Hey anybody have the kit in cad

[cygnus.x1]

Originally Posted by suj

any idea on makeing the speed of opening faster it's pretty laggy

It opens fast for me. You might need more memory in your computer or a faster cpu. How much memory do you have? I'm running a Intel Core 2 Duo with 2GB RAM and there is no lag.

You might also try defragging your hard drive to speed up part loads.

[suj]

Originally Posted by cygnus.x1

It opens fast for me. You might need more memory in your computer or a faster cpu. How much memory do you have? I'm running a Intel Core 2 Duo with 2GB RAM and there is no lag.

You might also try defragging your hard drive to speed up part loads.

who knows i'll try a bit later and post the results

[mplanchard]

Even with having to register, www.3DContentCentral.com is a great resource. You will not only use it in FIRST but also if you go on to become a professional designer. If you have non SolidWorks format files, then I would use STEP. Most likely the components you will download are purchased components and you will not modify them. You want these components to be as lightweight as possible. Add reference axis or plane if you need to (Insert, Reference Geometry, Plane). Concentrate on your value added to the design, the parts you have to machine - you are now down to 5 weeks. Marie

[Elgin Clock]

Originally Posted by suj

who knows i'll try a bit later and post the results

Suj, the one time you open the step file it WILL lag a bit of your computer is not "up to speed".
The one time lag is ok, but just let it process the step file completely & correctly, & finish opening.
After it is opened, you will notice that is is now in your working directory as a .sldasm file with seperate .sldprt files for each of the components.

The next time you open that .sldasm file, if it does not open as quick as you would like, there is a way to get around that which I use.

I know this sounds strange, but ANY SolidWorks assembly can be saved as a part file & will open a lot faster the next time since it is now a single file, & not many files spread out over your working directory.

I advise this technique ONLY if you don't need to move any parts on the "assembly" or modify any parts later.
(This will obviously require a bit of insight on your part).

(For example, I just performed this technique on the C-Chassis assembly file because in my application, it is a static item, which I will not need to move or modify any individual parts on.
On the other hand, the Toughboxes, I may want to be able to move around the gears in the future, so keeping it as an assembly was ideal for my application.

Your results may vary, but this has worked for me in the past to keep the files sizes & number of files to a minimum.


Btw, when you click to save an assembly as a part file, select the "All components" in the radio button options within the "save as" dialog box for best resuts or experiment to see what works best for you.

[Jimmy Cao]

Some manufacturers offer models for their own parts, often in .STP format (or, rather, not always in .sldprt/sldasm). I recall Bimba offered actuator models (which I also recall are on 3dcontentcenteral in .sldprt form).

[mplanchard]

Your best bet is to get your model from someone you can trust. The manufacturer, certified suppliers like Bimba and SMC on 3DContentCentral, or you confirm the model to the data sheet.
We redid the 2008 kop based on Ed Sparks models and the suppliers that we could find part numbers for. Ed has good, valid models that you can trust. Unfortunately, SolidWorks models, not from SolidWorks manufacturers can only be worked on only after the kop announcement. But there are many FIRST suppliers that use SolidWorks or produce parts on 3DContentCentral.

Someday I hope to post all FRC models on 3dcontentcentral in multiple languages and multiple file formats - but that politics just didn't work out. We have the technology that would help all teams not matter what software they use.

I am doing a Boston FIRST SolidWorks robot design workshop on Tuesday, maybe I will see more models there and can help you out more. Marie

[jwiegley]

Somebody please inform FIRST that with the number of teams competing global it is shear stupidity to believe we all use PRO/Engineer or that we have the most bleeding-edge version of some application which will understand the bleeding-edge Pro/E format that was used.

The Pro/E files do not open under any version of SolidWorks, I have access to both the student version and 2008SP0. MasterCAM is also unable to open them.

We are not going to go out and buy Pro/E just for a six week FIRST project.
We are going to form an opinion of FIRST's ability to support the teams. (Hint: It's not a good opinion.)

I cannot believe the number of times I have to educate people about one simple common fact: when making data public, always use a common, standard, open format. FIRST failed this and now their CAD library, that somebody put a lot of time and effort into, is all but useless.

Would somebody with Pro/E please convert the files to a format useful to the other 95% of us?

Thank you.

[suj]

well they know there a main reason that alot of teams are using other cad programs but it's kind of stupid that their not up to date with other formats like proe and step who actualy uses the program involved with that file type

[suj]

just throwing this out there but does anyone have a converter since wait times to long on the actual solidworks 09 app idk why really i'm running it on 2gb of AMD mobile semperon vista home premium

[venividivici]

Unfortunately, Autodesk made the 2009 KoP native files and not inventor ones...its a royal pain to have to manually cut and modify them...

Most, if not all, Inventor parts can be read in Solidworks and Pro E.

[mplanchard]

Thank you to the Boston First Regional teachers/mentors at my workshop Tuesday that showed me AndyMark's web site and the 2009 Slick Wheel. I worked on taking the step file and making it into a SolidWorks smart file and placing it on www.3dcontentcentral.com. Through FeatureWorks, I made the bearing parametric. Just the bearing to keep file size down.

http://www.3dcontentcentral.com/part...atalogid=171#0

You can also download the complete assembly, not only for SolidWorks 2007, 2008, but also for Pro|E prior to Wildfire 4 and eariler Inventor files. Autocad is also there too.

I really believe students need to know how to work with different file formats - I hope this helps. AndyMark parts from last year already posted on 3dcontentcentral with the help of Ed Sparks.

I will work on the C chassis and try my best to do any other components developed by manufacturers that want to use 3dcontentcentral.

What are the most critical parts you need?

I have been receiving jpeg images from many teams we support - showing cool parts- just place them on 3dcontentcentral, so everyone can share - no mater what cad system you use.


Marie