The transformation of complex CAD models into simplified representations has become a major challenge for manufacturing industries facing visualization, collaboration, and data protection challenges. With increasingly voluminous assemblies sometimes reaching several gigabytes, creating optimized envelopes (ShrinkWrap) provides an effective technical solution that significantly lightens these models while preserving their essential characteristics. This approach offers considerable performance gains, with reductions of up to 90% of the initial data volume, while maintaining a faithful visual representation.
Efficient CAD Design Weight Reduction : Strategy and Tool
Designing complex machinery and equipment for process plants and ship building requires the integration of multiple CAD assemblies. These assemblies can be incredibly large, often reaching hundreds of Megabytes or even Gigabytes in size, making it difficult for receiving systems to handle. This is where weight reduction methodologies come into play, as they allow designers to reduce the file size of their CAD models, making them easier to integrate into larger systems.
There are several strategies that process plant and ship building designers can employ to reduce the weight of their CAD assemblies. The following are some of the most effective methods:
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Remove small components: In many cases, small components such as screws or bolts may not be essential to the overall functionality of the machinery. By removing these small components, designers can significantly reduce the overall size of their CAD assemblies.
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Remove non-visible entities: Objects that are not visible to the user, such as the cogs in a gearbox or objects in a cupboard, can also be removed from the CAD assembly to reduce its weight.
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Suppress unnecessary details: Details such as small holes, fillets, imprints, and other features that are not critical to the overall function of the machinery can also be suppressed to reduce the size of the CAD assembly.
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Reduce the number of triangles: Decimation is a technique used to reduce the number of triangles in a 3D model. This can be a highly effective way to reduce the file size of a CAD assembly while still maintaining the overall shape and functionality of the machinery.
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Simplify geometry: Another strategy for reducing the weight of a CAD assembly is to simplify the geometry by using a bounding box. This technique involves creating a simple box that encompasses the entire assembly, rather than including every detail of the machinery.
In addition to these weight reduction strategies, there are also several software tools and plug-ins available that can assist with the process. These tools can help automate the process of reducing the weight of a CAD assembly, making it faster and more efficient for designers to integrate their models into larger systems.
"Last Thursday, 9:05 a.m. The critical meeting with investors starts in 25 minutes. Marc, the factory design manager, tries to open the 798 MB CAD assembly he just received. His computer freezes. Three reboots later, still nothing. The presentation is compromised."
This scene is repeated daily in industry. Overwhelmed CAD models, full of superfluous details—screws, bolts, invisible internal components—paralyze industrial layout projects.
Yet, this same complex assembly could be reduced by 97% in just 15 minutes, going from 73,000 faces to 2,000, without losing essential information for factory design. This dramatic transformation not only saves disk space, but also eliminates import failures and drastically accelerates workflows.
What if your industrial layout projects could move forward five times faster?
Immersive environments such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are radically transforming the way we interact with industrial 3D data. However, a major obstacle persists: complex CAD models, designed for engineering precision, are often incompatible with the performance requirements of immersive platforms. This technical gap creates a barrier that slows the widespread adoption of VR/AR in industrial processes.
A typical CAD model can contain millions of polygons, invisible internal geometries, and excessive precision - all elements that compromise the real-time performance essential for a smooth VR/AR experience. How then can we transform this ultra-precise engineering data into optimized models that guarantee both visual fidelity and high performance?
