understanding and increasing performance -...

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Understanding and Increasing Large

Assembly & Drawing Performance

Greg Jankowski

SolidWorks Corporation

Agenda

� Review the following:– Computer related

– Data Management

– Settings

– Parts

– Assemblies

– Drawings

– For additional references see the Technical Content (best practices, presentations, API, Utilities, etc.) athttp://www.solidworks.com/pages/services/subscription/TechContent.html

� Housekeeping– Questions

– Using the Hands-on labs

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Large Assy/Drawing Management

� Managing large assemblies can be a challenge without some planning

� Understand what truly affects performance and interactively

� There are many features, settings, and design practices that will impact the overall performance of your assemblies and drawings.

� Understanding the impact of these features allows you to make better informed decisions on design practices and standards.

Goals

� What is a large assembly or drawing?

� Understand the actual vs. perceived bottlenecks (interactivity)

� Understand SolidWorks views on performance

� Discuss the parts of the performance puzzle

� Try it yourself

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Assembly Performance

� Hardware

� General Settings

� Parts (sketches, ext refs, level of detail)

� Drawings (config’s, views, Lightweight, Detachable)

� Assemblies (mating, configurations, lightweight)

Computer Related Topics

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PC Hardware

� RAM – lots of it!!!!!!!!

� CPU Speed (multi core)

� Video Cards

� Operating System (type, setup, swap, service packs)

� Raid and disk striping (Raid Level 0)

� Network (Protocols, design, QOS)

� Quality and type of hardware

� 64-bit and 3GB mode http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/hwdev/platform/server/pae/PAEmem.mspx

System Maintenance

� Windows – The sharp end of the stick…

� Disk Defrag

� Clear temp and backup files

� SolidWorks is tested using the following anti-virus applications:

– Norton Anti Virus 2005

– McAfee Virus Scan 9

– eTrust ezAntiVirus 2005

– Alwil Software AVAST 4 (64 bit)

– Exclude SolidWorks doc types

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System Maintenance

� Disk Defragmenter– You get what you pay for…

� SolidWorks Express Tech TipKeeping your system safe and healthy http://www.solidworks.com/swexpress/pages/sep05/TT_System_Maintenance.html

– SolidWorks Rx

– Anti-Virus

– Check-It Pro

– Ace Utilities

– RegistryFix

SolidWorks Support Tools

� SWSysclean

– Perform common system maintenance

� SWCleanInstall

– Silently uninstall SolidWorks versions Windows registry settings,and Program directories

� Where to get these files?http://www.solidworks.com/pages/services/subscription/TechContent.html

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Data Management

Data Management

�� Use of a local workspaceUse of a local workspace — A local workspace is a key to performance. Open large files over a network will be slow

� Collaborating over a network — Look into using a PDM system. The file management and performance is enhanced with the use of an application to perform these tasks. Manual file management is error prone and wastes time.

� Use of collaboration mode - When using files located on a network, the only way to insure you have write access is to filemark it for write access. Other users will see the file is read-only. This is similar to check-out in a PDM system.

Additional references:

� SolidWorks Express - Data management basics

� SolidWorks Express - PDMWorks revision schemes

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SolidWorks Options

SolidWorks Settings

� Why are they important?

– Display quality

– Performance

– Large Assembly Mode

– Drawings

� All defined under Tools / Options

� Distributing Settings

– System Level (Copy Settings Wizard)

– Document Level (Templates)

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Lab

� Open SolidWorks

� Open a default Part, Assembly, and Drawing

– Click New icon

� Follow the steps as shown

� We are going to strip everything out…

Drawing Doc Properties

� Activate the new drawing document

� Tools\Options\Document Properties

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Part Doc Properties

� Activate the new part document


Assembly Doc Properties

� Activate the new assembly document


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System Options


System Options


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System Options


System Options


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Lab

� Save templates (File\Save As)

– Assembly

– Drawing

– Part

� Exit SolidWorks

� Copy Setting Wizard

– General settings

– UI, keyboard, etc.

Lab

� Save Settings

� Re-Start SolidWorks

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Parts

Modeling Techniques

� Only model the level of detailed required

– Example: Do not model threads

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Part Performance

� Avoid using text for features

� Minimize un-necessary detail

Modeling Techniques

� Helices – representations only

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Modeling Techniques

� Try Geometry pattern FIRST

Errors

� Always resolve rebuild errors

� Always resolve import errors

� Always resolve assy mate errors

� Understand assy mate warnings

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Statistics

� Use of Feature, Assembly, and Drawing Statistics

Assemblies

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Assembly Performance

� Lightweight Components and Sub-Assemblies

� Save As Part

� Configurations

� Mating

� Sub-Assemblies (Assembly structure)

� Skeletons

Lightweight Assemblies

� Improved in SolidWorks 2006 (why and how)

� What can be done with LW•Add/remove mates

•Interference detection

•Edge/face/component selection

•Collision detection

•Assembly features

•Annotations

•Measure

•Dimensions

•Section properties

•Assembly reference geometry

•Mass properties

•Section views

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Assembly Configurations

Assembly configurations control:

– Part level configurations

– Part suppression

– Part visibility

– Suppression state of mates

– Modification of assembly features

– Configuration specific properties

– Values of distance & angle mates

– Use face names to swap parts

Only show what you need to work onOnly show what you need to work on

Configurations

� Open the assembly to a configuration!

� Have a Blank or Empty configuration

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Creating the configurations

� Use of Advanced Selection

– No fasteners

– Interior detail

� Use Simplify Assembly (SolidWorks Utilities )

– Create simplified assembly configuration

Assembly Structure

� Easily control multiple part configurations

� Enable just a portion of the design to worked

� Flexible and fast

– Could be a 20 or 20000 component assy

– Solves with min mates

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Lab

� Open #HG 365-FULL.SLDASM

– Fully resolved (Config = Simple)

– Close Assy

– Re-Open LW (Config = Simple)

– Close Assy

– Open LW (Config = HG 365 GRINDER)

Using Skeletons

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Skeletons

� Skeletons are simple sketches containing 2D geometry and reference geometry (i.e., axes, planes) that can be used to control the position and size of assembly components.

� These skeletons are comprised of simple robust objects that can be controlled via a design table for multiple configurations.

� Allows for assembly components and part features to be attached to simple, robust, and named entities.

Example - Engine

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Drawings

5) Drawing Performance

� Lightweight

� Detachable (Rapid Draft)

� Minimize what’s required

� Other performance options

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Lightweight Drawings

� Ability to add lightweight assemblies to a drawing

� These can be set to resolved at any time

� SolidWorks will resolve as necessary

Detachable Drawings

� Replaces Rapid Draft

� Ability to save a drawing without the documents attached

� Save As Detached

� Save As (convert back from detached)

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Drawing Performance

� Use configurations to minimize un-necessary detail in drawings

HLR 36s

HLG 49s

HLR 19s

HLG 24s

Drawing Performance

� Use Multiple sheets or separate drawings

� Only update individual views

� Use of section & detail views

� Use Hide/Show Components to hide internal detail

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Lab

� Open #HG 365-FULL.SLDDRW

� Add a Top and Right side view

� Add an overall dimension

Implementation & Wrap-up

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How to implement

� Document approach

� Make it readily accessible (Engineering Intranet)

� Communicate with users (internal user meetings)

� Document templates

– Custom Properties

– Document level settings

� Standard setting (via Copy Options Wizard or Windows Registry file)

Conclusion……..

� When dealing with large data sets, set out a strategy before you start to model the parts and assembling them .

� Have an understanding about the approximate size and make up of a typical data set.

� Decide which tools and techniques you will utilize to make your assembly as manageable as possible.

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Conclusion……..

� Large assembly management is a combination of a number of smaller things that when combined, can make a big difference.

� The time to react is not when there are 15,000 parts in the assembly.

PLAN AHEAD !!PLAN AHEAD !!

Questions?

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Thank you

Greg JankowskiGreg Jankowski

SolidWorks Corp.

understanding and increasing performance -...

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