Design tasks in plain words, carried out in CATIA V5.
CadPilot connects GitHub Copilot with a running CATIA V5 session. The assistant breaks your request down into 86 well-defined tools, CATIA does the computing, and every material change is measured. Originals stay untouched.
The drawing shows the bracket from the handbook example: base plate 140 × 90 × 4 mm, four holes on 120 × 70 mm, flange at the rear edge.
What it is about
Many design steps are routine: a bracket with four mounting holes, a bolt circle on a flange, a wall-thickness variant with a weight comparison, the STEP export for a supplier. An AI assistant can carry out exactly these steps in CATIA when it is given well-defined tools.
The principle stays the same: the AI plans and operates, CATIA computes, the engineer decides. Dimensions, volumes and distances come from CATIA, not from the language model.
Where it comes from
It is based on the open-source project catia-v5-mcp-server with 78 tools. CadPilot adopts it with its full version history and makes it dependable for vehicle development: with tests, protection of original data, corrected CATIA calls and a set-up without administrator rights.
The code base is kept in a private repository; the licence notices of the base project ship with every delivery.
What the server can do
Maturity levels are taken from the handbook and are based on code analysis and offline tests. “Not reliable” means the tool exists but does not yet reliably do what it promises; do those steps in CATIA yourself for now.
| Area | Tools | Typical tasks | usable | limited | not reliable |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Session and documents | 9 | Open, create and save parts, read a part summary | 7 | 2 | 0 |
| Sketches | 11 | Lines, rectangles, circles, arcs, constraints | 8 | 3 | 0 |
| Solids (Part Design) | 15 | Pad, pocket, shaft, groove, hole, patterns | 2 | 7 | 6 |
| Surfaces (Generative Shape Design) | 24 | Points, splines, loft, sweep, offset, thicken | 24 | 0 | 0 |
| Assemblies | 9 | Insert, list and move components | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Measuring and parameters | 6 | Volume, mass, centre of gravity, distances, parameters | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| Views and export | 4 | Standard views, images, STEP/IGES/STL | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Journal and undo (new) | 2 | Show and undo the changes of a session | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Product structure and batch (new) | 6 | Properties, formulas, bill of materials, folder summary and export | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Total | 86 | 53 | 23 | 10 |
How a request is carried out
- You describe the goal. For example: base plate 140 × 90 × 4 mm on the XY plane, four holes Ø 6.6 mm, then the mass in steel.
- Copilot plans the steps and shows them first for larger requests.
- The server checks every call before CATIA sees it: paths, file types, working copy instead of original.
- CATIA computes in your visible session.
- The server measures: did the feature change the volume, and in the right direction?
- You review and decide. Every change of the session can be listed and undone.
Built-in safeguards
Working copies, not originals
Saving and export only go to a dedicated working folder, never over existing files.
Measure, don't assume
A pocket into thin air or a pad in the wrong direction is reported as an error, not as a success.
Undo within the session
Parameter changes and new features can be undone as long as nothing builds on them.
No hanging on dialogs
If CATIA does not respond, the server says so and sends no further commands.
No model data in the log
In protected mode, neither paths nor values are written to the log file.
No administrator rights
Set up with a double-click in the user profile, tested on Windows with every change.
Status
- All 86 tools inventoried, interfaces pinned by tests
- More than 600 automated tests, Windows CI with Python 3.10 to 3.14
- Three independent code reviews, all findings that can be checked offline fixed
- First test with a real CATIA licence, prepared with an acceptance test and checklist
- Selecting specific edges and faces (fillet, chamfer, draft)
What it is not
No substitute for engineering knowledge, no statement on strength or manufacturability, and no release. Everything the assistant does is based on CATIA tools and must be checked like any design change.
Tool results are sent to the AI service as context. For real project data, clarify this with IT and data protection first.