{"id":189526,"date":"2022-08-10T09:00:32","date_gmt":"2022-08-10T13:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cati.com\/?p=189526"},"modified":"2022-09-06T14:50:45","modified_gmt":"2022-09-06T18:50:45","slug":"improving-large-assembly-performance-part-4-solidworks-assembly-tools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cati.com\/blog\/improving-large-assembly-performance-part-4-solidworks-assembly-tools\/","title":{"rendered":"IMPROVING LARGE ASSEMBLY PERFORMANCE – Part 4, SOLIDWORKS Assembly Tools"},"content":{"rendered":"

In my last blog post, I talked about SOLIDWORKS<\/a> settings for improving large assembly performance. In that part 3<\/a> of my Improving Large Assembly Performance series, I talked about performance settings in SOLIDWORKS\u2019 System Options. I also talked about suspending automatic rebuild, lowering image quality, changing display settings, and disabling all of the following: Realview Graphics, Auto-Recover, News Feeds, File Search\/Dissection, and Add-Ins. Now, in part 4 of my series, I will focus on SOLIDWORKS large assembly \u2018tools\u2019 that you can use to improve performance. With the sheer number of tools however, I will probably break this up into multiple posts. So, stay tuned.<\/p>\n

When opening large assemblies and drawings, you will spend the most time waiting for the data in the referenced components to load. As this can be thousands of files for the largest assemblies, this can take a while. The following group of tools is designed to optimize your files and make this action as fast as possible.<\/p>\n

PRODUCT DATA MANAGEMENT<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Opening and saving your files over a network is slower than opening or saving files locally. Depending on your network and the network load at any given time, it can be MUCH slower. Even if documents are stored and maintained on a central server, it is still more efficient to copy those files locally, make your changes, and then copy those files back.<\/p>\n

A solution like SOLIDWORKS PDM<\/a> could save many hours in searching, opening, and working with large assembly and drawing files. With PDM, a vault can be \u2018replicated\u2019, and files can be checked out locally from any location. Engineers would have secure access to the files, workflows for SOLIDWORKS components and other document types, extensive search capabilities, and revision control. Engineers could also automate the creation of PDF\u2019s and other documents that might be part of their everyday processes, like purchase requisitions or engineering change orders. A tool like PDM has many uses in improving our everyday performance issues. Below, you will see how this PDM interface looks. And feel free to contact CATI for a demonstration of this amazing tool.<\/p>\n

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TASK SCHEDULER (Convert to latest release)<\/h2>\n

With each new release of SOLIDWORKS, your models may need to be updated to prepare them for code changes in the latest release. This happens automatically when you open an older version file in a new version of SOLIDWORKS, but it can result in longer open times. The good news is that you only have to do this once per file. Conversion can be done as needed on an active project\/model by opening and saving a file, OR, to save time, it can be done on entire data sets in an automated way using Task Scheduler<\/em> or PDM software.<\/p>\n

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LIGHTWEIGHT COMPONENTS<\/h2>\n

You can improve the performance of large assemblies significantly by using Lightweight<\/em> Components. You can load a part or an assembly with its active components Fully Resolved or Lightweight<\/em><\/p>\n