NX7.5 - SHOW LIGHTWEIGHT ?

[daluigi]

What's the scope of this 'show lightweight' function, is that visual representation of components saved with the part/assembly or is it just a session setting?

 

[MickyV007]

From the nx help files :

What is it?

Lightweight loading is no longer controlled by reference set. New controls determine whether components are loaded lightweight (using faceted representations) or exact (using solid representations).

Set the Use Lightweight Representations assembly load option to specify which representation is used when a component is loaded. You should also set the Use Partial Loading assembly load option to fully realize the performance and memory benefits.

Use the Show Exact and Show Lightweight commands to switch between representation types.

Because lightweight loading is now separate from reference sets, you can load any reference set lightweight, as long as lightweight representations exist for the contents of the reference set. For example, you can load the Entire Part reference set lightweight if the representations exist.

Use the Automatic Lightweight Generation customer default to control whether NX maintains lightweight representations for all bodies or just those belonging to certain reference sets.

Because the lightweight reference set is no longer needed, it is automatically removed from your parts:

NX does not retain the lightweight reference set except for some cases where you edited the contents for special use. You can ensure that the lightweight reference set is always deleted by setting the Lightweight Reference Set Removal customer default to Remove All.

When you use the As Saved assembly load option to load a component whose last-used reference set is a Lightweight reference set that is being deleted, the Model reference set is loaded instead. The representation used depends on the Use Lightweight Representations assembly load option.

Why should I use it?

Loading assemblies using lightweight representations instead of exact representations can provide significant memory savings and improved load and display performance, especially when you work in large assemblies.

The new lightweight loading controls make it easier for you to load your assembly lightweight using the reference sets of your choice.

Best regards,

Michaël.

NX7.5.4.4 + TC Unified 8.3
Win 7 64 bit

 

[JohnRBaker]

Lightweight representations are characteristics of the solid/sheet bodies in an NX Part file which are optionally available for use, as alternatives to the actual precise solid/sheet body when working in an Assembly. The primary usage is to reduce the amount of memory needed to load the contents of an Assembly as well to provide very fast rendering of the 3D display of the Assembly since there is no need to compute the necessary facet data needed by the graphics engine to show shaded and/or dynamic hidden line images. The biggest breakthrough with respect how these lightweight representation are used starting with NX 7.5 is that in the past, while users had the option to open Assemblies using lightweight Reference Sets, many of the operations which were performed in an Assembly required precise or 'exact' models which the user would have to explicitly load when needed and then to replace again with the lightweight alternative when the operation was complete. Most all of this need to manually perform these load and unload operations have been eliminated since the new lightweight representations now either carry with them the needed information to perform those task, such as needed to constrain Components or to perform interpart referencing when performing modeling operations in the context of the overall Assembly. This new capabilities makes working in large assemblies both faster and more efficient, not only in terms of system resources but also in what users are able to do interactively while maintaing acceptable dynamic response times. This is accomplished by the system only needing to load additional model information when needed and automatically so that the user is no longer requires to perform these load and unload tasks himself. Basically the user can now work without ever having to concern himself with when will an operation require more than a lightweight representation and when will I be able to return the Assembly to its most efficient state once that additional information is no longer needed. All of these 'housekeeping' tasks are now done for him by the system as the need arises based on what the user if attempting to do.

Anyway, I hope this helps explain how this new approach will benefit you and help to improve your working efficiency.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA

http://www.siemens.com/plm

UG/NX Museum:

http://www.plmworld.org/p/cm/ld/fid=209

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