Inventor hardware requirements vs others 1

[ksudavid]

Need help from you Inventor users. We just added a small company who has a few seats of Inventor. They are asking for 64 bit computers but from my experience this is complete overkill for their work. No rendering, analysis, small assemblies. However, they complain of performance issues.

Does Inventor have tools to help reduce the hardware requirements. For example, with Solid Edge I can:

-Load assy parts as Inactive
-Created simplilfied versions of parts
-Created assy configurations with parts hidden
-Created simplified assemblies

I assume that all the major CAD players have similar tools. What does Inventor have?

 

[mcgyvr]

64 bit, 8G of ram, dual core 3(or more)Ghz processors, Nvidia quadro fx1700 is not overkill for cad programs no matter how complicated their work. The faster the computer the faster they can work.. Time=money.
Waiting 5 seconds for drawing views to compute vs 15 seconds makes a huge difference over a year.

But yes Inventor has level of detail which allows you to supress parts in assy's to free up memory and everything else you list that solidedge has.

Don't ever think a computer of any speed is overkill now a days. You think its overkill..they complain of performance. The customer is always right.

If all their other programs they might use are 64 bit capable then go 64 bit..

and make sure they stay on subscription so they can get new releases every year. Multicore processor support is coming soon and will really speed things up.

 

[elfman]

Inventor is a memory hog. Period. Level of Detail does little if anything that actually helps. I have found two items that are particularly helpful.

First. If they are running XP the instructions on following link are very helpful.

http://www.inventor-certified.com/graphics/faq2.php?n=BestPractices&index=50

Also, if drawings are causing considerable grief and they are not pushing the memory limits of Inventor or the Computer, try going into Application Options -> Drawing (tab) -> Capacity and make sure 'Memory Saving Mode' is un-checked. Now if you are pushing memory requirments, you have to leave this checked and it really slows things down.

We have been dealing with the same issues and we would all like to have 64 bit machines, but are limping along on 32 bit.

We have not seen anything in Inventor that allows for simplified Assemblie, parts or anthing else unless you want to take the time to create duplicates of what you have already created to make the simplified versions. If this exists, please, someone educate us.

Like I said, we have been fighting Inventor for about 6 months now and we lovingly refer to it as 'The fight that never ends'. I hope the two ideas above help - they did for us.

 

[mcgyvr]

Elfman, not to be rude but it sounds like you need proper training. Your responses are typical of the untrained user who tried to limp their way through a program like this.

Level of detail greatly reduces the memory footprint for larger assemblies when used properly.

Inventor 2009 implemented simplified assemblies which also really helps if needed.
Just the way a part is modeled can also make a huge difference in performance.

Proper hardware selection is also key. I would be curious about your system specs..specifically graphics card/driver, amount of ram and processor.

When I first started using it years ago I sounded like you, but with proper training I swear by it now. It has cut product development times in half easily and reduced mistakes to almost none.

 

[brengine]

mcgyvr,
-Load assy parts as Inactive
--->Inventor does not have this unless you set it up this way before Saving/Closing it previously.

-Created simplilfied versions of parts
--->Inventor does not have this unless you create a new part.

-Created assy configurations with parts hidden
-Created simplified assemblies
--->Inventor does have the capability to set up different "Level of Detail" configurations, but "I" feel they still could use a little work to be more useful to the User.

Ken

 

[ksudavid]

Thank you Ken,

Very helpful information. Does everything you say hold true for Inventor 2009?

David

 

[mcgyvr]

-Load assy parts as Inactive
--->Inventor does not have this unless you set it up this way before Saving/Closing it previously.

Not sure how solidworks does it but in inventor you create a Level of Detail in the assembly and then you can always open an assembly model with that LOD activated and not just into the master LOD.

-Created simplilfied versions of parts
--->Inventor does not have this unless you create a new part.

Again not sure how solidworks does it but in inventor 2009 you can create simplified parts/assemblies with a couple mouse clicks.


But to the OP. If you provide a powerful computer you probably won't need any of this functionality.

Whole point. don't skimp on the computer just because the program has ways to manage larger files..Give them the computer they need so they don't have to use those large file management tools.

When I first started using Inventor I had an underpowered computer spec'd in by a company that thought they new what they were doing. Because of them underpowering my computer I was forced to use memory management tools like simplified parts,etc.. all which take time. Now that I have spec'd in my own computer I no longer need those tools because the computer was powerful enough in the first place.
They claimed I didn't need certain things and that 5 minutes to render a product image was great for what I need. Now it takes 45 seconds to render the same model with the computer I spec'd in.

Let me know their budget and if they can support 64 bit and I will spec the computer for you if you want. I can guarantee they will forget all about those memory management tools that solidworks has.

 

[mcgyvr]

Back to my whole point
You think its overkill, they complain of performance issues.. They are right.

There is NO reason to not switch to 64 bit assuming that all their programs/hardware can support it. Not doing so because you think its overkill is doing them a disservice.

If they can't support it there are still may ways to build a great 32 bit computer and put their performance issues to rest. Spending an extra 500 dollars on the system now can easily save thousands of dollars in time over a year.

 

[ksudavid]

mcgyvr,

Performance issues can be caused for a number of reasons. For example these guys were saying they needed 64 bit systems but we found out they didn't even have a graphics card installed in their computers, did not have the memory maxed and were not taking advantage of the 3GB switch. Also, I don't think their assembly sizes are that large. In other words, if we upgrade the computers appropriately I think we can eliminate all of their issues. I just wanted to do some investigation into Inventor so I know what else to watch out for.

These are not standalone workstations. They are linked in with the rest of the company using the same software as everyone else. It's not as simple as just buying new 64 bit computers with 64 bit OS and only worry about Inventor.

David

 

[mcgyvr]

Thats what I was saying about the 64 bit. As long as this other software they use is 64 bit compatible you should switch if not then obviously you can't. There are no issues with a compay running 64 bit cad stations and 32 bit regular computers on the same network. I still run a 32 bit workstation only because our ERP system is not 64 bit compliant.

and yes onboard graphics cards are a no-no with cad programs.

Watch out for the 3g switch, it has been known to cause memory leak issues with cad programs/graphics. Nothing big but it can be annoying.