Fasten your seat belts! Benoit Caselli is one incredible modeler!

I’ll let him introduce himself:   I live in Gentilly, in the southern Paris suburbs. I have been in an apprenticeship contract for 3 years at Dassault Systemes (DS), where I had the pleasure to work on the CATIA industrialization team and in pre-sales design. I am now working for Dassault Data Services (DDS) as a PLM Automotive Consultant. The major part of my work is therefore done for customers in the automotive market. What I like most in my job is the diversity of missions. I like challenge and to discover new things in my everyday life.

My other passion is music and sound. I am a big fan of electronic music and I have been mixing that kind of sound at student parties and Parisian night clubs for more than 5 years. I am also composing my own electronic music and will try to release my own titles.

Q1: How did you first become interested in 3D modeling?

When I was at University, I attended special courses to work in the research and studies departments. I became really interested in 3D modeling during these courses.

Q2: What types of 3D modeling do you do?

I work exclusively on CATIA and I prefer surface modeling because in allows creating shapes that are much more beautiful and harmonious than classical volume design. I love 3D challenges and the more complex the shape is, the more it interests me. Another aspect that I really love in 3D is “knowledge-ware”, which deals with setups and templates for 3D models.

Q3: What role do your models play in the work you do?

The majority of my models have been created to help train users of different CATIA V5 modules. Those same models are used to test CATIA products for both 3D creation and rendering functions. Other models have also been used for customer presentations.

Q4: How much time do you spend, on average, on one particular model?

That totally depends on my objectives and the complexity of the model. Actually, I am able to design and shape a complete car (interior and exterior) in 10 days. I do not, of course, design the motor parts.

Q5: What additional software do you use to create your images?

I am usually trying to show the capabilities of CATIA V5 compared to other 3D and 2D programs, so I try not to rework my images. All the images here I have created using CATIA V5 modules exclusively.

Q6: What is your work day like?

I do not have a typical work day.

Q7: What are your tips for staying focused on a large project?

During a large project, I am generally under pressure so I cannot really become unfocused.

Q8: Where do you go (web sites, museums, race tracks , anywhere) for help, tips and inspiration?

My favorite websites are www.clubic.com and www.emob.fr.

Q9: What part of 3D modeling do you find most rewarding?

For me, the most rewarding aspect of 3D modeling is the creation of really innovative designs. I know I have achieved this when somebody tells me “I would really like to have this in my kitchen” or “I would really like to drive this car”.

Q10: Do you do 3D modeling at home on personal projects?

I have needed to model several 3D objects and buildings for personal projects. For example, I have created furniture and then put them in my model of a friend’s apartment so he could optimize his design.

Q11: Just for fun, what is your favorite game? Movie? Comic Book?

My favorite movie is American History X and my favorite book is The Secret of Ji.

Q12: What is your favorite subject other than 3D modeling?

I am also passionate about electronic music and I have been mixing it for five years now and composing it for one year. I also really like to create 2D images with Photoshop for my CD packages. I often insert 3D models made with CATIA as part of my designs.

Thank you, Benoit, for helping us understand you and your 3D modeling world a little bit better. It is really a pleasure to have a modeler of your caliber uploading models and sharing your thoughts with 3DVIA’s visitors.

In order to keep the fun factor up and the frustration factor down, this post provides some useful tips to export your CATIA models so that they can be easily uploaded and shared on 3DVIA.com.

Dassault Systemes’ CATIA is a creative tool that is highly respected throughout the world for its wide-ranging capabilities. Fortunately; Fabrice Pinot, member of the CATIA Solutions team in Suresnes, France, has kindly offered some valuable information to help make it as easy as possible to export your CATIA V5 models in a way that allows them to look their best on 3DVIA.com.

So, in his own words:

There are 2 options that are very important for the 3DXML exports from CATIA V5 to 3DVIA.com.

First is the type of 3D mesh which is used for the geometry. At the present time, the supported mesh in 3DVIA.com is specified in the following option, it is a mesh in ASCII code.

The second option deals with 3D Accuracy:

For products; where all the parts have roughly the same size, such as consumer goods or hi-tech products, we recommend setting a fixed accuracy from 0.1 to 0.2.

Fixed 3D Accuracy sets a fixed sag value (from 0.01 to 10), which is used for calculating tessellation on all objects and does not vary with object size. The sag value defines the chordal deviation for curves and surfaces. The “curve chordal deviation” represents the maximum distance between a polyline (”chord”) whose end points lie on a curve and a point on the curve:

For detailed models of cars, boats or planes, we recommend setting a proportional tessellation of 0.1 to 0.2 as you may have small parts and huge ones. In this case tessellation is calculated according to object size: the larger the object, the coarser the tessellation. For the same 3D accuracy setting, the tessellation on small objects is always finer than on large objects. Please note that the toggle does not represent a distance, but a parameter, as the actual sag will depend on the object’s size.

Of course, in both cases, the finer the parameter, the larger the 3DXML file. Uploaded files are limited to 10MB on 3DVIA.com. If your file is bigger, then toggle this 3D accuracy parameter in order to be below this value.

Other tips:

Products originally created in CATIA V5 have the Z axis as the vertical axis, so there are no modifications to perform to have them appear in the proper orientation in 3DVIA.com. If this is not the case, it is always possible to insert this product into a newly created one and rotate the inserted model with the 3D Compass.

Textures created in CATIA V5 are supported, do not hesitate to use them. It gives a better aspect of your product at a minimum cost.

SPECIAL NOTE: These suggestions are valid for V5R18 and V5R19SP1. V6 compliance and tips are in the works. Stay tuned.

Thank you Fabrice, for making it easier for 3DVIA.com users to upload their CATIA models!