Max and Catia

[petter]

I'm in a big doubt about these two softwares.

From my knowledge, from my experience with max and from what i seen and what i heared, MAX it's a media sofware (hope you understand, my english it's not so good).

Catia it's a professional software dedicated to engeneering industry,design and others, using NURBS concept, right?
I dont't know many about this software,because i never used it.

I'm an 1'st year student to an engeneering university (electro-mechanics)
In the next year/s we will start using Catia, at university.

I'm a Max user and never used Catia. I love Max and i wan't to learn NURBS.
Should I start learning NURBS in Catia too,as long as we'll gonna start use this software at the university? Should i pay more attention to one of these two softwares and forget about the other ? It's worth learning Catia?

If i'm gonna pay attention to learning Catia then i'll can't pay much attention to Max. Why i'm affraid of this? Because i might not be able to learn none of those two :(

What software are using other engeneeres?(especially car engeneers).what about car designers? Why Max is called Autodesk.....?

Is Catia better than Max? Where? When? What are each software strenght points and weak points? Probbably Max is having much more support thant Catia, right?
Can someone place these two softwares in balance and compare them ?

I need an advice, as long as i'm gonna be an engeneer but i also love media(game/movie production)...I really don't know what to do...

thank's guys...

[Dave_3d]

Simple, if Catia is an integral part of your Degree you don't have a choice - you need to use it.

For sure give it a chance, see how it fits into your course and what you learn, but if you really don't like it then you are doing the wrong degree.

Max is used more for visualisation, and you are doing electro-mechanical engineering. Very different. I don't see a single time that Nurbs will be needed in electrical engineering - you'll be too busy doing Maths.

You also need to think what will give you a job when you are finished. You'll always be in a good place with a good electrical engineering degree. It is a good numeric degree.

Dave

[petter]

yeah...you're right...but should i push it anymore with Max, as long as i like it and i have some experience, or should pay attention ONLY to Catia(i like Catia too, but i don't know very much about it :D )

probably you'll say that it's all about me and what i want to do in the future... but i need some opinions...

[lookdown11]

hy,

@ first, there will be several times in your live when u need to learn using a new software. in this case u should never forget about one that u used previusly. it´s like a foreign language. if are capable of it, u can act in a different world. u can reach other people, other projects and other jobs.

@ secound, max is mainly a poly modeler (that can do a little bit of nurbs), animation and visualisation software.
catia is a construktion software witch uses mainly nurbs. but its an other level and qulity of nurbs. it is not a design software. if u talk about car constuktion, the point ist, that u can not (some people think they can ^^) model a class A surface in a poly modler. u need to construkt it in a nurb modler. (rhino, catia, proEng, studiotools).

so u need to decide with direktion u go. the construktion or visualising industry direktion..................

[petter]

so,you suggest that as i'm an engeneer (or at least i'll be suposed to be) should i follow this way?

actually, i think i wan't to create class A surfaces.to be as much as precize as possible... i like precision.

i hope, in time (a short one) the dust will dissapear and i'll see my path...
(a little poetically,no? maye i should follow a human profile university :D )

thank's guys.
more oppinions are welcome...

[EquiNOX]

MOST professional Designer, Industries, Engineers uses NURBS software rather than Visualization such as Max, Maya and etc... So, I suggest you stick with your degree plan... If your degree require skills in NURBS start off learning those.
establishing Class A surface is NOT easy as you think (for sure its far far different from polymodeling) , At my work, we design computer towers, mainframes,mother boards and etc for most industries/companies and we use Rhino at AST softwares to design that, from my experience establishing Class A surface is way PITA, none of my co-worker could even do it...

Take consideration on software you want to try, practice on it a lot you'd blend it well for sure.

[petter]

i'll see what can i do. i'll install CATIA as soon as possible and try it. really hard to breake off with MAX.

is Catia the best in domain ?

i think that after a good sleep i could think clearly about this problem tomorrow...

i wan't to know as many as possible tings about Catia and Max too...

[petter]

i said sometime ago that i want to learn NURBS, in Max.(NPower Nurbs)
but now i think i'm gonna learn NURBS with Catia and i'll keep Max for poylymodeling and visualization...

anyway, i'm not gonna give up to Max. At the moment i'm a Max user:love:

[petter]

it's Max experience of any use to Catia? :D

[drewbrand]

I agree with your latest comments......there's no need to give up one program just because you're learning another one. I'm a mechanical engineering student and am currently on a Co-op work term at Siemens VDO Automotive where we use Catia every day......but that's not to say that I come home every night and forget about 3dsMax. It's quite the opposite really. After useing catia at work, it's nice to come home and switch it up. However, I am thinking of attempting a NURBS car soon.

Drew

[petter]

well, i'm an electro-mechanical engeneer student, and i learn Pro engeneer... do you know anything about this software?

[fouedjeljeli]

I tried pro E when I was studying (I'm a mechanical engineer working in the official CATIA ditributor in my country) & I gave up using it because it appears to be very complicated (maybe the new versions are better) and CATIA was way too simplier to apprehend and to learn, also CATIA is an integrated solution (pre/post processing) which means that it can do lots of things in the same work environment: modeling-->meshing-->simulating (even very complex ones)-->analysing & viewing results, that's not the case of other CAD softwares many of them need additionnal plugins to do meshing &/or simulation etc...
Also, & I think that this will be interesting for you, CATIA has a completely dedicated module for electrical purpose (wiring, etc ...) one of the best in the market. I recommend you to learn CATIA, that's my advice.
Concerning your max/catia dilemna, It's always a good thing for you to have a "plus", don't give up using max but try also other softwares, they nearly have the same functionnalities (most of the cases only names & icons changes), the key to success in engineering is your ability to fastly adapt to your working environment & your ability to reach the same results regardless the software used.
Something funny: I was hired as a MECHANICAL ENGINEER because I used both CATIA & MAX (& especially MAX).
Hope it helps :p

[amansingh]

Catia is a very easy CAD package to learn, but to be honest all CAD packages are similar to one another. Basically the course that I am doing is Computer Aided Automotive Design, and we started of doing small modells of blocks and then a few parts and now a plane. What you ideally want to do is if you want to use surface modelling or nurbs even, is try and find out about studiotools, it is the most common 3d modelling program in the Automotive industry and if your serious about design that is the program your going to have to learn.

Max i think is more like realistic modelling and going more into media production. But you'll be better of learning studiotools as an engineer you can also import all your CAD work into studiotools and use the amazing rendering software on it.

Just a general question for the gentleman above, do you transfer from CATIA to MAX by any chance? and if so how do you get it to come out exactly how it should because I have missing surfaces when I import.

[petter]

thank's guys... those were very very usefull advices...

so, i want to learn NURBS in the future, but some engeneering NURBS, high-end.
i don't know what to say about AST... never worked with it, but i know it's a very good tool...
about CATIA, i don't know exactly what to do, but most probably i'll keep using Pro Engineer...as long as i learn it at university too...

[Ries]

Learn both man!

I model in Catia and I render in Max...you get the best of both worlds like that because the models you render are mathematically correct so they can actually be built...and all the surfaces are real. No smoothing!

[petter]

i started studio tools... i'll keep catia in the queue:)

[nawt12]

I think i can't say too much. I am modelling cars 2 years as a hobby. I was learned AUTOCAD in my university. If u want to try built a model numerically max don't allow this. U shuld use mouse or pad's as a result our hands not make it perfect. We can make mistake 0.00001 cm but in CAD's the prblem is not accure. Because we can use codes like @10 etc. So every vertex is in own coordinate.

It seems best way is model in CAD and Render&animate in MAX.
Thanks for your reply. I start to think how can ı learned CATIA too. Did u know tutorials about this software? Max has an advandace in this way. There is too much free tutorial and video on the internet. ;)

[DaveCox]

Petter, hi, I have over 3000+hours experience with Catia V5 I have used all the way through my degree, Its a great tool and should never and I mean never be under-estimated :)

If you get the chance to get skilled at it do so because then you will also be good at it's sister which is SolidWorks which is a great program as well. :)