Importing *.stl file - Did I miss a setting? 1

[JMirisola]

Morning all.

I imported an stl file and wound up with 3487 parts in the assembly, which SW suppressed. I'm going through and unsuppressing them in groups of 100, but it's taking an awfully long time. Did I miss a setting somewhere? The file is out of revit, and stl was the only compatible file format apparently available.
System specs:

Dell Precision T3400
Core2Duo, E6850 @ 3.00GHz
WinXP 64-bit
8GB RAM
1GB Network.

Any suggestions to improve/speed up performance would be greatly appreciated!

Jeff Mirisola, CSWP, Certified DriveWorks AE

http://designsmarter.typepad.com/jeffs_blog

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

Does Revit create STL files differently than SW?

I cannot create an STL assy file with SW. An assy that is saved as STL creates individual component files, not an assembly file. An assy can be saved as a single file, but when it is imported back into SW, it is created as a single part file.

Can you post the file?

 

[JMirisola]

Crap...so much for proof-reading. It's an *.sat file, not *.stl. No, I can't post the file, unfortunately, due to confidentiality issues.
I need more coffee.

Jeff Mirisola, CSWP, Certified DriveWorks AE

http://designsmarter.typepad.com/jeffs_blog

 

[CADGemini]

Jeff,

What settings do you have set when opening a SAT file? I am wondering if un-checking "Import multiple bodies as parts" and checking "Merge Entities" under General File Format options would help with this issue.

You get there by selecting "Open" then select the file format from drop-down menu such as .SAT. Before you try opening anything there is an "Options" button below the "Open & Cancel" buttons. If you click on "Options" it will get you to the area I am talking about. You may have to play with some other options until you get it to import the way you want it to.

Let me know if this helps any...

Best Regards,
Jon Knabenschuh

Gemini CAD Solutions

http://www.geminicadworks.com

Challenges are what makes life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.

Solidworks 2007

 

[JMirisola]

Jon,
That is how I had my settings. The building is pretty massive that I'm importing. I'm not sure why SW is suppressing everything once opened, nor why my system bogs down as I unsuppress everything. It ended up being easier to recreate the building in SolidWorks...

Thanks for your response!

Jeff Mirisola, CSWP, Certified DriveWorks AE

http://designsmarter.typepad.com/jeffs_blog

 

[CADGemini]

Jeff,

That's too bad. Are you using 2008? I am only working on 2007 here.

I wonder if 08' has any better options for this?

Best Regards,
Jon Knabenschuh

Gemini CAD Solutions

http://www.geminicadworks.com

Challenges are what makes life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.

Solidworks 2007

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

Jeff,
When you get time, try increasing the Large Assy limit. SW may be mis-interpreting lightweight for suppressed when importing SAT files.

BTW, why couldn't you un-suppress all the components at one time, instead of in blocks of 100?

 

[JMirisola]

Jon,
I am using 2008...

CBL,
The "bog" time is the same whether I do one or 100. For the time being, I'm just going to go with the building I built in SW.

Jeff Mirisola, CSWP, Certified DriveWorks AE

http://designsmarter.typepad.com/jeffs_blog

 

[suelflow]

When moving between formats I sometimes find it useful to use translator program. I found a free one called AccuTrans 3D here:

http://www.micromouse.ca/.

 

[JMirisola]

If only it worked on 64-bit systems...thanks, sue!

Jeff Mirisola, CSWP, Certified DriveWorks AE

http://designsmarter.typepad.com/jeffs_blog

 

[CADGemini]

One other thing I thought you could have done with this is save the assembly as a IGES, SAT or Parasolid even with all parts suppressed and then it will ask you if you want to resolve all the hidden/suppressed components before exporting. Say "Yes" and probably wait for a very long time to process.

When you open the saved IGES, SAT or Parasolid file all the components that were suppressed are now unsuppressed and still in an assembly format with 3487 parts. Might not be the best way but is more automatic than un-suppressing a 100 at a time. You could take it a step further and save the assembly as a part and then you will have 3487 solid bodies rather than individual parts.

Best Regards,
Jon Knabenschuh

Gemini CAD Solutions

http://www.geminicadworks.com

Challenges are what makes life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.

Solidworks 2007