snap
Snaps to objects and subobjects.
Increments
  • Step mode: Selects or clears step mode.

    When selected, you can use and + click, middle-click, or right-click to move the robot stepwise in x, y, or z positive or negative direction.

  • Linear: Specifies the translation step size.
  • Angular: Specifies the rotation step size.
  • Dynamic Measurement:

    Move or rotate the robot to display the numerical distance or angle value in the work area.

    Release the robot to enter a value in the text box.