I've seen a lot of threads talk about reference sets, and how properly maintained reference sets are key to higher level modeling, however I haven't found any threads which clearly explain how to use reference sets properly. Any information would be greatly appreciated. I'm using NX 7.5.
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Reference Sets NX 7.5 1
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JohnRBaker
Mechanical
Well, to start with, if left alone, that is you use the system as it came out-of-the-box, the Reference Sets will be pretty much set up the way you want them to be. And in particular with NX 7.5, there will be even less need for you to be messing with your Reference Sets.
But to help explain that value of Reference Sets, they are used to 'filter' out the non-model objects which were used to halp create a solid model of your part but it not needed when you add that part to an Assembly as a Component. So by default there is a default Reference Set called 'Model' which will contain the solid model of your part and which will be the Reference Set used when you create your Assembly. This way, extra curves, sketch, points, etc are NOT included when you open your Assembly, thus reducing the amount of memory needed to open an Assembly.
Now as for my NX 7.5 comment, up until NX 7.5 the system was also, out-of-the-box, creating a complimentary 'Lightweight' (faceted) Reference Set which mirrored what you had in your 'Model' Reference Set only it was a lightweight representation of that solid model. This reduced even further the amount of memory used when opening your assembly as well as improve graphic performance once the Assembly was open, but this also required you to occasionally swap-out this 'Lightweight' Reference Set for the 'Model' Reference Set when doing certain incontext design tasks or when using an Assembly to make a Drawing. Starting with NX 7.5, there is no longer any need to use Reference Sets to fulfill the needs of working in a lightweight mode. This is now controlled by a global option which does not involve Reference Sets at all. So now you can leave the system to default to the 'Model' Reference Set and you can control the Lightweight mode by just setting the proper Load Option.
Anyway, the good news is that if your first NX experience is using NX 7.5, you will never have to have learned as much about Reference Sets as did your peers who have been using NX for years.
John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
UG/NX Museum:
To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.
But to help explain that value of Reference Sets, they are used to 'filter' out the non-model objects which were used to halp create a solid model of your part but it not needed when you add that part to an Assembly as a Component. So by default there is a default Reference Set called 'Model' which will contain the solid model of your part and which will be the Reference Set used when you create your Assembly. This way, extra curves, sketch, points, etc are NOT included when you open your Assembly, thus reducing the amount of memory needed to open an Assembly.
Now as for my NX 7.5 comment, up until NX 7.5 the system was also, out-of-the-box, creating a complimentary 'Lightweight' (faceted) Reference Set which mirrored what you had in your 'Model' Reference Set only it was a lightweight representation of that solid model. This reduced even further the amount of memory used when opening your assembly as well as improve graphic performance once the Assembly was open, but this also required you to occasionally swap-out this 'Lightweight' Reference Set for the 'Model' Reference Set when doing certain incontext design tasks or when using an Assembly to make a Drawing. Starting with NX 7.5, there is no longer any need to use Reference Sets to fulfill the needs of working in a lightweight mode. This is now controlled by a global option which does not involve Reference Sets at all. So now you can leave the system to default to the 'Model' Reference Set and you can control the Lightweight mode by just setting the proper Load Option.
Anyway, the good news is that if your first NX experience is using NX 7.5, you will never have to have learned as much about Reference Sets as did your peers who have been using NX for years.
John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
UG/NX Museum:
To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.
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