KOMPAS-3D v25

A large assembly can contain anywhere from tens to hundreds of thousands of components, which results in lengthy opening, rebuilding, and saving times, and increases the time required to perform operations within it. In addition, working with such an assembly requires a significant amount of computer resources.

For some design tasks, it is not necessary for all assembly components to be fully loaded. You can specify which data and to what extent will be loaded for different components. This will make the assembly model “lighter” and speed up work with it.

KOMPAS-3D provides several methods for managing loaded data.

•Limiting the amount of data to be loaded using assembly component load modes.

Several load modes are available, each corresponding to a specific set of loaded data. For example, with the Partial loading mode, only bodies and surfaces are loaded for a component; with the Outline loading mode, a minimum amount of data is extracted from the component file to display only the component’s outline box, and so on.

With this approach, you can significantly “lighten” the assembly model without the time-consuming preliminary configuration of its components. However, a standard set of objects is loaded for each component; that is, using load modes does not allow you to create a custom set of geometry to be loaded. Furthermore, in most cases, the loaded geometry is intended only for visual assessment. The exception is the Partial load mode, where assembly operations can be applied to the loaded solids and surfaces.

•Selective loading of geometry and/or loading of simplified geometry using component model variants.

This method allows you to create two types of model variants: model composition variants and model representation variants. A composition variant allows you to define an arbitrary set of loaded geometry within a component model. A representation variant is primarily intended for presenting the model in various operational states, as well as for exploring manufacturing options for structural elements. However, in any variant, you can simplify the geometry, for example, by removing chamfers, holes, etc. In assembly model variants, it is possible to exclude components from the calculation.

All variants created for the model are stored in the same file as the model itself.

The order in which variants are applied is set by the user during configuration and can be changed; that is, for different design tasks, the assembly model can be loaded with different combinations of its component variants. (For more information, see the section Methods of working with model variants).

The loaded geometry can be used to perform various operations in the assembly.

Thus, the use of model variants allows you to create custom sets of loaded geometry intended for different tasks and to choose which component variant will be loaded. This method is the most flexible loading control system, but it requires labor-intensive preparation—you need to create variants in the component models with sets of selected geometry.

•Loading simplified geometry and/or a limited set of geometry by replacing the components to be loaded with component mockups.

A sketch is a simplified model of a component stored in a separate file. It contains the minimum number of geometric objects necessary to define the assembly’s appearance, position its components, and create associative views. The geometry is simplified by reducing the number of solids, faces, edges, and other geometric objects. In a subassembly layout, you can achieve significant «relief», by removing components that do not affect how this subassembly appears in the assembly. For example, it is effective to replace the components of "heavy" subassemblies—or the subassemblies themselves—with placeholders if they consist of a geometrically simple body containing components.

The mockup geometry loaded into the assembly can be used to perform various operations. These operations will remain functional even after reverting to the original component models.

Using mockups significantly "lightens" the assembly model, but it requires labor-intensive preliminary preparation—you need to create mockups and replace the assembly components with them—and subsequently, it is not possible to quickly change the set of loaded objects. This is a method for permanently, rather than temporarily, reducing the amount of loaded data.

Depending on the design conditions and objectives, you can use one of the suggested methods or combine them.