Glossary

A
active component A selected component currently being edited. This component is underlined in the specification tree.
active object An object currently being edited.
angle constraint A constraint used to define an angle or parallelism between two geometric elements.
assembly An entity composed of various components which have been positioned relative to each other.

B
bill of material A list of data about the properties of the components contained in the active component.

C
child component One or more components originating from a single component. Compare parent component.
coincidence
constraint		 A constraint used to align two geometric elements, or get them to coincide.
component A reference integrated in an assembly. A component possesses characteristics related to how it is integrated in an assembly (for example, its relative location in an assembly).
constraint A geometrical or dimensional relation between several geometric elements of different components. It may be used to define the positioning of components.
context-specific
representation		 A hierarchical design of an assembly in a specific context (for example: engineering or manufacturing).
contact constraint A constraint used to define a contact area between two elements (tangent or coincident).

F
fixed component A component for which all degrees of freedom are locked, in relation to the parent component.

G
geometric element The geometric elements which can be constrained in the Assembly workbench are:
point
line
plane (or plane surface from a model)
sphere
cone
cylinder

L
leaf component The last component at the end of each branch of the specification tree.

M
manipulation A freehand translation or rotation of a component with the mouse.
model A CATIA Version 4 model.

O
offset constraint A constraint used to define a distance or an offset between two geometric elements.

P
parent component A component that is hierarchically just above one or more components. Compare child component
part Within the Assembly workbench, it is either a part of the Part Design workbench, or a 3D entity whose geometry is contained in a model.
primary child
component		 One or more components originating from the first level under the active component.
product A 3D entity which contains several components.

R
reference A product or part with its own characteristics. Compare component.
representation See context specific representation.

S
search order A hierarchical set of paths used when searching for the files included in the assembly. The search begins with the first path, and stops when the file is found.
snap Projects a geometric element onto another one.
subassembly An assembly contained within another assembly.

U
update In the Assembly workbench, updates the position of the constrained components so as to satisfy the constraint requirements.