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How to convert CATIA (.catpart,.catproduct) to STL (StereoLithography)?

PolyTrans|CAD+DCC performs mathematically precise CAD, DCC/Animation, GIS and BIM 3D file conversions into all key downstream 3D packages and file formats. Okino software is used and trusted throughout the world by many tens of thousands of 3D professionals in mission & production critical environments, backed by respectable personal support directly from our core development team.

CATIA

CATIA, developed by Dassault Systèmes, is an integrated suite of CAD, CAE and CAM applications for digital product definition and simulation. CATIA is primarily used by the automotive and aerospace industries for automobile and aircraft product and tooling design.

The key file extensions used with CATIA v5 software are ".catpart" for the part and geometry files, and ".catproduct" for the assembly files.

Conversions from CATIA can best be done either via Okino's native CATIA v5 importer (which is based on the real and actual CATIA v5 runtime system licensed from Dassault Systèmes), or equally well via STEP AP214 files.

STL

STL (StereoLithography) is one of the industry's oldest (and simplest) 3D file formats created back in 1987 for 3D Systems' first commercial 3D printer. It is widely used for rapid prototyping, 3D printing and CAM. Okino has provided one of the very first and still primary STL export conversion systems for close to 3 decades.

Please take note that there is no 3D file format which is much simpler than STL. It is not a high-end, high fidelity 3D conversion file format as many people have come to wrongly believe. Rather, STL defines just a raw triangulated polygon mesh with no smoothing information (vertex normals), no uv texture coordinates, no assembly hierarchy part naming or any material assignments. 3MF and VRML2 are often much better file formats for moving 3D datasets into downstream programs and/or 3D printers.

The Okino STL exporter WEB page provides good graphical tutorial about how to convert CAD file data into STL and also how to clean a 3D model which is 'almost water tight'.

CATIA import converter's overview

How to Convert CAD to STL

STL export converter's overview