SolidWorks 2011 Assemblies Bible - Matt Lombard [115]
Later, you will see that a network installation of Toolbox requires the database to be on the network, and every time you create a new fastener, it has to open the database. As a result, simply placing a screw in an assembly can mean that even if your assembly is located on your local hard drive, you still have to open a very large database file across the network. The first rule about performance with SolidWorks is to work locally rather than across a network.
Note
When specifying network paths, it is best to specify a Universal Naming Convention, or UNC, path rather than a mapped address. A UNC address follows the format, \\Server\Shared Folder. The advantage of the UNC over the mapped drive is that mapped drives can vary from one computer to another, but the UNC is always the same.
Taking precautions when installing configurations
If you have just installed Toolbox for the first time the way that most new users do, then you have probably accepted all defaults. In this situation, the database is installed locally and Toolbox is set to use configurations for sizes. If you had a previous version of Toolbox installed when you installed the new version, you may have installed over the old version or installed a new copy. As you will see, it makes a difference which installation you have performed. If you installed over the old version, you may have made your assemblies inaccessible to older version of SolidWorks even though these assemblies have not been saved to the new version of SolidWorks.
When you put a Toolbox part into an assembly, you do not notice anything other than the part going into the assembly, although it may hesitate while the large database is opened. If you check the part configurations, you may notice that there is a Default configuration and a new configuration that represents the size that you just created. Every new size that you create makes another new configuration. Figure 14.2 shows a Toolbox part with the FeatureManager and ConfigurationManager open, displaying several configurations that Toolbox created in this particular fastener.
Next, you may receive an assembly from a client. Often, because Toolbox parts are located in an area where you would not necessarily look for parts, users send assemblies and parts, but do not send Toolbox parts. You may think that this is okay; after all, you have Toolbox on your system, and so it should pick up your Toolbox parts. The truth is that when receiving an assembly from someone else, you are better off if one of the parties does not have Toolbox on their system.
FIGURE 14.2
A Toolbox part showing the FeatureManager and ConfigurationManager
Avoiding the Huge Screws syndrome
If both you and the client who sent the assembly have Toolbox, then you should be okay, right? Well, yes and no. Yes, your client's assembly will pick up your Toolbox parts, but no, it will not work properly because you do not have all the same configurations and sizes that your client has. In cases like this, you will experience what is sometimes referred to as the Huge Screws syndrome. When SolidWorks finds the right file but cannot find the right configuration, it uses another configuration, usually the Default, which is generally the biggest size.
Part of the really bad news is that if you save your assembly with the incorrect configuration, SolidWorks has no way of knowing that the parts are not the correct size, and you can only solve the problem manually by going through the assembly and reassigning sizes to these parts.
You can work around this problem by opening an assembly that has not yet been saved with the oversized parts, using the Advanced option in the Open dialog box (you can find this in the Configurations list), and then selecting the New configuration showing assembly structure only option. With this option, all components are suppressed. You can unsuppress