Design and Development of a Geometric Calculator in CATIA

In this article, an application in the field of engineering graphics is presented for the design of a geometric calculator generated as a macro in CATIA V5. The code of this macro is written in the CATVBA language and utilizes the CATIA internal editor while taking advantage of the capabilities offe...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Symmetry (Basel) 2023-02, Vol.15 (2), p.547
Main Authors: Rojas-Sola, José Ignacio, del Río-Cidoncha, Gloria, Ortíz-Marín, Rafael, Cebolla-Cano, Andrés
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Angles (geometry)
Calculators
CATIA V5
Engineering
geometric calculator
Geometry
macro
Macros
Mathematical analysis
Mathematics
point
Software
straight line
Surface geometry
Visual Basic for Applications
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:In this article, an application in the field of engineering graphics is presented for the design of a geometric calculator generated as a macro in CATIA V5. The code of this macro is written in the CATVBA language and utilizes the CATIA internal editor while taking advantage of the capabilities offered by Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). The principal purpose of this application lies in the possibility of creating the three main geometric elements (point, line, and plane) and in solving five types of general geometric problems, and then comparing the results obtained with their equivalent problems from analytical geometry. In particular, within these types of general geometric problems, 34 possible cases are solved: definition of lines (nine cases), definition of planes (12 cases), intersection points (three cases), angles (three cases), and distances (seven cases). These new entities defined with the geometric calculator can serve as support for the generation of new three-dimensional volumes, the creation of auxiliary symmetries, and the dimensioning of various elements. It was verified that the results of the designed macro and the solutions of the analytical equations coincided; therefore, the procedure was validated. Likewise, the module employed herein in the CATIA V5 environment is “Wireframe and Surface Design”, since it enables handling the three basic geometric elements (point, line, and plane), which form the basis of the geometric calculator. Lastly, it is verified how the geometric calculator allows their integration with three-dimensional solids, which represents a notable advance as an aid in its geometric definition.
ISSN:2073-8994
2073-8994
DOI:10.3390/sym15020547