Ligt Weight Assemblies

[MotoRGV]

Hello all.

I am running NX7.5 native. I have designed a couple of peices of equipment that contain several thousnad pieces. I now need to take the assemblied equipment and create a plant layout. My problem is that I can't come up with a quick simple way to create the layout so I'm not waiting for all the parts to regenerate. I've tried creating parasolid model and re importing them with no increase in performance. I have tried exporting the assemblies as part and again no luck. I'm not worried about the detail in the assembly of the machine I just need the outline and enough surfaces to use assembly constraints to position the machine corectly. Is there a simplify assembly option or some way to just extract the surfaces of the assemblies? Or is there a much better way to do this that everyone else ueses?

Thanks

 

[JohnRBaker]

If you have an Advanced Assemblies license there are a couple of things that can be done to create either a 'convex hull' (AKA shrink-wrapped part) or a 'Linked Exterior' of the assembly. So go to...

Assemblies -> Advanced -> Wrap Assembly...

... see if you've got a licence.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

 

[MotoRGV]

John,

I check and I do have an Advanced Assemblies option. I played with the wrap function and to makes the machine way to prismatic. The machines still need to look like the machine. It there a way to just extract the outer most surfaces?

 

[JohnRBaker]

That's what the 'Linked External' function is used for. There is also a 'Simplify Assembly' which will try to remove all the internal detail resulting in a single solid body which you could then use a faceted version of that body in your assembly. You could also just create an Arrangement which contains only those parts absolutely necessary to represent your assembly at that layout stage and use it when you add the assembly to the large assebmly.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.