Octo for aerospace CAD
In 3D aircraft design (CAD, computer-aided design), the work runs through CATIA, NX, Creo or SolidWorks. Octo can write and test the scripts that pull the tree, the mass properties and the neutral files of each assembly, and prepare the check against the parts list for human review. It doesn't replace CAD or release drawings: decisions and release belong to your engineering team.
Six deliverables Octo can prepare, drawn from the research. In all of them, it reads, extracts and checks for human review; the certified geometry is not touched.
With CATIA V5 open on Windows, a Python script with pycatia (an open library that talks to CATIA through COM, the Windows automation interface) can open the .CATProduct, walk down the tree and write the level, name, type and mass of each item. The assembly is first switched to design mode, so the children are loaded.
An NX Open journal (script) in Python can run through run_journal in NX Batch, without the interface: it opens the .prt, writes the component tree to CSV and closes without saving. Among the four CAD systems surveyed, it's the only batch path the vendor itself offers for Linux.
A script can export each part to STEP (a neutral exchange format, ISO 10303) from CATIA, NX (STEP or JT, Siemens' visualization format, by journal) or SOLIDWORKS (COM API), without changing the original, skipping parts already exported and keeping a list of what failed.
Deliverable: script + folder of .stp files + failuresIt can compare BOM, masses, materials, parameters and PDM (product data management) attributes with the parts list, the weight spreadsheet or the purchase order, and flag each discrepancy with the file and the item, for engineering to decide.
Deliverable: discrepancy reportSTEP is text: you can check units, names, product structure and declared PMI (dimensions and tolerances on the 3D model), and compare revisions, without a CAD license. Heavy geometry calls for a dedicated library, such as Open CASCADE.
Deliverable: check report per fileIt can query the product structure in the PLM (product lifecycle management): in 3DEXPERIENCE, through the public REST API (web programming interface), from any system, over HTTP; in Teamcenter, through its own API. Only with read-only credentials.
Deliverable: query + reportThe same Octo cycle, applied to aerospace CAD. Each arm has a narrow role; the decisions are made by a person on your engineering team.
Which CAD (CATIA V5, 3DEXPERIENCE, NX, Creo, SOLIDWORKS), which version, which PLM is tied to it and where the data lives: in loose files or in the platform's database. Surveys the macros and journals that already exist.
The BOM columns, the mass unit (the document's), the neutral format (STEP AP242 or JT) and the name of each file. If the contract calls for the manufacturer's native format, it follows the contract.
Opens the models in read mode and closes without saving; uses read-only credentials in the PLM. Reads the licenses the path requires: the STEP interface module in CATIA, a development license for Creo Object TOOLKIT.
NX Batch when the data is NX and the server is Linux; the REST API when the data is in 3DEXPERIENCE; a Windows machine with the program open for CATIA V5, Creo and SOLIDWORKS.
Scripts with pycatia, NX Open, Object TOOLKIT or the SOLIDWORKS API, based on the vendor's documentation.
Runs on a few parts and checks by the result: the CSV has the rows, the mass matches the spreadsheet, the STEP opens. Doesn't take a success message as proof.
With your OK, it runs the whole assembly and delivers what came out and what failed. Changes to design data go through the manufacturer's configuration control; release and certification belong to qualified people and authorities, not to Octo.
Usage guide, naming standard, inventory of existing macros and an explanation of old ownerless journals. The next batch starts ready.
Octo prepares and checks. Engineering releases the drawing.
The criteria Octo proposes for choosing. Only NX has vendor-documented batch on Linux; the rest require Windows with the program open, or the platform's API.
| Task | Software / path | Headless? |
|---|---|---|
| List the tree (BOM) of a CATIA V5 assembly | Python + pycatia (or VBA) via COM | No: CATIA open on Windows |
Export batches of .CATPart to STEP | pycatia document.export_data(..., "stp") | No (Windows) |
| Read or update CATIA part parameters | pycatia part.parameters | No (Windows) |
| Extract NX part data on a Linux server | NX Batch + run_journal with a Python journal | Yes (Linux, NX Batch) |
| Export NX to JT or STEP in batch | NX Open journal in run_journal | Yes |
| Generate variants or drawings in Creo | Asynchronous Java Object TOOLKIT with -g:no_graphics | No screen, but Windows |
| Replay a sequence of clicks in Creo | Trail file | No screen, but Windows; fragile |
| Export SOLIDWORKS to STEP or read properties | COM API (C#, VBA or Python + pywin32) | No (Windows) |
| Query product structure in 3DEXPERIENCE | The platform's public REST API | Yes (any system, over HTTP) |
Three steps. Each one only makes sense after the previous one has shown results in your engineering team.
A proposal, not a promise
On a Windows machine with licensed CAD, or in NX Batch, you ask in engineering terms and get the script for review.
The extraction feeds a standing check against the parts list and the weight spreadsheet.
Reports come straight from the PLM, through the API, and the NX extraction runs on a Linux server.
Every point below has a source published by the vendor, the project or the responsible agency. The sources are in the next section.
3
points with a published source, each with its reference alongside.
Octo prepares everything, but does not sign. The document of record stays with whoever is accountable for it.
Surveys, calculates, organizes and generates the documents: spreadsheets, reports, drawings and drafts.
Deliverable: material ready to checkThe licensed professional checks what Octo delivered before signing. If something doesn't add up, it goes back to Octo with the correction.
Step: review by the signerOcto does not sign. Designs, technical reports, ART/RRT (Brazil's professional responsibility records), accountability reports and any official document are still signed by the company's or agency's licensed professional: here, the responsible engineer and the certification authority.
Sign-off: responsible engineer and certification authorityVendor documentation and announcements used in the research.
The assessment starts by reading which CAD, which PLM and which scripts you already have, without changing anything. You get a map of what can be extracted and checked and decide with it in hand.
