Using Cad Duct/Mech, but super slow!

Our engineering department has been using cad duct/mech for about a year now. On a pretty large job, it has been slowing down, a lot! I understand the more 3d stuff, the slower it will be. I used to think "Man, if we could just get faster computer (processor), that would fix everything". So we went out and bought 6 new HP xw8600 Workstations and the performance did not improve!! Now I think it might be something we are doing (i.e. xrefs, setting, ect.).

Any ideas on how to speed up a drawing with quite a bit of 3d detail?

If you refer to AutoCAD MEP - yes it is slow

I don't use it for production, but have been using it for the last 5+ months doing testings.

And more slow when you first open it.

My 0.02 cts - I know don't help at all.

Any 3D file using MEP/CAD Duct will drastically decrease performance if you start accumulating more and more poly's. I have seen $5,000 computers buckle to it's knees. You just gotta learn how to use certain aspects of the program to help aid in the production process.... like me, I will use the Isolate / Hide tools of MEP to work on one section at a time. Anytime I do an edit I'll select the pieces of duct/MvParts/etc that I want and use the "Edit in Section" tool just to get what I need done.

Also, I will have multiple Layout tabs spanned across my Paperspace section with viewports that are locked with layers frozen via viewport, then I'll use the VPMAX command to work in Modelspace through the viewport so I can switch back and forth from the layers I need very quickly. Just little tricks of the trade is all.... :wink:

Basically 3rd party DataBase does slow machines down as well. Cad Duct has same issues with MEP

Setting ltscale @36 cuts down on regen time. Also doing an xclip of xrefs is a plus.