The Composer
The Composer is available in two versions. The CATIA® Composer™ is sold directly by Dassault Systèmes® and their partners, the SOLIDWORKS® Composer™ by Solidworks® partners. Both versions are compatible. They differ in license handling, which is adapted to CATIA® or SOLIDWORKS® depending on the supplier.
Depending on the CAD system, there are also some special features in the data transfer (parts lists, surface textures).
Overall, the result files are easily interchangeable between the two Composer™ versions. We therefore usually only use the term Composer.
The software can also process many other native 3D CAD data or neutral formats. Of particular importance to many customers is the ability to apply changes from the design as an update, thereby significantly reducing the time and effort required for post-processing.
If you are interested in Composer, we will be happy to show you the software in action. Usually in a team session. If you are interested, simply use our contact form.
Areas of application
The Composer™ is an authoring tool for creating graphical results based on 3D CAD data.
It works three-dimensionally and offers the possibility of processing a CAD model in simple steps in such a way that technical facts can be easily communicated. This also means that it can be used to communicate technical content.
Many customers use Composer for illustrations and exploded views, which are much easier and quicker to create than in the CAD system.
Assembly instructions are now very popular. This is where the capabilities of animation really come into their own. The individual steps can be excellently derived as illustrations from such an animation.
In the area of images and illustrations, the use for layout plans is also important. After all, the data in Composer is often between 40 and 100 times smaller than in the CAD system. This and the possibilities for simplification mean that large installations can be created quickly in Composer.
Animations are a particularly important topic with a high benefit factor for companies. Whether it is products that can be functionally described long before they are produced or the training or support of technicians, the movements can be created in a short time without taking into account dependencies in CAD. We know many customers who use these possibilities, especially for sales, to quickly explain a certain function to a customer in video form. And it usually only takes a few minutes or hours in Composer.
Historical
With the purchase of the software and the company Seemage in 2007, Dassault Systems® gave the software the name 3DVIA® Composer. 3DVIA® was born as a brand name for a range of products for the further processing of 3D data.
Seemage was completely absorbed into Dassault Systems®, although a few small details in Composer still remind us of this, including the .smg file format.
In order to provide customers with uniform license handling for both CATIA® and SOLIDWORKS® in parallel with the CAD licenses, the decision was made in 2014 to remove Composer from the 3DVIA® brand. As a result, the two license types CATIA® Composer™ and SOLIDWORKS® Composer™ are now sold.