Among many modeling softwares like Pro/Engineer, Siemens NX and Solid Edge, CATIA (Computer Aided Three-dimensional Interactive Application) is one of the best three dimensional modeling softwares available in the industry which eases manufacturing process.

It is a multi-platform software used by many leading manufacturing companies in aviation, production and automobile industries. This software uses C++ programming language from which it delivers interactive design tips and also many stress tests which can be conducted easily reducing manufacturing costs by developing a scaled model of the proposed product.

This also works well on re-designing a product based on customer suggestions which shows its flexibility to use by all kind of manufacturers. CATIA is developed by Dassault Systems, France which originates as a software to design Mirage fighter aircraft. Later it is re-designed for more flexibility for aviation, shipping and automobile industries. By this software, we can classify a product easily on the multiple stages of product development. Some stages are Surface design, Assembly, Wireframe and Drafting. Drafting is the final sketch of the product given to the manufacturer to encode with CNC or whatever manufacturing method they use.

CATIA has three versions namely CATIA v4, CATIA v5 and CATIA v6. CATIA V5 is considered as the more stable version since it supports almost all Operating systems. It can also installed on Windows 7, changing compatibility settings to Windows XP by right-clicking the program icon. Nowadays, CATIA is also used by small-scale manufacturing industries to increase their sales and to have a good will in the market. Top Aerospace companies using CATIA are Boeing, Bombardier and Agusta Westland. Automobile companies like BMW, Volkswagen, Bentley Motors and Porsche uses CATIA in design and development.