3Di2XT 3Di to parasolid converter

Import Speed Benchmark



We compare the time it takes SolidWorks to import the same data in STEP format and parasolid X_T format.

Our starting point is a 3Di model of a 4 layer test board used in the RF industry for evaluating transmission lines. This board has very little geometry on the etch layers but a fair amount of vias to isolate the various traces.

benchmark PCB in 3Di

Internally there are two power planes (power planes and dielectrics hidden in the view below)

internals of benchmark board

The 3Di file, benchmark_board.3Di size = 2.5 MB. [benmark_board.zip] 240KB zipped.

The two 3D intermediate formats (STEP and X_T) required about 2 minutes to run through 3Di2STEP and 3Di2XT. This includes FEA conditioning and processing such as merging collinear vias, adding drill holes to the dielectric, generating the "fill" dielectric between conductors and replacing vias with octagons to minimize the number of faces. The 3Di file had already been unionized by our AWROut program; arc recovery was turned off since it is not wanted for most FEA applications.

  File Size
(MB)
Import Time
SolidWorks
(mm:sec)
Import Time
Read3Di-SW
(mm:sec)
Import Time
AutoDesk Inventor
(mm:sec)
3Di 2.5 NA   NA
STEP 401 31:57 NA  
X_T 261 01:13 NA  

We are seeing a 25X improvement using X_T over STEP in import speed. Files that would have taken hours to import using STEP will import in minutes.



Download Details Benchmark Revision History Price