Hello SolidWorks Forum,

I have a real headache working with SolidWorks last few years! It is ridicules. I am spending 95% of working time waiting for software respond! I am waiting hours for respond from SW. My problem is that I do not know how to solve it!

Ok, my old ThinkPad T410 video card was not good enough. I expected a huge improvements in productivity from last one I got a half year ago - ThinkPad W530. It is i7-3630QM CPU, with 16 GB RAM, 64-bit, Windows 7 Professional - SP1, NVIDIA Quadro K1000M (Driver version 320.49). SolidWorks 2013 SP3. It was 2012 SP5 before - no difference in productivity for me. New W530 just stops to shut down because of overheating. This was my headache with T410.

Ok, about way I am working and model origins.

I have to merge 3d models of buildings from civil engineers (concrete basement with steel profile frames) with 3d-models of mechanical equipment from suppliers (belt conveyors, screens, magnetic separators, hogs/crushers, dividers, etc). I have to generate drawings and mate the equipment with building axles by dimensioning that in drawing.

I have models transferred to SolidWorks through SAT, STEP, IFC, DWG from AutoCAD Structural and Tekla Structures.

I am importing STEP-format files from Inventor as solids entities.

Then I am importing Mechanical Desktop (MDT - amazing, still alive in some industries) models directly to SW using DXF/DWG Import to a new part as 3D curves or model.

Usually, saving assemblies as a single parts then. I am Freezing the Features inside the parts too. It is usually Solid and Surface Bodies inside. No sense in using Feature Recognition for such a ~10.000 features parts - not working well, takes huge amount of time. Finally, still some basic features not recognizable. (I am not able to cut models by sectioning in drawing if I importing them as surfaces only)

Some models from other CADs. I am getting those as IGES or STEP. Probably from Creo and Catia.

I am opening assemblies as Large Assembly Mode. I am using SpeedPak. Automatic rebuilds are switched off. All settings set as low as it helps to improve the general performance.

I am creating copy of parts in model. Removing the surfaces or cutting walls by Extruded Cut to see equipment inside then making the drawings from those configurations. Ridicules!

In fact, I am very rarely reaching the tip of Operational Memory. It is usually around 5-12 GB. So, I have a free space where. It is around 14.5 GB then starts running hard drive for virtual memory in my case.

I am using basic assembly file for each equipment unit, because suppliers sending me the model revisions a few times.

I am suppressing old models inside those equipment assemblies and deleting them finally before the making the drawing just leaving the recent model fixed with no mating at all. All models are fixed and have no mates!

(I am placing the new revision of model, mating to old one, fixing, removing the old revision of model and all mates. It is nothing to rebuild there lately.)

I have divided the general assembly into a set of few subassemblies for creating a drawings from each instead of using a general assembly Configurations/Display States, which does not improve performance.

There is no any links to the models anywhere visible if I am deleting all views in drawing, but it is still linking and taking huge amount of time to open an empty drawing!!! Ridicules! I cannot able to see those links through SolidWorks Explorer, not through References then opening drawing. I have to start a new template to begin a new drawing or to move the drawing to another folder and rename the folder with the models before opening "empty" drawing.

I find that some models is more fast to open as resolved (instead of lightweight or SpeedPack) and rebuild it before opening the drawing!!! It takes less time to update the views then and save the drawing to the disk. That is my feeling! (Then something happening, and process under controll with waiting time around 15 minutes between the steps, instead of waiting an hours opening the drawing from beginning!)

It is around 500MB for each subassembly with links I am making the drawing for. It is less in fact, because some parts are suppressed or hidden. It is around 40MB as eDrawings format model.

I am not able to save my drawings!!! I am spending hours to "sketch" the dims and put the notes, center lines. Then I saving and saving and saving - all night! and still no respond and hope it will finishing the process on the morning. Sometimes it does! Killing the process if not!

I am not able to dimension or "sketch" some drawings at all! It is snapping or trying to highlight the edges then I moving cursor over the views!? CPU goes on maximum performance and I am waiting 10-15 minutes trying to keep the cursor somewhere in the window corner. Yes, I am disabling Snapping in Options/Sketch/Relations/Snaps. Selection Filters are off. Everything is off in Options/Display/Selection. What else I have to switch off? Yes, I am using Shaded display style for views "with no Edges" to make the views! Ridicules!

Wait for respond! Wait for respond! Wait for respond! Ridicules!

I am making the drawing again ("sketching"), converting Views into the Sketch, Saving as DWG. Then "sketching" it in AutoCAD.

Great! I am back to 1998 year, since that time not working in AutoCAD. No way - I have to deliver the drawings to customer.

That how I do it! Mating 3D-models in SolidWorks, creating the views in drawing, saving as DWG, "sketching" dims, axles, annotations in AutoCAD, saving as PDF!

It is not a working but fighting! Ridicules!

I like SolidWorks user interface and using it since year 2001. I used it for mechanical design and product developing before. Looks like it not fits my needs now.

Best regards,

Alex