CATIA can rake in its hundreds of millions of dollars while Solidworks rakes in its hundreds of millions of dollars.
Still, for now, CATIA is so steeped in Boeing’s company culture that it doesn’t matter. Realistically, Boeing could just adopt Solidworks, and Dassault systems could tweak it a little and make it a useful surface modeling tool. It is an excellent idea to own one of your biggest competitors. (Below: Dassault Systems offers at least 12 different products and I’ve only ever heard of two of them.) C ATIA vs. What a trooper! When I grow up, I want to be just like Jon. If you can’t beat ’em, buy ’em! Dassault Systems purchased Solidworks Corporation for $310 million in stocks, and Jon stayed on board with his new owner for 14 years. It was so innovative and groundbreaking because of Jon’s leadership, Dassault Systems realized they had a serious competitor. Not Jon! He used the money to develop Solidworks Corporation and Solidworks. The guy must have been a genius because most people would have spent it on something stupid.
Jon played on the MIT Blackjack Team and won $1 million. Seriously, it is ten characters long with only two vowels! I copied his name from Wikipedia because I didn’t want to bother trying to spell it! Anyway, back to work.) (Ok, hold on a minute, let me comment on this dude’s name. The Founder of Solidworks Corporation is Jon Hirschtick. What a fascinating history it is! Yes, I’m sure history is the boring part that you didn’t want to read about, but I dare ya to read this history! Would you believe that a few games of Blackjack gave Solidworks Corporation its start in Massachusetts? I’m serious! When all your experienced engineers are collaborating in-house with CATIA, all your back-logged airplane designs are in CATIA, and all your new hires are trained in CATIA, then you’ve got yourself a massive lead against any potential competitors. It would take a massive fumble on Dassault System’s part to lose Boeing as a customer. Who knows if it will stay that way forever.
Fortunately for Dassault Systems, CATIA became grandfathered in as their primary software for product development. When you have a customer that big who wants to use your software exclusively, it is in your best interest to fit things to their needs. In 1984 (Hey! That’s the year I was born!), Boeing adopted CATIA as its primary software for developing its planes. I feel like that’s a little contrived out of respect for its original French name, but who cares what it stands for these days because CATIA has a reasonably significant presence in the international CAD marketplace. However, now that it is more globally recognized, the letters have changed a bit, and now CATIA stands for Computer-Aided Three-dimensional Interactive Application. Dassault is a French company, and CATIA was originally named CATI (Conception Assisteé Tridimensionnelle Interactive), French for “interactive aided three-dimensional design.” It was used by Dassault to develop its Mirage fighter jet. Inventor Vs SolidWorks | Which is Better & Why? (2021)ĬATIA started as an in-house software for the aircraft manufacturer AVIONS MARCEL DASSAULT. Why is Solidworks so popular among hobbyists and professionals, whereas CATIA is more specialized for a single industry? I’m glad I asked these questions, and I’d be delighted if you would be interested enough to read the rest of the article for the answers.ĪutoCAD Vs SolidWorks | The Ultimate Comparison (2021) So if Solidworks and CATIA can do almost the same thing, why does Dassault offer both products? Solidworks is 3D parts and assembly modeling. CATIA and Solidworks are owned by the same company and do many of the same things.ĬATIA is primarily focused on surface modeling, and tends to be used by the automotive and aerospace industry more often than not. A lot of it comes down to business and history more than the practicality. The first thing I want to say is, “Yeesh…” Comparing CATIA to Solidworks is tricky, for sure.