Problems using a STEP file in Inventor.

[Chris86542]

Hello all,

I have recently been sent a drawing from another company that was created using Solidworks. They have sent it to me as a STEP file and I have been able to import into Inventor 2010 and shrink wrap it so I can add my own parts to it.

The problem I am having is once I've created my assembly using the imported STEP file and my own Inventor parts, I try to create my BASE view on a drawing sheet and once I click the location I wish to place the base view it just takes ages to create the view. So much so that I left it overnight and in the morning it still hadn't done. It also stops Inventor from responding.

I would appreciate anyones help and advise on this matter.

Many thanks in advance!

Chris

[JDMather]

Can you attach the original STEP file here?

Did it pass Inventor Quality Check?

[Chris86542]

The file is too big to attach here. It is approx 56mb.

I haven't come across the Inventor Quality Check before, could you please explain to me what it is and how to use it?

Thanks.

[JDMather]

http://home.pct.edu/~jmather/AU2008/ML205-1P%20Mather.pdf

Getting into the Construction Environment takes a Application Options edit in later releases.

56Meg is a huge file for a single file.

I would look at getting that very significantly reduced if you don't need all the detail.

[Chris86542]

I am using a Inventor 2010 at the moment, would this make your advice any different?

Yes I agree 56mb is a huge file but as it's directly from the company who are designing this initial 12u rack for us I'm not sure how I could go about reducing the size.

Do you know of any solution to enable me to create the Base View on a drawing sheet?

My current process is as follows:

1) Open STEP file, click on options and set options (Please see attached jpg to view the options selected). 

2) Once opened I shrinkwrap the assembly using the following set of options (Please see attached jpg to view options selected).

3) I then create a new assembly drawing and import the part I just created by Shrinkwrapping it.

4) I use my own created parts to place pieces of equipment inside the 12U rack and constrain everything accordingly.

5) Once the assembly is complete I open up a new drawing sheet and click on Base View.

6) The usual toolbar comes up asking what scale I wish to set etc, I click on the middle of the drawing sheet.

7) Inventor then tries to insert the base view onto the sheet but at this point it just loads forever and stops responding.

Hopefully you will know some kind of solution.

Thanks!

[JDMather]

That file size is way to big for the geometry your image depicts.

You would be able to isolate the assembly into it's various parts and figure out which one is bigger than it should be using the document I linked earlier (I would run each part through unstitch/check/re-stitch in Construction Environment.

The other option would be to re-model all of the parts from scratch - the geometry looks pretty basic.