Autodesk Inventor

[#1]

I would like to know if there are any tips to improving the speed of
Inventor.
Especially the IDW files.

I noticed that when the model changes , the IDW takes forever to update.
Especially when it contains dimensions and centerlines.
Pink dimensions...

Does adaptivity usage slow it down?, using fasteners?, Iparts? does
suppressing unresolved constraints work?


Thanks

[#2]

If you have a lot of patterns, coils, complex lofts etc. That will slow it
down. If you have 1000s of fasteners it could be a culprit also.

How about you list your system specs so we can rule out (or in) hardware
first...

--
Sean Dotson, PE
http://www.sdotson.com
Check the Inventor FAQ for most common questions
http://www.sdotson.com/faq.html
-----------------------------------------
"Sam" wrote in message
news:1B5885E943BB901B3A1B53DEA4367CCE@in.WebX.maYIadrTaRb...
> I would like to know if there are any tips to improving the speed of
> Inventor.
> Especially the IDW files.
>
> I noticed that when the model changes , the IDW takes forever to update.
> Especially when it contains dimensions and centerlines.
> Pink dimensions...
>
> Does adaptivity usage slow it down?, using fasteners?, Iparts? does
> suppressing unresolved constraints work?
>
>
> Thanks
>
>

[#3]

System Specs

P1.7Ghz
1 Gb Ram
Fire GL2 Video
7200rpm HD

[#4]

Can you tell us more about your models? Molded parts, sheetmetal, machined? Are arrays used a lot? Are the same pieces used over and over or are you assemblies lots of different parts? - Rich Thomas

[#5]

Assembly drawings are very simple consisting of 20-30 parts.
Mainly weldments (but drawn as single parts)
Jigs a fixturing type parts.

Workpieces are imported as surface files and thickened where possible.
IDW files contain 3 or 4 basic views with 3 or 4 section views with hatching
turned on
and a mixture of visible and invisible parts for eac of the views.
Work references are enabled.

Model changes are frequently made by workstations using different
operating systems (XP and W2K)

We are finding that as views resize the dimensions are not attached to the
geometry
and most of the time the IDW has to be deleted and remade or takes about 20
minutes to open
This seems to have something to do with it.

None of the models have unresolved constraints.

[#6]

Do the files reside on a server and if so are you on a 100mbit network connection?

[#7]

Yes they are on a server
We use a Semi Isolated enviroment and have a 100Base network

[#8]

From what you have indicated it sounds like Inventor should scream. The drawing issues shouldn't be occuring though. Do these parts have large arrays? Some of our parts have vent holes in them with thousands of holes which will make Inventor burn the pixels out of your monitor in the shape of an hour glass.
The only other thing I can think of is your network. While you may have a 100mbit connection does it truly work that fast. We have had problems with the 3Com 3C905B-TX chipsets in our Dell computers when hooking up to some Cisco switches. They report 100mbit but if you copy a large file around you will find less than 1mbit xfer rate.

Rich Thomas

[#9]

I'd suspect the imported surfaces (or solid entities created from them) as
being a major factor in graphics performance and dwg view generation time,
especially if the surfaces aren't of geometric primitive shapes. A single
complex surface can have more impact on performance than hundreds of prismatic
parts. You may be able to isolate the worst causes by turning off visibility
or disabling them in model and drawing modes.

I've also noticed on occasion that dwg view dimensions don't stick well to
some complex surface parts. Haven't really looked into it but I've had the
passing thought that there may be very slight differences it the way edges are
generated for the views (from one regen to the next) that cause them to become
orphaned.

===========================



"Sam" wrote in message
news:97D0885D3CD1BE7A06B9AE2E88026B99@in.WebX.maYIadrTaRb...
Assembly drawings are very simple consisting of 20-30 parts.
Mainly weldments (but drawn as single parts)
Jigs a fixturing type parts.

Workpieces are imported as surface files and thickened where possible.
IDW files contain 3 or 4 basic views with 3 or 4 section views with hatching
turned on
and a mixture of visible and invisible parts for eac of the views.
Work references are enabled.

Model changes are frequently made by workstations using different
operating systems (XP and W2K)

We are finding that as views resize the dimensions are not attached to the
geometry
and most of the time the IDW has to be deleted and remade or takes about 20
minutes to open
This seems to have something to do with it.

None of the models have unresolved constraints.

[#10]

Very good point. A corrupt body can cause issues too.

Makes me wonder what a body sanity check would report. Perhaps an ACIS out and open into MDT then performing an amsanitycheck on all the imported parts would find a corrupt body.

Rich Thomas