Hi all,
this is my first post on this forum so pardon me if this has already been discussed through previously...
I use Vectorworks for designing factory (bakeries) and production line layouts in 3D. I have been using VW since 2011 after some 15 years of AutoCad. In my models the building is just simple walls, columns, doors, simple windows and floor slab. (Some samples attached) Typically the building is a reference file to my machine layout. Most of the machines I have modeled over the years either with AutoCad or mostly with VW and I currently have a bakery machine library consting of couple of hundred various machines, which are 2D/3D symbols. I also have a custom built conveyor tool for making conveyors (straight, curves, spirals) as those are widely used in a bakery. Nowadays I also get some macine models from the machine manufactures in STP or SAT format and typically those files are easily 300-500 MB and I try to make those lighter by deleting all the unnecessary details (sprockets, chains, nuts, bolts etc) but still one machine can easily be 100 MB.
My constant problem is the large file sizes. A typical working file with 2 to 3 external references is from 500 MB to 1,5 GB.
I'm currently using v 2016. I tried a year ago to switch over to 2017 but I had some issues with DWG conversions and I had no time to fiddle with this so I stayd with 2016. Already then I noticed that my files became larger with the new version.
Now the 2018 seems to blow the roof! If I open my v 2016 file of 1, 433 GB and save the file as version 2018 without doing anything the file is now 2,050 GB!
I would like to move to 2018 as I have some funny issues with my 2016 (I will ask about these in another thread) but I don't know is there hardware powerful enough to handle these, especially as I do half of my work on laptop.
So is it a given fact that each version needs more bytes to present the same information on screen? That I simply need to upgrade my computers annually to be able to even keep up the current work effciency, let alone hoping to handle the documents any faster...?
I have Win 7 SP1 workstation , with 24GB RAM, Intel Xeon CPU E31245 @3,30 GHz with NVIDIA Quadro K 4200 graphic card and laptop Lenovo W 540 Win 7 SP1, with 32 GB RAM, Intel Core i7-4910MQ CPU @2,90 GHz with Intel HD Graphics Family graphic card.
Ari Ignatius
BakAri Consulting
Hyvinkää, Finland