Have you ever found yourself staring at the screen, waiting for your SolidWorks assembly to load, rebuild, or even just rotate? If so, you’re not alone. Large assemblies can be a significant challenge, often leading to frustration and decreased productivity. But what exactly makes an assembly “large,” and how can we manage them effectively? In this post, I’ll delve into the world of large assemblies, exploring their characteristics, the performance issues they bring, and most importantly, the best practices to keep them under control. By the end, you’ll have a solid understanding of how to tackle these beasts and keep your workflow smooth.
Defining Large Assemblies
First things first, let’s clarify what we mean by a “large assembly.” It’s a term that gets thrown around a lot, but it doesn’t necessarily mean an assembly with a massive number of components. Instead, a large assembly is one that:
- Uses up all your system resources
- Hurts your productivity
These issues can stem from various traits, including:
- Being physically large, requiring careful layout and engineering to position components correctly
- Having a high number of components, which can strain management, calculation, and memory resources
- Being complex, with numerous parametric relationships and a large number of mates that tax your computer’s capabilities
- Containing a vast array of different components, slowing down even the fastest machines
- Including imported data that needs to be located and loaded, adding to the processing time
- Featuring geometric complexity that’s tough to rebuild, demanding best practices at every stage of design
- Incorporating multiple systems or disciplines, such as mechanical components, custom parts, Toolbox parts, library parts, weldments, routed systems, and components from vendors or subcontractors
So, if your assembly ticks any of these boxes, you’re dealing with a large assembly.
Performance Issues
One of the most noticeable effects of large assemblies is slower performance. This can manifest in several ways:
- Longer times to open, close, and save files
- Extended rebuild times
- Delays when creating drawings
- Lag when rotating, panning, or viewing the assembly
- Sluggishness when inserting components
- Delays when switching between parts, assemblies, and drawings
- Time-consuming mating processes
It’s easy to blame the software or your hardware for these issues, but the truth is, much of the slowdown comes from how the assembly is modelled. In fact, SolidWorks itself only controls about 20% of the performance factors, such as bugs, algorithms, and code efficiency. The remaining 80% is in your hands—how you set up your software, manage your data, plan your designs, and model your parts and assemblies.
Factors Contributing to Slower Performance
To put it simply, your modelling practices have a huge impact on assembly performance. While it’s true that using SolidWorks-certified hardware can help, it’s not a silver bullet. Best modelling practices are essential to guide your work and avoid lengthy, inefficient processes. When assemblies start to slow down, it’s often the result of many small issues accumulating over time. There’s no quick fix; instead, you need to address the root causes through proper design strategies.
Best Design Practices
So, what can you do to ensure your large assemblies perform as well as possible? Here are some best practices to follow:
Modelling Parts Effectively
- Proper Origin: Ensure that each part is modelled with a logical origin point. This makes it easier to position and mate components in the assembly.
- Easy Build Features: Use features that are straightforward and efficient. Avoid overly complex sketches or features that can slow down rebuild times.
- Remove In-Context Relationships: While in-context modelling can be powerful, it can also lead to performance issues if not managed carefully. Consider breaking these relationships once the design is stable.
- Remove Circular References: Circular references can cause endless rebuild loops, severely impacting performance. Make sure to eliminate them.
- Simplified Versions: For parts that don’t need full detail, create simplified versions to reduce the computational load.
Modelling Assemblies Effectively
- Subassemblies Organisation: Break down large assemblies into smaller, manageable subassemblies. This not only makes the model easier to navigate but also improves performance.
- Proper Level of Detail: Use configurations to control the level of detail displayed. For example, suppress unnecessary components or use simplified representations.
- Proper Mates: Be mindful of the mates you use. Over-constraining or using computationally intensive mates can slow things down. Stick to the simplest mates that achieve the desired result.
Managing Memory Usage
SolidWorks offers several tools to help reduce the amount of information loaded into memory:
- Quick Open: Use the Quick Open feature to load assemblies faster by skipping the loading of component files.
- Lightweight: Open assemblies in lightweight mode to load only the necessary data.
- Large Design Review: For very large assemblies, use Large Design Review to view and interrogate the assembly without loading all the component data.
- Simplified Configurations: Create configurations that suppress non-essential components or features.
- SpeedPak: Use SpeedPak to create simplified representations of subassemblies, reducing the data loaded into memory.
- Draft Quality Drawings: When creating drawings, use draft quality views to speed up the process.
Ensuring Proper Data Sharing
Collaboration is key in large projects, so make sure:
- All team members have access to the necessary files.
- You’re always working with the most current version of files.
- Changes are made responsibly, with proper check-in/check-out procedures.
- Files are protected from being overwritten by unauthorised users.
By following these practices, you can significantly improve the performance of your large assemblies.
File Management and Collaboration
In addition to modelling practices, effective file management is crucial when dealing with large assemblies. Consider the following:
- Access and Protection: Ensure that all design team members have access to the files they need, but also protect files from being accidentally overwritten by non-design team members.
- Metadata: Make sure file properties and metadata are correctly filled out. This helps with searching and organising files.
- Avoiding Pitfalls: Prevent situations where parts, assemblies, and drawings are stuck due to inability to locate files or working on the wrong version. This can be achieved through proper data management systems.
- Efficient Production: Use in-context features appropriately during design, but be prepared to break these relationships if they cause performance issues. Also, ensure that data can be shared smoothly between engineering, manufacturing, and design teams without hiccups.
It’s also advisable to limit configurations to two or three at the component level and to use simplified parts or parasolid bodies for library or purchased parts and assemblies. This keeps things streamlined and reduces complexity.
Conclusion
Let me wrap this up by saying that large assemblies don’t have to be a nightmare. With the right approach and a bit of planning, you can tame even the most complex projects. It’s all about being smart with your design practices and making the most of SolidWorks’ features.
If you’re stuck or just want to chat about how to make your assemblies run faster, feel free to drop me a line at info@kevos.com. I’m always happy to help fellow designers out.
Cheers, and happy modelling!
