SHEET METAL OPTIMIZATION

KyleDarnell

I have gone through a lot of testing to try and optimize the load times for sheet metal part. Before, I used to do the standard sheet metal extrude feature and the flange tool. However, when I use those tools the regen times go into the seconds if not more than 15sec for some. I have found that using surfaces tend to lead to the lowest regen times but its a pain to work with since I have to make work arounds for basic sheet metal features.

Has anyone found a better way to reduce regen time for sheet metal parts? 

KyleDarnell

https://cad.onshape.com/documents/1b6a57cf47cf665a3901974e/w/04bd6e97cf4ad75c3303a274/e/e4ec5594f68065eac099356a

eric_pesty

Why not use "solid" instead of surface? Much easier to work with than surfacing and should give you similar result

EDIT: something like this:

https://cad.onshape.com/documents/3e1d1372f44e0e958d25ba0d/w/4c6039e7f80e4bfe6a33f79e/e/d13eeccfd5f34983f5c32ea3?configuration=List_Ewa064qAQQaNzy=Default&renderMode=0&rightPanel=sheetMetalPanel&uiState=6423450128c93c0055ac3785

I didn't recreate your sketches for the cutouts (used them directly for my extruded cuts) but if you created them on the outer faces of the base solid you could delete all of the surfaces.
The only "trick" is to use the one split face on the front face so it doesn't end up as just one "chunk".

I also looked and moving the 3 cut features to below the sheet metal tool adds a bit of regen time but not much.

KyleDarnell

I had previously used a solid and converted it but after using that for a while I found that surface conversions average about 22% faster regen time compared to solid conversions. They still pose the same issues I usually run into regarding work arounds. Tomorrow when I come in for work I will show what type of work arounds I am talking about.

eric_pesty

I guess the next logical question would why does it matter if a part takes 2s vs 0.5s to regen. I.e. how much "extra" work is it worth putting in the model vs the increased regen times.

S1mon

@eric_pesty

I basically agree with you, and sometimes end up with parts which take a fair amount of time to regen because of their complexity (sometimes minutes). However, depending on what you're working on, response time can really interrupt your flow and sense of the system actually working.

https://www.nngroup.com/articles/response-times-3-important-limits/