1. Nightly Drawing Updates Aerospace and automotive suppliers often run NIP workflows to update 2D drawings from 3D part changes. Every night, a script scans a PDM workspace, opens any modified part, updates its associated drawing, and republishes it as a PDF. 2. Geometry Healing for CAE Before running finite element analysis (FEA), engineers need clean geometry. NIP-Activity can open CATIA models, run a "Heal Geometry" macro, remove small edges, and export a neutral format (STP, IGES) for the simulation team. 3. Bill of Materials (BOM) Extraction A macro can traverse an assembly, extract all part numbers, materials, and quantities, and write them to an Excel sheet via OLE automation—all without a user touching the mouse. 4. Compliance Checking Run a non-interactive script that checks every part in a design against a company standard (e.g., "No part shall have a thickness less than 1.5mm"). The script outputs a non-compliance report. Troubleshooting Common NIP-Activity Errors Because you can't "see" what went wrong, NIP troubleshooting relies entirely on logs.
| Error | Likely Cause | Solution | |-------|--------------|----------| | 0x80004005 (Unspecified error) | The macro uses a GUI method (e.g., Selection.SelectElement2 ) | Rewrite the macro to use non-interative methods or hardcoded names. | | CATIA cannot be started | License server unavailable or incorrect environment | Run CATIA -env check. Ensure a batch license (e.g., MD2, HD2) is available. | | File not found | Relative path used | Convert all paths to absolute. Use CATIA.FileSystem.GetAbsoluteName . | | Process hangs indefinitely | A modal dialog is waiting (e.g., "Do you want to save changes?") | Add CATIA.DisplayAlerts = False at the start of your macro. | With the shift to Dassault’s 3DEXPERIENCE platform, NIP-Activity has evolved. The concept now includes Batch Dashboards and MQL (Matrix Query Language) scripts on the server side. Instead of CATIA_NIR.exe , you use 3DEXPERIENCE Batch Services . NIP-Activity - Catia
oLogFile.WriteLine "Opened: " & strInputFile oLogFile.WriteLine "Opened: " & strInputFile