pro/cabling acting funny! 1

[jaykm]

Hi all,
I had posted this Q on Pro/users but didn't get a satisfactory reply- So here it goes.

I use Pro/cabling (Pro/E 2001) to show how how wires are routed in a ballast (for visualization only). I have a ballast asm which I copy and then reroute/delete/add wires as I need to create different ballast assemblies.

I am facing one wierd problem. The cables appear very thin or skinny for the dia of cables I have set- I checked units, tried regen and closing/reopening Pro/e. When I reopen Pro/e, the cables appear to be correct size-Once I hide any item in the asm /refresh screen etc, the cables again shrink in size.

Anyone could please point me out what is going wrong?
TIA,
Jaya

 

[Hora]

Maybe is a graphic card / open gl driver problem?

-Hora

 

[jaykm]

Hello Hora,
I am not sure if this a graphics issue since even in the drawing that I have created using this asm , the cables are being shown skinner. The asm from which I copied these other asms however, shows the cables correctly.

Thanks!
Jaya

 

[Hora]

Jaya,

I used Pro/CABLING with ProE2001 and I never had a such problem. That's why I was asking about the graphic card. As you probably know the cables are not solid. They are quilts. This issue is happening when you have the wireframe or full rendering display? In drawing mode, if you have any interfernce between them or other parts, it will no be shown corectly. This is true for solids, too.

By the way, what graphic card do you have?

-Hora

 

[jaykm]

Hi Hora,
I use a ATI FireGL card (though memory is less- 64MB).
The issue is happening in both wireframe & full rendering display. As you suggested, let me have a look at the interference too.

Thanks for your time,
Jaya

 

[Hora]

Jaya,

The interference issues are displayed only in drawing mode. Not in assembly. I still think is a driver problem. Please disable the opengl driver in config.pro and activate win32gdi. This can be done if you change the value of parameter "graphics". Check if the problem dissapear.

-Hora

 

[jaykm]

Thanks Hora!
I changed the graphics settings and boom! The model is being displaced properly.

Thank you for your kind help and one vote for you
Jaya

 

[Hora]

Jaya,

Thank you, but remeber this is a compromise solution. All major CAD program's graphics instructions are OPENGL. Maybe now, it's a good reason for you to ask a replacement of your graphic card.

Good luck,

-Hora

 

[Heckler]

Jaya,

I use the Wildcat VP880 pro which is really cost affective at $350.00.

Best Regards,

Heckler
Sr. Mechanical Engineer
SW2005 SP 2.0 & Pro/E 2001
Dell Precision 370
P4 3.6 GHz, 1GB RAM
XP Pro SP2.0
NIVIDA Quadro FX 1400
o
_`\(,_
(_)/ (_)

Do you trust your intuition or go with the flow?

 

[jaykm]

Thanks Hora & Heckler for the tip. I am stuck with an old Dell machine+old graphics card for a while now.

On the same note,I have read some heated discussions on ATI Radeon cards Vs other cards (the FireGL and the nVidia & wildcat). Seems lots of users face problems with Radeon cards (Supposedly 'Gaming only' cards).

Any thoughts? I have a laptop with 256MB Radeon Card and a student version of WF 2.0 on it which seems to run OK (Though I have not manipulated, say a model that is 1GB!)

Jaya

 

[Hora]

Jaya,

I really don't know which one is better. ATI had lots of problems in the past with their drivers. Many of them now are solved. nVIDIA seems to be stable. PNY has some great products based on geForce FX (CAD sector) which I think is good. 3D LABS with their WILDCATS got huge problems with the VP cards. Not only drivers, but hardware, too.

I have at my office 3D LABS Wildcat 4 and works great in ProE and CATIA. At home I have a VP880 Pro and I had't any problem till now, except that sometimes the card will not initialize when I turn on the power. Anyway, 3D Labs does not support any more these cards. They have now Realizm, but I don't know how good they are. The VPs do not support the Shader Vertex and some games will refuse tu run on thsese cards. Stay away from VP's anyway.

I think an nVIDIA FX GPU. PNY has a variety of cards and can be a good choice. They are are more expensive that the ordinary GeForce cards. This is my opinion.

I see Heckles uses the same card as mine (at home) and probably is satisfied with their performance. But I saw discussions on 3D LABS forum (now closed) and people there were so unhappy by the performances delivered by the VP cards.

-Hora