Civil technician Michael D. Ishman sends us a tip that will help you maintain your files and improve your startup time when working with 3D renderings.

"The newer 3D engines and tools in AutoCAD 2009 and AutoCAD 2010 give us the ability to easily create complex shapes. You can shade and render your view to make a really slick presentation view. Working in three dimensions, however, can be very taxing on your computer. Even the biggest and best computers can get overburdened, especially when you are rending models. To help your machine work better for you, reduce its load by working in wireframes when possible. Always save your drawing with the current view in 2D wireframe; this will greatly reduce the risk of corrupting your file, and won't put a high demand on your system when you reopen the file."

Notes from Cadalyst Tip Patrol: When you open a file, your computer draws, or generates, your model. If you work in a Visual Style setting of either Conceptual or Realistic, you are asking your computer to render the objects. When you are in a wireframe mode, it only has to vectorize the linework (an easier task). If your 3D model file crashes — and they will — there is a chance it can become corrupted. Taking steps to minimize crashing is always a good idea.