Simplify downloaded assembly to only outer/visible faces, resulting in a face part

[wvangeem]

Some of our customers are requesting some functionality to simplify a downloaded assembly.

Lots or users download parts from the internet, from suppliers, but are not interested in every detail of this assembly.

Only the outer faces are important, and since Annotation now can update face parts, it even can be a face part.

The reason is that downloaded assemblies sometimes take up to a lot of Mb's, and filesize could be reduced multiple times having only 1 part or face part.

Resulting in the ability to load bigger assemblies, less graphic performance...

Cleaning them up takes quite some time, which is lost in the end, so you would gain also man-hours!

The current Simplification functionality is not sufficient in this case, and a relation to the original part is not necessary anymore at all.

Breaking it down, we would like to have some functionality to select only visible faces in a certain direction, just like Annotation does when it creates a view from a part. Doing this in 6 directions would give us already a pretty good result.

Just keep in mind: it should work with an assembly!

[ywyffels]

maybe this functionality should be more or less simular to the Creo Parametrics schrink-wrap functionality. if the resulting model would be a new solid, that would be even better, since then you can add geometrical properties to it. which would also help you to determine assembly weights, inertial properties etc.

[PeterKehoe]

I had submitted a similar idea earlier where you could select only the outer faces. (http://communities.ptc.com/ideas/2273) The idea is the same-to simplify a model by discarding faces inside the part, with the result being a face part.

[MaxR.Kublin]

Until something better is available, the following can help to reduce the amount of geometry:

a) Simplification

b) Other local 3D operations (e.g. remove/grow of faces)

I am aware that this means manual effort, but once you have managed to simplify the downloaded assembly,

you can benefit from faster load time and less Memory consumption every time you are using this assembly

[MaxR.Kublin]

Fully agree with Yves - Creo has the desired functionality (shrink-wrap).

Going one step further, you could export the Model to Creo, use shrink-wrap, then import back to Modeling.

Not an elegant solution, but a solution that you can use today.

This idea replaces my previous suggestions.above....

[wvangeem]

Problem is not only one time use, people would like to simplify their developped assembly to deliver it to a third party without compromising their own IP.

Just like the shrink-wrap indeed.

[mneumueller]

we are considering some initial research around this

[mneumueller]

This is being worked on for Creo Elements/Direct Modeling 20.5

[mneumueller]

This is delivered with Creo Elements/Direct 20.5

See What's New in Creo Elements/Direct Modeling 20.5.0.0 (ptc.com)

or video here: Enhanced Simplification Capabilities