Convert CATPART to JT

Recipients may need a JT file for lightweight visualization, digital mock-ups, PLM review, or supplier exchange without installing CATIA. Converting also provides a display-oriented copy while the original CATIA model remains available for parametric editing.

What CATPART contains

.CATPart is the native part format of Dassault Systèmes CATIA, used by mechanical designers, manufacturers, and engineering suppliers. A CATPart can contain sketches, feature history, constraints, parameters, solids, surfaces, material data, and references to external CATIA documents.

It is an editable design model, not merely a mesh. A CATPart normally represents one part; a CATIA assembly is usually stored in a .CATProduct file that references multiple CATPart files. Converting one CATPart does not automatically reproduce the complete assembly or all referenced documents.

What JT provides

.JT is an ISO-standardized 3D visualization and data-exchange format originally developed by Siemens. It can store tessellated display geometry, and depending on the exporter and settings, precise B-rep geometry, assemblies, product structure, attributes, colors, layers, PMI, and multiple levels of detail.

JT files are commonly used in Siemens NX, Teamcenter, JT2Go, PLM systems, digital mock-ups, review tools, and supplier workflows. Tessellation and compression can make them smaller and faster to display than native CAD files, but a JT export is not a CATIA feature-history model. Parametric features, sketches, constraints, and CATIA-specific knowledge rules generally cannot be edited after conversion.

Desktop conversion options

• CATIA V5 with a licensed JT export interface: Open the CATPart, check the part in CATIA, then use the installed JT export command or File → Save As/File → Export, depending on the release and translator installation. CATIA installations do not all include JT export, so the available command and settings depend on the license and installed interoperability modules.
• Siemens NX: Use NX with the CATIA V5 import translator to open the CATPart, then use its JT export command. Confirm that the translator license supports the CATIA V5 release and that the required JT export option is installed. NX may need access to referenced CATIA files or a translated, self-contained source.
• Datakit CrossManager: This desktop and batch converter supports CATIA and JT in supported editions. Select CATIA V5 as the source, JT as the destination, then configure tessellation, units, colors, PMI, and output naming. Check Datakit's current format matrix before purchase because format support depends on version and license.
• CAD Exchanger Desktop: Its supported format list includes CATIA V5 and JT in editions that provide both import and export. Import the CATPart, select JT as the output, choose the required geometry and metadata options, and inspect the exported file in a JT viewer. Availability of particular CATIA and JT functions can vary by product edition.

JT2Go is a viewer, not a CATPart converter. The Siemens JT Open Toolkit is a developer SDK rather than a normal end-user conversion application.

Online conversion

CAD Exchanger Cloud can be used for browser-based conversion when the current service plan supports both CATIA V5 input and JT output. Upload the CATPart, choose JT, set the available geometry and metadata options, download the result, and verify it in a JT viewer. Online format support and file-size limits change, so confirm the current supported-format list before uploading.

Do not upload proprietary engineering data to an online service without approval. Browser converters also may not receive external CATPart references, licensed CATIA data, PMI, or feature-history information; a desktop translator is safer for confidential or assembly-dependent work.

Conversion procedure

1. Open the CATPart in CATIA or the chosen translator and update the model. Resolve missing links, failed features, unloaded components, and invalid geometry before export.
2. Save a copy of the source and, when possible, create a self-contained package containing any referenced documents. Use a neutral intermediate format only when the selected JT converter cannot read the CATPart directly; an intermediate step can remove additional metadata.
3. Select JT as the output and set the target JT version required by the recipient's viewer or PLM system. Select millimeters or the source unit explicitly; do not rely on an automatic unit guess.
4. Set tessellation quality using chordal deviation, angular deviation, or equivalent controls. Smaller deviation and finer angular settings improve curved-surface accuracy but increase file size. Preserve exact B-rep geometry when the translator and downstream system support it.
5. Enable colors, layers, PMI, attributes, and product structure only when needed. For one CATPart, export the part itself; export the CATProduct separately when the assembly hierarchy and multiple components must be retained.
6. Write the JT file, open it in JT2Go, NX, Teamcenter, or another compatible viewer, and compare critical dimensions, holes, fillets, surface continuity, orientation, units, colors, and PMI with the CATIA source.

Compatibility and quality limits

• JT does not preserve CATIA's editable feature tree, sketches, constraints, formulas, design tables, or Knowledgeware rules. Keep the CATPart as the authoritative engineering source.
• Low tessellation settings can visibly distort cylinders, fillets, small holes, and narrow gaps. Excessively coarse settings can also make approximate measurements unreliable.
• PMI, attributes, layers, materials, colors, coordinate systems, and exact B-rep support vary among CATIA exporters, JT versions, viewers, and PLM importers. Validate the specific data required by the recipient rather than assuming it survived.
• External links, publication references, hidden geometry, hybrid bodies, and invalid CATIA surfaces can be omitted or translated differently. Missing references can produce an incomplete result.
• JT is not guaranteed to be smaller than every CATPart or neutral CAD file; size depends on tessellation density, B-rep inclusion, metadata, compression, and assembly structure.