Reducing Model Complexity

[Phil]

Hi all

The background......

Our company is primarily using Plant 3D, but receiving Inventor models from suppliers.

The problem is the file size of the models is causing major issues in the form that they are sent.

We certainly do not want/need to see any internals of the supplier models.  In fact we could do to "dumb down" some of the external  detail that certain vendors seem to include.

So the questions are:

If we are presented with Inventor models from suppliers, what steps can we take to massively reduce the complexity and file size (we have a couple of Inventor licenses)?  Ideally we need bare bones outlines of these items.

We then convert these to dwg format for inclusion in our Plant model.

Any recommendations on approach appreciated.

Thanks

Phil

[WHolzwarth]

Perhaps like that:

- Make a derived part (IPT) of the assembly as single solid body  with no seams between planar faces

- Save this IPT as STEP or IGES

- Import that back to Inventor

Result is an intermediate dumb solid, that needs some further simplification, based on the new geometry.

[Phil]

Thanks Walter

I will try to take a look at that during next week.

Phil

[johnsonshiue]

Hi Phil,

To add to Walter's reply, you want to look into Shrinkwrap Simplification workflow. Here is the Help document describing the process. Or, you can go to Autodesk Knowledge Network, Youtube and search for "autodesk inventor shrinkwrap." You will see plenty of instruction materials.

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/inventor-products/learn-explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2019...

Many thanks!

[dgorsman]

If you have Navisworks Simulate or Manage, use those to publish to an NWD file.  Those can be XREF'd directly in Plant3D.  From there you can trace over with basic shapes to create a stand in.  You can also use the NWD to quickly show the detailed model during design reviews.