Simple 3D File (no imports) major ram usage

[Blind_Optimism]

Super simple file just making boxes with holes in them to 3d print. Did a lot of duplicating and solid subtraction and push pull tool. So why upon opening this file it's using 18GB of ram even when rendering in wireframe? It only takes a couple of tasks to start hitting 98% usage. Just did a clean install of 2022 running everything at default.

 

I have 32GB of Ram, Windows i7, 1060gtx 

Electrical Box TS.zip

Edited July 16, 2022 by Blind_Optimism

[Pat Stanford]

can you post the file so we can take a look?

 

[Blind_Optimism]

I attached it as a zip file. First time posting. is there a better way?

 

[Pat Stanford]

The Zip is empty. You should be able to just drag the VWX file directly on the the bottom of the editor pane.

 

[Jesse Cogswell]

@Blind_Optimism You do have to be a bit careful with using the Push/Pull tool in Vectorworks.  If you are using it in the first mode (Extrude Face Mode), every time you change a surface, you are creating a new solid subtraction or solid addition.  Vectorworks saves the history of all of this to allow for you to make changes later, but you can end up an object that is a solid subtraction inside a solid addition with tapered extrudes inside another solid addition.  All of this nesting does increase file sizes and I can only imagine affects memory use as well.  When using Push/Pull, it's probably better to use the Move Face Mode, which will move the faces but turn the object into a Generic Solid, which limits the changes you can make to it, but is much easier on memory usage.

 

Personally, when 3D modelling I do all of the addition and subtraction operations manually to try to keep things in the fewest instances of "nesting" as I can get away with.  If I need a box with a hole in it, I think of a way to have that hole be part of the polyline that gets extruded in order to cut down the number of boolean operations to create the final shape.  I also try to "bundle" operations together.  If I need to have multiple holes punched into a 3D shape, I create a cylinder for each hole, then select all of them and the original shape and run Model - Subtract Solid to punch the holes all at once, rather than doing it for each hole.  That way, it's also a lot easier to edit later as I don't have to keep going into layers of the "nest" to finally get to the right subtraction operation when I need to move something.

[Blind_Optimism]

Here's the file, it's too large to upload on it's own, 3gb with only a few objects.

 

Thanks Jesse, that's probably the issue. I first learned 3d modeling in sketchup which is all push pull and I did a ton of that here. I'll remake a couple objects using your suggestions and see what happens.

639107506_ElectricalBoxTS.zip

[zoomer]

21 hours ago, Blind_Optimism said:

uper simple file just making boxes with holes in them to 3d print.

 

12 minutes ago, Blind_Optimism said:

t's too large to upload on it's own, 3gb with only a few objects.

 

WTH

 

3GB is not a small file !

Even in VW. In Autocad Units this would be an H-Bomb.

 

 

I'll try it but I am sure it will crash my M1 Mini.

Edited July 16, 2022 by zoomer

[Jesse Cogswell]

Ooh boy, my laptop did not like that file.  As I suspected, the objects you have made are very complicated nests of solid additions and subtractions.  There is some good news as there is a very quick fix for you as long as you don't need to make any edits.  If you select everything, then go to Modify - Convert - Convert to Generic Solids, it gets your file down to a MB in size and a whole lot more manageable RAM-wise (I've attached the file after this adjustment).

 

I didn't want to remodel the entire thing, but I've also attached a document with just one of the panels modeled in the way that I would approach.  You'll have a Solid Addition object for the panel, which will consist of a collection of Extrudes (double click the Solid to get into the editing where you can see the extrudes).  The extrudes are constructed by drawing simple 2D shapes, then subtracting or adding surfaces together using Modify - Add Surface and Modify - Clip Surface.  In this way, I traced your front panel using simple rectangles, with a rectangle for each hole, then subtracted.  The rounded mounting feet is constructed with a rectangle and a circle, added together as a surface, then drawing another circle for the screw hole which is then clipped out of the other surface.  Then it's extruded.

 

One more thing to watch out for, Vectorworks gets really cranky when you have multiple polylines selected before running Model - Extrude.  It will technically do it, with a single Extrude object consisting of seemingly disconnected objects, but you will see a bad hit in terms of performance.  Same goes for sweeps, you want to only sweep one polyline at a time.  I once inherited a drawing with a hundred lighting fixtures which were all built with sweeps, which were created a collection of lines and arcs that were all selected and swept at once.  When I tried to create a Section Viewport, Vectorworks would crash.  Once I went in and edited the sweep, grabbed all of the lines and arcs, and used the Modify - Compose command to create a single polyline, everything ran like butter.

Electrical Box TS Convert To Solid.vwx Electrical Box TS Front Panel Remodel.vwx

[zoomer]

3 minutes ago, Jesse Cogswell said:

there is a very quick fix for you as long as you don't need to make any edits.  If you select everything, then go to Modify - Convert - Convert to Generic Solids,

 

 Exactly !!!

 

I even could open it on my 16 GB M1 Mini and edit it.

I just went down until the 12th or so level of Solid Addition Edit Mode until I was

frustrated.

 

Went back to top level and also just selected all Elements and converted to

simple Generic Solids, saved and also saw a sub 1 MB file size.

 

 

I assume you should be able to also live with Generic Solds,

as at that hilarious depth of history, you would never find the correct depth

to change/edit a small detail again anyway 🙂

 

If you need Edits, try non-History Based - but Destructive Modeling Tools

like Push Pull (in 2nd Mode !) and such to do later changes.

 

 

And BTW,

if you try to duplicates that object in later use - please make it a Symbol before.

 

 

BTW 2,

That is also why I always rant about users thinking they always should use PushPull

in first Mode - for the History.

 

[Blind_Optimism]

Wow this is exactly what I needed to know! I wish there was a VW webinar that explained the stacking affect of these stored moves, but it makes a lot of sense. Jesse, thanks for the file repair! 

[zoomer]

Sorry for my frustration.

But when I saw the History - I got frustrated 🙂

 

 

48 minutes ago, zoomer said:

as at that hilarious depth of history, you would never find the correct depth

to change/edit a small detail again anyway 🙂

 

Correction !

 

AFAIK, in later VW Versions, you can hover your cursor over a specific feature

of your complex Solid - and directly jump into edit mode at that feature position

in History Tree. No matter how complex your History is ?)

So in this case you would find the exact Subtraction/Addition you need thow.

(I am not 100% sure if it really works that way ?)

Edited July 16, 2022 by zoomer

[Jesse Cogswell]

@zoomer Yup, I think they added that in 2021 or 2022.  When you double-click an editable solid, you can select Edit Features, which will allow you to click on a face and go straight to the source object.  It even builds the nesting structure into the Layer drop-down menu to let you jump to a specific point in the history.