7 Ways to Improve Efficiency on SolidWorks Projects
All it takes is a low memory message, erratic pointer motion, or, worst of all, the BSOD to break your concentration, send your blood pressure past Alpha Centauri, and kill your creative flow.
Here are a few simple things you can do to keep frustrations low and productivity high while you’re working in SolidWorks:
1. Free up your disk space
Your OS and recommended SolidWorks functions—like auto-recover—require sufficient disk space to perform properly. At a minimum, you should have 250–500 MB of free space on any local hard drive. If you use partitions, allocate a good proportion of your system’s free space to the drive where your OS is installed.
2. Amp up your RAM
Make sure you have enough physical RAM so you don’t have to access virtual memory. Lots of RAM is always a good idea when working in SolidWorks, especially if you’re also running a Microsoft Office application like Excel with Bill of Materials or Design Tables.
3. Switch to 64-bit OS
A 64-bit OS with sufficient hardware resources is recommended when working with large data sets such as large assemblies and assemblies with complex parts. With a 64-bit OS, SolidWorks can address up to 8 TB of memory.
4. Flip the 3GB switch
In the short term, if you’re running 32-bit Windows XP Professional and SolidWorks 2004 (or higher), you can allocate more memory to applications with the /3GB switch. SolidWorks is written to take advantage of this feature.
IMPORTANT! Windows XP Service Pack 1 (SP1) has known problems if you activate the /3GB switch. Contact Microsoft Product Support Services for the fixes.
5. Chuck your 3D Motion Controller
If you use a 3D motion controller and pointer movement slows down over the SolidWorks window, try replacing it with a three-button mouse.
6. Update Your Graphics Adapters and Drivers
Find the best at http://www.solidworks.com/pages/services/VideoCardTesting.html
7. Decrease Hardware Acceleration
Decreasing hardware acceleration can solve performance or display issues caused by your graphics adaptor or video driver. Here’s how to do it in Windows 7:
- On your Windows desktop, right-click and select Screen Resolution.
- On the Settings tab, click Advanced.
- Select Troubleshoot and move the slider to decrease Hardware Acceleration.
- Select Change Settings (if your video driver allows this option).
Excellent article, thank you.
Thanks for that great article!I bought the SolidWorks 2011 book which covers beginner to advanced topics, and is very comprehensive. I often use the book as a reference to go through.
You can get @ http://solidworksbook.com/
Great! Thank you for sharing that tip with the group.
I think your tip on the 3D Controller is incorrect. I do not have any problems at all with my Motion controller and the pointer of my mouse. Maybe its the Motion controller you are using or the driver you have installed. I have the latest Space Pilot Pro and there is nothing wrong with mine, both when you wrote this last year and today in Feb 2012.