Hello
I need to make 3D PDFs of my Solidworks 2017 assemblies. However, users of the PDF should not be able to access the details of the parts, or even the interior parts of the product.
Basically, we'd like them to be able to move the assembly to see the design of the product.
I couldn't find an option on solidworks when generating a 3D pdf to only have the outer envelope. Do you have a solution?
Thank you.
Kind regards.
Hello
I'll first record the assembly in parts (sldprt) and then do a step to make sure that everything has disappeared.
I'll then create the 3D PDF from this step.
Not sure if the step is really necessary but it doesn't cost anything :)
hello, as Ludo says, we can't go from a file to a pdf directly because we keep all the parts. first you have to lighten the whole thing and then make the PDF.
Kind regards
In an assembly file, you can derive a SpeedPak configuration from an existing configuration.
To create a SpeedPak:
You can use Quick Add to include only outer bodies, select by view, or select more or fewer components.
A SpeedPak configuration is created as a child of the original configuration. It is identified by in the ConfigurationManager and _speedpak is appended to its name.
No components appear in the FeatureManager authoring tree. The assembly icon at the top of the tree indicates that the active configuration is a SpeedPak configuration.
In the graphics area, when you move the pointer over an assembly, only the faces and bodies selected for the SpeedPak are visible and can be selected in the region around the pointer.
To see this behavior, make sure your graphics card driver is up to date. See http://www.solidworks.com/pages/services/VideoCardTesting.html.
| Pointer-free stitching |
| A pointer above the assembly. Note that many of the internals are no longer visible since they were not included in the SpeedPak configuration. |
You can create SpeedPak configurations for subassemblies from a parent assembly. You can choose to include only graphs or constrained faces, edges, and points as resolved geometry.
To create a SpeedPak:
Hello
To be tested but I think the defeature function is the most suitable for hiding internal components before generating a 3D PDF.
See this excellent topic
http://forum.solidagora.com/topic1796.html
@+ ;-)
@GT22 it seems to me that speedaks are not compatible with 3D pdfs, and since in the end it is the desired format, not said that the speedpak is suitable here!
Cdt
Thank you for all your answers...
I need a 3D pdf to put it on the company's website. The goal is for customers to be able to visualize our products in 3D. But we don't want them to have access to all the rooms.
It's a shame that we can't do it in a simple way... I will try to save my assembly in parts before making the recording in pdf.
If you have another solution, I'm all for it.
See this link
http://www.forum-cao-3d.fr/solidworks-questions/utilisation-du-speedpack-pour-la-protection-des-donnees-t10523.html
I may have found the solution 
you start with your complete assembly
You save as a "SLDPRT" file with the option "only external faces"
From this "SLDPRT" file you save it in the format "vrml" (see the options ... I don't know if it changes much)
you re-import this "vrml" file into a "sldprt" file
you now have a graphical representation of your starting assembly, but whose faces are absolutely not clickable 
(so you can't select them to thicken them, you can't measure them... )
(big) disadvantages:
- you can't cut through 
- to position it, you only have to use the origin ... since you can't select a face to support yourself
I did the test, it may be a solution
@+ ;-)
Hello
If you have a myCADservices Premium subscription, you can use myProduct to publish your 3D model on your website very easily by retrieving the generated HTML link.
You can publish a model without any interaction other than rotating, translating, or zooming the 3D model
Kind regards
And with an eDrawing rather than a 3D pdf? Wouldn't that be okay?
Otherwise, by registering the assembly in parts beforehand.
There is currently a tutorial on MyCAD:
https://www.my-cad.fr/fusionner-un-assemblage-solidworks-en-une-piece/?utm_source=tous-nos-emailings&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NL_actus_CAO
In chapter 3 of this tutorial, there is also the idea of exporting the whole thing which seems pretty good to me.
gt22 > I would try to record it in parts and then make a 3D pdf.
acombier> We don't want to go through an external link to put on the website so it's not a possible solution for us.
Alan. ERP> I saw on forums that eDrawing was only compatible with internet explorer... We do not want to require customers to use a specific browser.
On the other hand, chapter 3 of the tutorial is very interesting and I would try to do the manipulation.
After several attempts, I didn't manage to get a 3D PDF with a single piece...
The quickest solution, in my opinion, is to remove the coins that we don't see. So we just keep the parts that make up the product envelope. And then, make your 3D PDF. We still have access to the measurements, but users can't see how the inside of the product is designed.
I think it's a shame that there isn't an option during registration to only show the product envelope. And also a shame that we can't block the measurement function on adobe...
Alan. ERP> I think that the solution of transforming the assembly into a part and then combining the bodies is the best... On the other hand, it's a lot of preparatory work... Indeed, after several attempts to have a suitable part, I had to remove all the parts that did not form the envelope of the product to save while keeping all the components. But then I was unable to combine the bodies... So saving in PDF was the same as with assembly.