How to Learn Catia for Free
Catia is a parametric 3D CAD/CAM/CAE software, it’s widely adopted in the automotive industry (BMW, Porsche, Daimler AG, Chrysler, Honda, Audi,Land Rover, Volkswagen, Bentley, Volvo, Fiat, Peugeot Citroën, Renault, Toyota, Ford, Scania, Hyundai, Tesla Motors, Rolls-Royce Motors, Proton, Tata motors and Mahindra & Mahindra Limited, etc.), the aerospace industry (Boeing, AirBus, Bombardier Aerospace, EMBRAER, Vought Aircraft Industries, AgustaWestland, Safran, Eurofighter, Sikorsky Aircraft Corp, etc.), the shipbuilding industry and the industrial equipment design industry (Alstom, ABB, etc.).
Learning the basics of Catia is very helpful for mechanical engineers and designer willing to work in the automotive/aerospace and shipbuilding industry. This post is a road map for anyone willing to start learning Catia online for free from scratch, the post will present and compare between the best online sources where beginners can start from and follow along, the sources stated in this post are full structured courses.
Getting Started with Catia Online for Free from Scratch
University of Idaho
University of Idaho website is the first free online outlet where beginners can start learning Catia through video tutorials. You don’t have to register to have access to the course.
Structure: The course is divided into weeks (sections) each section has a group of video lessons that covers various topics in Catia. It’s worth noting that only the first 9 weeks of the 15 weeks is available. The assets used in the course are available to download and there’s a quiz (you don’t have to take it) for each week/section.
Interface: The interface is very simple, just click on the lesson you want and it’ll be downloaded to your computer to watch it.
Pros
- Free.
- The training is well-organized for beginners.
Cons
- The course isn’t complete, only 9 of the 15 sections are available.
Verdict: This is a very good outlet for beginners to start learning Catia through video tutorials, but again it’s not complete.
Manos EngineerCAD YouTube Channel
Manos EngineerCAD YouTube Channel is the second free online outlet where beginners can start learning Catia through video tutorials.
Structure: The training is divided into 61 video tutorials, each of the video tutorials covers certain topics in Catia.
Interface: Standard YouTube Interface.
Pros
- Free.
- The instructor makes it very easy for beginners to follow along.
- The training is well-structured and organized for beginners.
Cons
- The training covers an old release of Catia, but that won’t be a problem for beginners.
Verdict: This is the best place for beginners to start learning Catia through video tutorials.
SolidWorks Lab
SolidWorks Lab is the third free online outlet where beginners can start learning Catia through a text based tutorial, you don’t have to register to have access to the training.
Structure: This training is more of an overview about Catia, the training is divided into 4 web pages.
Interface: The navigation between the pages isn’t quite easy, you’ll have to change the page number from the omnisearch bar as seen below.
Pros
- Free.
Cons
- The training just covers the very basics of Catia and it’s not suitable on its own to learn Catia.
Verdict: There are better outlets where beginners can start learning Catia.
CG Online Tutorials
CG Online Tutorials is the fourth free online outlet where beginners can start learning Catia through a text-based tutorial, you don’t have to have access to the training.
Structure: The training is divided into 19 tutorials, each tutorial covers certain topics in Catia.
Interface: The interface is simple, just select the tutorial you’re interested in and click on the “Read More” link and you’ll be directed to the tutorial’s page.
Pros
- Free.
- The training is well-structured and organized for beginners.
Cons
- The training covers an old release of Catia.
Verdict: This is the best place for beginners to start learning Catia through a text-based tutorial.
Bottom Line
The recipe for learning Catia for free
- Manos EngineerCAD YouTube Channel is the best outlet to learn Catia for beginners who prefer video tutorials.
- CG Online Tutorials is the best outlet to learn Catia for beginners who prefer text-based tutorials.
Remember that the first step is always the toughest step, and the aim of this post is to provide you with resources that will help you take your first step in Catia.