There has been some recent blog traffic regarding Catia & SolidWorks and how the two programs still cannot exchange native data.

This has been a hot topic for years now (pretty much since Dassault bought SolidWorks).  For anyone that has ever worked with the Automotive or Aircraft industries, this topic probably has the most meaning.  Most users that I have talked to would simply like to import the native CATIA files as an imported body (no feature history).  While being able to bring over feature history would be a nice addition, I could see how that would be a significant development effort on SolidWork’s part.  I think right now most everyone would be happy if they could get the CATIA solid or surface body information into SolidWorks without having to go through IGES or STEP translations.

Personally, I would love to see the capability added to the core SolidWorks product.  I have heard speculation across all ends of the spectrum as to why CATIA import hasn’t been added to SolidWorks.  Instead of guessing why it isn’t there, I think the users that need this most need to start filling out enhancement request forms (if they haven’t already).  This is the most significant “voice” we have in telling SolidWorks what we need to bring our products to market faster.  SolidWorks has a great history of listening to their customers and to me this is the best avenue right now to voice your need in this area.

Thats all for now…