Large Assemblies with SolidWorks

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Large Assemblies with SolidWorks

• Kevin Holbrook
• Kevin_at_cadimensions.com

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Housekeeping notes

• Choose your listening mode
• Phone, or
• VoIP
• Log your questions in here

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This computer

• Dell Precision M6300 laptop (about 2 years old)
• Windows Windows Vista Business - 64 Bit
• Intel Core2 CPU _at_ 2.4GHz
• 4 GB of RAM
• NVIDIA Quadro FX 1600M 512 MB
• SolidWorks 2010 PR1

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Topics

• What is a large assembly?
• What are the symptoms?
• What affects performance?
• What You Can Do
• General Settings
• Hardware
• Part Design
• Assembly Design
• Drawings
• Environment/Data Management
• Summary

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What is a large assembly?

• A large assembly is any assembly that is complex
  enough to
• Max out your system resources
• Hurt productivity

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What are the symptoms?

• Slow performance in the following areas
• Open and save
• Rebuild
• Drawing creation
• Rotation and viewing
• Assembly Mating

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What Affects Performance

• Things under SolidWorks control 30
• Things under your control 70
• Combined Effort of Technology and Correct
  Implementation

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• What You Can Do to Manage Large Assemblies and
  Drawings

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Things Under Your Control

• General Settings
• Hardware
• Part Design techniques
• Assembly Design techniques
• Drawings techniques
• Environment/Data Management

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Assemblies General Settings

• Specific options affected in Large Assembly Mode
• Tools gt Options gt Performance

After activating Large Assembly Mode
Before activating Large Assembly Mode
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General Settings

• Tools?Options?Performance
• No Preview During Open is not controlled by
  Large assembly mode

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Hardware

• Hardware requirements Customer Portal under
  System Requirements
• RAM most important for large assemblies 32 bit
  or 64 bit?
• Some multi-threading in SolidWorks - dual core
  for
• PhotoWorks, Simulation, File translation, Hidden
  Line Removal
• Video Card - Effects rotating and spinning,
  zooming and panning
• Lower level graphics better for speed if system
  at max (512Mb)
• Service Packs - Stay current on service pack

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Parts Design Methodology

• Use Appropriate Design Methodology
• Skeleton model technique for large assemblies
  machines, plant designs, paper processing, etc.
• Allows visualizing and selecting important
  interfaces at all subassembly and even part
  levels
• Master model technique consumer products, car
  body, etc.
• Allows using complex surfaces as the base for
  components
• Multi-body
• Always manage in-context relationships use
  where appropriate

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Parts Strategies to improve performance

• Fully define your sketches if possible
• Resolve rebuild errors
• Do not model threads unless absolutely necessary!
• Avoid using text for features - instead use a
  sketch or draw simplified letter

Avoid unnecessary detail
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Parts Strategies to improve performance
Simplify! Simplify! Simplify!
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Assemblies How they Work

• Assemblies solve serially in this order

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Assemblies How they Work

• Mate performance in order of speed (fastest to
  slowest)
• Relation Mates (Coincident, Parallel, etc.)
• Logical Mates (Width, Cam, Gear)
• Distance Mates
• Limit Mates

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AssemblyXpert Info and Advice About Your
Assembly

• Info from the old Assembly Statistics now found
  in AssemblyXpert
• Analyzes assembly performance and makes
  recommendations
• Tools gt AssemblyXpert

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AssemblyXpert Diagnostic Tests

• Rebuild Data Available
• File Conversion
• Large Assembly Mode
• Mates
• Display Speed
• In-Context Part Performance
• In-Context Circular References
• In-Context Relationship Performance
• In-Context Relationship Conflicts
• Components Far from Origin
• Verification on Rebuild

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Assemblies Strategies to Improve Performance

• Avoid flat structures with lots of mates
• Flat structures update all mates on rebuild
• Sub-assemblies only update if necessary
• Sub-assemblies are fixed by default (fast)
• For motion, temporarily make sub-assemblies
  flexible Component Properties

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Assemblies Lightweight Assemblies

• Use Lightweight Assemblies
• Open assemblies Lightweight
• Only necessary model data loaded
• General setting Tools gt Large Assembly Mode
• Specific settings Tools gt Options gt Performance
• In lightweight you can

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Assemblies Quick View/Selective Open

• Quick View/Selective Open
• Fastest way to view an assembly
• Open only the components you need Do Not Load
  Hidden Components
• Maintains mates so assembly can move
• Simplify assemblies without configurations and
  regardless of assembly structure
• Toggle display to select components not yet open
• Filtering and new selection tools
• Save as Display States

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Assemblies Quick View/Selective Open
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Assemblies SpeedPak and Unload Hidden

• SpeedPak
• Quickly create a simplified version of a large,
  complex assemblies without losing graphics detail
• Reduces memory needed
• Maintains references
• Works in drawing mode complete BOM and
  annotation capability
• Unload Hidden
• Hide component and unload it from memory
• 1 Kilometer limit eliminated

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Assemblies Display Settings

• Do not Use RealView Graphics with Large
  Assemblies
• Large Assembly Mode
• Triggers lightweight components
• Controls display options
• Tools gt Large Assembly Mode

For better performance, do not display edges in
shaded mode
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Assemblies Use Display States and Isolate

• Use Display States where appropriate
• Never require a rebuild
• Controls
• Part visibility
• Display mode
• Texture
• Transparency
• Use Isolate for quick hide of multiple components
• Hide all components that are not selected
• RMB gt Isolate

Adding a Display State
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Assemblies Managing External References
External references can be viewed, broken and
locked
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Assemblies Repair Broken Refs and Routing

• Fix missing/broken references
• Ensures assembly accuracy and speeds rebuilds
• Electrical Routing
• Route from connector to connector, not pin to pin
• Show pin-to-pin info in a table on the harness
  drawing

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Assemblies Avoid Circular References

• Avoid circular references
• Common during in-context design
• Symptom more than 1 rebuild
• Can also occur when mating to components patterns

Example of a circular reference
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Assemblies Selection Tools

• Show Hidden
• Toggle display to show hidden components
• Volume Select
• Right to Left Fully enveloped components
• Left to Right Intersected components
• Pre-select face to orient volume
• Select Mated To
• Select a component and all components mated to it
• Can Show or Hide
• Advanced Select improved
• UI revised
• Add to selection drop down
• Subassembly Select
• Select subassembly graphically - (RMB)

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Assemblies Filtering and Tagging

• Feature Tree Search and Filter
• Search for a component
• Filters display in window as well as feature tree
• Tagging
• Tag components so they are easily found later
• Can search on tag description in Feature Tree
  Search

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Assemblies Extreme Management Techniques

• Prevent external reference creation
• Tools gt Options gt External References gt Do not
  create references external to the model
• Suspend automatic rebuilds
• Make many changes, and then rebuild the assembly
  all at once

Suspending automatic rebuilds
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Drawings Opening Drawings

• Drawing Sheet Quick View
• Preview a drawing before you commit to open it
• Load Sheet from Quick View
• Load any particular sheet you Quick View
• Open Drawing to a Specific Sheet
• Open one specific sheet without opening all the
  others

Preview a sheet before opening
Open to a specific sheet
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Drawings Strategies to improve performance

• Lightweight Drawings
• Subset of its model data is loaded in memory -
  faster
• Remaining model data is loaded as needed
• With lightweight drawings, you can
• Create all drawing view types
• Attach annotations to models in views
• Dimension models in views
• Specify edge properties
• Select edges and vertices
• Set drawings of sub-assemblies to lightweight or
  resolved

Open a drawing lightweight
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Drawings Strategies to improve performance

• Other Drawing Tips
• Use shaded views when laying out a drawing
• Using less views per sheet is better
• Only update individual views
• Sensible number of configurations, section views,
  detail views and alternate position views
• Check for interferences before making HLR drawing
  views - ambiguity takes time

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Environment

• File location VERY IMPORTANT
• Files should be local for best performance
• Use Workgroup or Enterprise PDM
• Creates a local copy of the file that can be
  managed for change
• Only parts that have changed are copied over
• Configurations open faster if local
• Backup/recover
• For fastest performance, turn this off
• If must backup, make sure the recover file
  location is local and frequency is appropriate

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Data Management PDMWorks Workgroup Enterprise

• Multi-user environment
• Data policeman - controls access to the files
• Revision control - PDM knows when a part is
  changed
• Brings files to your local drive so you can open
  locally

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Data Management What should I use?

• Workgroup PDM
• Usually up to 10 users
• Designs that require sharing of components
• Revision control
• Enterprise PDM
• Usually 10 Users
• Better with large datasets
• Everything Workgroup does plus
• Multi-site capable
• Workflow capable
• MRP/ERP Connection

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Summary Questions

• General Settings
• Hardware
• Part Design techniques
• Assembly Design techniques
• Drawings techniques
• Environment/ Data Management

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Thank-youkevin_at_cadimensions.com