Catia v5 Tutorial: Rib and Slot

In this post, we are going to cover the Rib  and Slot    tools. Two quite simple tools.

Say that you want to create a cylinder. There are many ways to create one. One way is to create a circle and pad it. The other way is to create an oblong and fillet the corners. One way would be easier and faster than the other depending on the circumstances. However what if you want to create a cylinder which curves and bend around like in the image below?

In this case, you can make use of the Rib tool. First of all, get into Sketch mode on the yz plane and sketch  an outline of the bend.

Next, create the Corners on the edges.

Now, Exit Workbench and create a plane using the Plane  tool. In the Plane Definition window, select Parallel Through Point from the drop down menu next to the Plane Type. Select the xy plane as the Reference and select the point which is circled in red as the Point.

If you selected the correct reference and point, the plane should be oriented as shown below.

Enter Sketch on the newly create plane. There, draw a circle of 1-inch diameter with its center coincide with the point which was earlier circled in red. Next exit the workbench and select the Rib tool. In the Rib Definition window, select the circle as the Profile and the bends as the Center curve.

There you have it. You have already created your first part using the Rib tool.

The Slot tool is comparable to the Pocket  tool  just like how the Rib  tool  is similar to the Pad  tool .

Using the just the circle and the bend that you have created earlier, you can use the Slot  tool to remove parts away from a solid. On your Specification Tree select the Rib and delete it.

You will now be left with the circle and the bend that you had created earlier. Now enter Sketch on the yz plane and create a rectangle just as shown below.

Exit the workbench and Pad the rectangle to 1-inch thickness. The pad direction does not matter but if want to have the same orientation as in the image below, just click the Reverse Direction button in the Pad Definition window.

Now, select the Slot  tool and repeat the steps that you have taken for creating the Rib. Under the Slot Definition window, select the circle as the Profile and the bend as the Center Curve. This is how your final part should look like:

If your part does not look like in the image above, you can adjust the size of the rectangle used to create the pad so that the Slot will fit nicely within the Pad.

I hope that you found something useful in this tutorial. Make sure to check back for future updates in Catia v5 Tutorial for Beginners.