Inventor assemblies can be as large as 50,000 occurrences and 10,000 unique parts. An occurrence is a reference to a part or subassembly from the main assembly. So, if you pattern a bolt eight times, you would have eight occurrences and one unique part. A more typical large assembly probably contains 3,000 - 5,000 occurrences with 1,000 to 2,000 parts. There is no exact number that defines a "large" assembly.
A large assembly is any assembly file that adversely affects performance. Common reasons for the performance impact are number of occurrences, number of unique files, complexity of geometry, or hardware configuration. The information on this page is intended to help with performance and/or capacity. There is no single solution that helps in all situations. Use the solutions that help in your design environment.
Express mode
Express mode is a method of working with very large assemblies and dramatically reducing the file open time. Express mode optimizes performance by loading only model display and relevant top-level data. See the Express mode topic for more details.
Large assembly terms and considerations
Occurrence A reference to a part or subassembly from the main assembly.
Performance The speed at which a task completes. The amount of time it takes to open a file, create a drawing view, or render an image is performance related.
Capacity The amount of memory required to perform an operation. Capacity affects the number of components you can effectively use in an assembly, or show in a drawing view.
The following table describes issues that are related to large assemblies, and workflows that can improve your processes. Use this table to determine your areas of interest. Then locate the information following to find more detail.
| Long open times | Display geometry | Position components | Model changes | Open drawings | Create drawing views | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skeletal modeling | X | X | ||||
| Common origin | X | |||||
| Workspace envelope | X | |||||
| Component simplification | X | X | ||||
| Project files | X | |||||
| Application Options | X | X | X | X | ||
| LOD representation | X | X | X | X | ||
| Substitute LOD | X | X | X |