decal in a Sub-Assembly Not Visible in Main Assembly 1

[quest4k]

Good after noon, I am using sw2008 sp2.1 and I have a 2sub-assemblies and each have a different decal on them a decal on them. When I bring them into the new main assembly, I can see the decals, but when the sub-assembly is done rendering, the decals are not there. Is there a reason for this? Is there a way to make the decals visible? Thank you in advance for any assistance rendered.

 

[JMirisola]

I know that there were people having transient graphic issues with 2.1, so you might want to upgrade to 3.0. Beyond that, I'll let a true photoworks expert answer...Rob?

Jeff Mirisola, CSWP
Certified DriveWorks AE

http://designsmarter.typepad.com/jeffs_blog

Dell M90, Core2 Duo
4GB RAM
Nvidia 3500M

 

[quest4k]

Thanks for the info, I will give sp3.0 a try, because it certainly can't hurt.

 

[gatnact]

You may want to make sure that your photoworks is turned on. I had this same issue a little while back and found this to be the problem.

 

[quest4k]

Thanks everyone for the responses. sp 3.0 is now installed and the problem still exists. Also, Photoworks is on and if I open either one of the assemblies from the Feature Manager, the decal is there and visible. How is that for strange?

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

Is your video card and driver combination listed as certified for SW08?

https://www.solidworks.com/pages/services/VideoCardTesting.html

 

[Eltron]

I see the same thing. When the subassebly is brought in the decal is not visible although it is listed in the Render Manager. However, when you render the top-level assembly the decal shows up the way it should. Also if you open the original subassembly the decal show up as it should.

I believe that the issue occurs when you apply a decal at the assembly level. If you were to open a part in your subassembly then add a decal it will show up in the top level assembly. However if you apply the decal at the subassembly level it doesn't show up until you render. Confused? You should be.

I don't know...it's like it's weird er somethinn'...

Good catch.

Dan

http://www.eltronresearch.com

 

[quest4k]

Thanks for the help, but render did nothing. I can open the sub-assemblies thru the feature manager and the decals are there and visible. I did notice in the main assembly in the dirctory call decals it says empty so for some reason the decals are not showing up even in the rendered parts even even I could see them when I first inserted them into the main assembly. Oh, yes I am totally confused. As for the graphics card and driver, I had no say in what was picked for computers as well as software. If I did, there would be a whole different setup here, but I have to live with the cards that were dealt me.

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

Whether you had a choice in the selection of the card is immaterial. This decal problem may well not be VC related, but knowing whether the card and driver are suitable for your version of SW would be helpful.

If the card turns out to be unsuitable, that would give you grounds to request an upgrade.

 

[Ruubschen]

I had the same problem today and the last week. My solutions are the following.

If you have sub-sub-assemblies, make sure you have all assemblies open, else some of the decals will show as grey or black.

Today i really coulnd't figure out why some decals weren't showing after rendering, but i found a nice ans simple work-around solution (as you sometimes need to do with solidworks and photowork combination).

In the top assembly, simply hide and show the decal in the "render-tab". Go to the partfile where the decal is attached and re-apply the setting for illumination of the decal (matte, constant etc.)

now you decals will show again in the top-assembly!!!

Happy rendering!!!!!

 

[quest4k]

Thanks for the tip, I will give it a try and hopefully someday they will get this bug fixed and both will run without problems, not. Thanks again.

 

[Ruubschen]

or just apply a different decal, then apply your old decal again. This worked fine with me.

I have never had this problem before, but i changed some memory settings recently like the "3GB switch" and "open GL" in the options of solidworks. While working in Solidworks this morning i noticed some strange things with other programs and had to restart the computer. I have the feeling that my files were just corrupted which could be the reason that my decals didin't work.

Good luck!

 

[quest4k]

The files are OK and I have opened then in other computers and all is well. So go figure, but is ia a sizable assembly, but not a large assembly. It seems to be alright on the small assembly, but not on the larger assemblies. Go figure. Thanks again.