Automatic and Manual Associative Export and Import

Automatic associative export transfers the geometry of a CATIA model to Abaqus/CAE in a single step. Sessions of CATIA and Abaqus/CAE must be running simultaneously on the same computer. Using the CAD Connection toolset, you establish a link between Abaqus/CAE and CATIA. As soon as a part or assembly file is created by the CATIA Associative Interface, the part or assembly is imported automatically into Abaqus/CAE. After the model has been transferred, you can continue to make design modifications in CATIA and propagate these modifications to the Abaqus/CAE model with a single mouse click. For detailed instructions on performing an automatic associative import, see Using Automatic Associative Export and Import.

Manual associative export is a multistep procedure that can be used to perform an associative import when CATIA and Abaqus/CAE are not running concurrently or are running on different computers. Using the Abaqus/CAE, you can save an assembly (.eaf) file to a specified location. Using the CAD Connection toolset, you can import the geometry into Abaqus/CAE or use the assembly file to update an existing model in Abaqus/CAE at a later time. For detailed instructions on performing a manual associative import, see Using Manual Associative Export and Import.