CAD Administrator Michael O'Flaherty sends us a surprising way to reduce the file size of 3D drawings.

"When creating a library of 3D standard parts, it's important to keep the size of the part as small as possible; smaller part files result in smaller assemblies. Make the parts without any unnecessary detail, and to finish the job, WBlock them.

"Make your part in a drawing with a name other than the finished block drawing name, something like JUNK.DWG (it saves renaming a file later). When it's done, save it and execute the WBlock command. In the dialog box under Source, select Objects, and leave the Base Point at 0,0,0; under Objects, click on Retain, and set the file name and path to the desired part name and location. Now click on the Select Objects button and select everything you want in the final part file. When everything is selected, click on OK to create the new part. Open it up to check that all is well, but don't save it, just quit. Saving the file adds back the extra bulk we just got rid of.

"In Windows Explorer, compare the size of the original JUNK.DWG and the final part file. Depending on complexity, the final part file can be quite a bit smaller than the original file. I have slimmed down 3D parts that started out at 250 KB to as little as 70 KB. It's a small individual savings, but when multiplied by hundreds or thousands of parts, it adds up."
 
Notes from Cadalyst Tip Patrol: I'll be honest — I didn't believe this tip would work when I first read it, but it was true for the files I tested. Using the Wblock command created the same object file, but with less "fluff" in the file. It was more than one-third smaller!