Using the Interactive Checker

Checking CATIA V4 Model Data before Copying it to 3DEXPERIENCE

This first task shows you how to check CATIA Version 4 model data before copying it to 3DEXPERIENCE.

Before checking either the geometry or specifications of Version 4 data, you should understand the distinction between the two:

The geometry is just the three-dimensional representation of the elements contained in the data. An example would be the set of faces that make up a solid. It is roughly equivalent to the (BRep) used in CATIA Version 4.

Geometry check is a check by transferring the solid's geometry only through copy - paste special - CATIA_RESULT.
The specifications are made up of the entire history of the actions performed to obtain the data. They are shown in the form of a tree and are roughly equivalent to the used in CATIA Version 4.
Specification check consists in transferring the solid with Geometry and the History tree: copy - paste special - CATIA_SPEC. Note that a specification check is only meaningful when applied to and .

Select one or more geometrical elements in the geometry area.

In the action bar, This activates Geometry Check and Specification Check in the action bar.
In the action bar, select General > Check >Geometry Check or Specification Check.
The Check Validity dialog box appears.

In our example, the Check Validity box shows that, V4 Draft Reflect Line Keep Edges is copied / pasted CATIA_SPEC in 3DEXPERIENCE, are migrated CATIA_RESULT, with their branches. No error is detected during the Check.
Messages for the solid's transfer with history tree can be:
- Geometry check OK: You can transfer the solid's geometry only through Copy - Paste Special - CATIA_RESULT. When you transfer the solid as geometry only, it is transferred as datum (BRep). You can only perform operations on the geometry.
- 0 operations not implemented: All the operations (Fillet, Union, Intersection,...) of this solid's tree are implemented, which means that you can start the migration and the same operations will available in 3DEXPERIENCE.
- 1 primitive checked as geometry only: One primitive cannot be migrated as CATIA_SPECs, but only as CATIA_RESULT.
Certain types of primitives are converted as datum:
- Pyramids
- Sweep Spines, Sweep with non closed profiles, Until a Sweep
- Projects
- Import Solids (Link to a solid in another model)
- If the solid contains one of the above primitives, unsupported solids are transferred as BRep only. The body is based on both specifications and datum features.
- Draft Reflect Line Keep Edges. This feature is not a terminal leaf into the tree of feature. So all the branch standing before must be migrated CATIA_RESULT.
In the Check Validity dialog box there are four columns:
- the first column showing the overall result, color-coded as follows:
  - G (green): is copied as is to 3DEXPERIENCE. The check is OK.
  - R (red): is not copied to 3DEXPERIENCE as it is. This is a KO Check.
  - Y (yellow): is not copied to 3DEXPERIENCE because of a link to a red-coded item. This is KO Check due to the element supporting by the solid.
- the Version 4 identifier,
- the format i.e. Specifications,
- the Message column providing the number and type of problems.
To view the results of a specification check, double-click on the contents of any of the columns in the Check Validity dialog box. The tree structures of some models are very large. Use the scrollbars to locate any red elements. There are several in the model shown below. Here is just one example:
If one element is red, right-click it to find out exactly what the problem is: The $ symbol means that the Pipe item is an unresolved feature in V4 (same symbol in the V4 tree).
If you click the background and not an element, a menu containing two options is displayed:
- Reframe graph, which centers the tree structure.
- Print whole, which prints it (for details, see Printing Objects in the CATIA - Infrastructure User's Guide).
If you make an Interactive Checker and encounter a reading problem of V4 elements (not updated solid), the copy / paste operation is locked by the Check, the solid cannot be pasted. Then it is advisable to run the
Using the CATIA V4 Cleaner utility on the model to be copied.

Checking a V4 model containing a SKIN OFFSET that cannot be converted into 3DEXPERIENCE

This task shows you how to convert a V4 model despite the invalid geometry of its Skin Offset.

Apply a Check validity operation on a V4 model, the model's Skin Offset cannot be converted into 3DEXPERIENCE because there is no image of a Skin Offset in 3DEXPERIENCE.
In CATIA V4, the Skin Offset is valid but this element cannot be migrated into 3DEXPERIENCE and it is systematically KO at the Check operation.
You can however copy CATIA_RESULT and paste the V4 model into 3DEXPERIENCE. But it will have the same defective quality in 3DEXPERIENCE as in V4. The Geometry Check operation allows to analyze the geometry quality of the V4 model's components.
You cannot copy / paste the V4 model into 3DEXPERIENCE otherwise a warning message is displayed :
```
PartBody (*SOL1): The CATIA V4 skin has been partially pasted because of *SKI1 <The V4 element 
could not be converted: Clean the model>
```
It means that the V4 element could not be converted properly and you should "Clean the model". Indeed, you can resort to the Cleaner to repair some anomalies. The Cleaner will check the structural data of the model before migrating it in 3DEXPERIENCE.

The user has access to the V4 model geometry (except the Skin Offset) in 3DEXPERIENCE:

For more information about how to use the Cleaner, refer to Using the CATIA V4 Cleaner

Checking a V4 model containing invalid geometry for 3DEXPERIENCE

This task explains how the V4 model can be migrated despite a KO Check result (on Surfaces).

The Geometry Check may be valid, but sometimes V4 Geometry cannot be supported in 3DEXPERIENCE: design is tolerated in CATIA V4 but not in 3DEXPERIENCE. Therefore, it is necessary to solve this incident during the migration.

Select one or more geometrical elements in the geometry area and select General > Check >Check Specifications from the action bar.
The Check Validity dialog box appears.

The Geometry check is OK for the Faces: The Geometry of some Surfaces (*SUR1 > *SUR8; *SUR10, 11 and 13) is invalid but the Faces Check is OK. The Face geometry is valid whereas the Surface geometry is not, because the Face is an element that was created separately.
Copy / Paste the V4 model into a 3DEXPERIENCE representation.
Update the representation. You can visualize the model in 3DEXPERIENCE but there are anomalies in Surface 3 and Surface 4.
Before the Copy / Paste operation, the component does not always have the same shape as in V4. SUR 3 and SUR 4 (enclosed in red) do not have the same quality, both elements are twisted and have X shaped Faces.
You can send the invalid geometry in the Shape Design workbench. In the Freestyle workbench, you can display the control points to analyze the surfaces and modify them.