Huge file size after drafting

[jd_allen]

I have a model that is 20mb when the draft features are
suppressed. Unsuppressing the draft features results in a file
size of 200mb!!! I'm having this same problem with four parts,
and as a result, the assembly model will not open (proE crashes) on a
supercomputer that has less than 2gb of ram. This is a big
problem, and I need help!



It seems to me that a file should not increase in size tenfold merely
by adding draft. If anyone can help me figure out why this is
happeneng and what to do about it, I would appreciate it. I need
to get the file size down to a manageable size. PTC has not been
able to help me. Here are some details:



1. The accuracy of my model is set at .0001

2. ISDX was used to make the initial surfacing features.

3. There are approximately 20 draft features.

4. Running Wildfire 2.0 / Intralink 3.3



Attached is an image of what the part looks like.



Thank you in advanced.



JD Allen

 

[rserafin]

JD,


One thing right off the bat, accuracy should be left alone unless the part absolutely requires it. Default setting is .0012. You didn't give a size for the model. Is it 1", 1', or 10'? That makes a big difference. You should use simplified reps to control the amount of data your PC needs to handle & put into memory. I can't image that you need to modify all parts at the same time. Try opening the assembly with geometry rep via "open rep" while opening the assembly. If that doesn't work I can give you other tips on what to do. I work on very large assy's with upwards of 1000 parts all the time and don't have a problem.





Rich

 

[jd_allen]

Thanks for your response, Rich. The model size is about 10"
long. Do you think the accuracy set at .0001 would cause
50mb-sized individual draft features? I've already tried to set the
acurracy back to .0012, but it won't regen.



The designer of this model told me that he always sets the accuracy to
0.0001 when he is creating madels that have surafacing. I asked
him to leave it at the default setting in the future.



JD

 

[rserafin]

JD,


I haven't seen individual features that are 50MB in size but that doesn't mean it couldn't happen. You'd probably have to redefine the failed features with the new part accuracy. Intralink can cause problems if you don't have enough memory to open a file without swapping to disk. Opening a linkedsessioncauses Pro/E to use ~3x the memory vs an unlinked session. Try exporting the files to your hard drive then open the assembly file. Hopefully you haven't renamed the files. That will cause the assembly file to fail in an unlinked session. If you're interested I'll take a look at the files to see what can be done. Just zip the exported files and send them to [email protected]. I'll try to make some recommendations.





Rich

 

[Brian_Adkins]

>> Opening a linkedsessioncauses Pro/E to use ~3x the memory vs an unlinked session.


The Intrlaink client will create additional demand for resources, but I've never seen anything approaching 3X. Here it tends to hover around 120-150MB RAM.


>>Try exporting the files to your hard drive then open the assembly file. Hopefully you haven't renamed the files. That will cause the assembly file to fail in an unlinked session.


Exporting an object from a workspace will automatically account for any commonspace renames that have taken place in the past, so this should never be a problem. Once exported, all files should open in a non-linked session correctly.


-Brian

 

[rserafin]

Brian,


I beg to differ regarding exporting renamed files. In my experience it always causes a problem since the file retains the original file name. Intralink merely changes the GUI to show what the user wants to see. You see evidence of this in the .proi folder of the working directory. It's one of the reasons I duplicate parts & assemblies rather than renaming them.





Rich

 

[Brian_Adkins]

Are you sure you're actuallyusing the "export" functionality, or simply grabbing the files from your '.proi' folder from an unlinked Pro/E session? (huge difference)


The export function really has but one purpose... to make sure the exported file names match what Pro/E will be looking for when opening an assembly (or other related model). If the export function did not perform this feat, it would have no reason to exist, other than to just copy some files from one folder to another for you.


You can get the identical results by performing a "backup" from within Pro/E, but you lose the ability to export multiple unrelated objects at the same time (i.e. multiple drawings). This is why we use export mode often than backup for this purpose.


-Brian