Advanced tutorials

You can download the PDF version of this guide to share with your team offline.

This guide is aimed at SolidWorks users who frequently work with complex assemblies and want to reduce the number of objects, mesh size, and triangle count of models in their Jigs.

Export formats

For best results, we recommend you export all SolidWorks assemblies or parts as STEP files for importing into Jig. However, a range of CAD file formats, including native .sldasm and .sldprt files are also supported for upload to your Jigs.

STEP files have a 3 main configurations. We recommend exporting to type STEP AP203 which generally creates the smallest number of objects in your Jig (and thus your performance). If you wish to export colors as part of your assembly files then we recommend STEP AP214.

Settings for exporting large assemblies

One way to improve performance of large assemblies - typically made up of several sub-assemblies and potentially hundreds of parts - is to ensure that one STEP file is exported for each assembly or sub-assembly, instead of one very large file.

You can enable this setting for all future STEP exports by following these steps:

• Tools > Options > System Options > Export > STEP
• Select checkbox to Export assembly components as separate STEP files (recommended for large assemblies).

This option exports assemblies as atomic STEP files. Separate STEP files get created for each component in the assembly.

Simplify tool

We recommend using the SolidWorks Simplify tool to reduce the amount of geometry to only what is needed before importing into JigSpace.

1. Open sub-assembly in the Solidworks GA (general assembly):

• open each sub-assembly or group of parts that move together by right clicking
• open sub-assembly

2. Open Simplify Tool

Click in the top menu: Tools > Find/Modify > Simplify

3. Simplify the sub-assembly

Follow these three steps to simplify each sub-assembly in SolidWorks.

a) Choose certain features to simplify

• Or alternatively the entire sub-assembly (recommended), and specify the simplification factor (from 0-1)
• It is good to start with 0.1, and then increase/decrease the value depending on the results

b) Feature parameter vs volume based

• Volume based is recommended as it will identify small parts without compromising the main features of the model. Generally it will also decimate the model more than feature based
• Depending on your model it is good to try both methods to see which one works better for your use case

c) Ignore features affecting assembly mates tickbox

• Ticking this box will simplify the model more, however as it states - assembly mates will be broken
• To be safe, it is best to leave this box unticked
• Click 'Find Now'

d) Suppress identified features

Once the features have been identified scroll down > tick ‘All’ > click 'Suppress'

4. Save each sub-assembly as SolidWorks Parts

4a. Save your first simplified sub-assembly to a new folder. You will need to repeat this for other parts of your new assembly.

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4b. Ensure you have selected SolidWorks Part (.sldprt)

4c. Select geometry to save:

• Exterior faces
• Preserve geometry references

Then finally, Save.

5. Create new simplified assembly

5. Repeat steps 1-4 on the remaining sub-assemblies

6. Create a new SolidWorks assembly file

7. Import all simplified sub-assembly parts from steps 1-4

8. Reconstruct the General Assembly (GA) model

9. Save the general assembly file as a SolidWorks assembly or a STEP AP214 format, make sure to rename it as the simplified model to avoid confusion.

10. Finally, import the simplified .sldasm assembly file or STEP file into JigSpace to begin making your 3D presentation or augmented reality experience.

Quick simplify alternative

This method is recommended for simple assemblies. It is the quickest and easiest in terms of steps to export the model from SolidWorks, however it will not be as flexible to work with once imported in JigSpace.

1. In the SolidWorks GA, go to: Tools > Find/Modify > Simplify
2. Simplify the GA using the settings above as a guide
3. File > Save as > Save as type > SolidWorks Part
4. Geometry to save:
   1. Exterior faces
   2. Preserve geometry references
5. Save.

Import the file into JigSpace.

Using the performance indicator

When creating a Jig, the performance indicator in the editor displays a read out of your current triangle count and number of meshes (or sub-objects). Understanding this will help you determine when to optimize or simplify the 3D models in your Jig.

For best results we recommend less than 200,000 triangles (or polygons) and less than 50 sub-objects. Jigs also have an option to automatically keep your 3D models optimized, which we recommend keeping toggled on.

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Final thoughts

Whilst there are several ways to simplify your models in SolidWorks for improved performance in JigSpace, you may find that you still need further optimization.

If this occurs, please get in touch with us, or try our Blender template which is part of our 3D model preparation tutorial. This Blender template also forms part of our JigSpace certification program.

As always, your feedback on our tutorials and documentation is also very welcome.

This guide was prepared in collaboration with Design Technology Company (DTCo). DTCo provides a low risk, easy to engage, scalability option for mechanical design teams.