Verification on rebuild (enable advanced body checking)

Controls the level of error checking when you create or modify features. For most applications, the default setting (cleared) is adequate and results in a faster rebuild of the model.

When you run a Ctrl+Q (forced rebuild), SolidWorks will rebuild your sessions edits. But a forced rebuild will not run a stringent check on bodies, faces and edges by default. When working with complex models and surfaces this check is paramount. Having this setting cleared can lead to disaster down the track, and the user in none the wiser.

This setting can be found at: Tools>Options>System Options>Performance>

Setting in SolidWorks under Tools>Options

By default this setting is off…
Reasons for having it off:

1.        SolidWorks rebuild time will be faster
2.        Sheetmetal flatten/un-flatten feature faster

Yes… only 2 reasons (and in my mind not good ones)
Reasons for having the setting enabled:

1. SolidWorks® preforms a stringent check on solids and surfaces ensuring that they are valid
2. Avoid unexplained geometry errors further down the feature tree
3. When creating drawings, ensures that you have high quality views
4. Exporting to DXF/DWG without error
5. Avoid zero thickness geometry being created
6. Unexplained transparencies on faces in a model
7. Avoid invalid surfaces
8. Ensure Scale feature can work
9. Ensuring correct mass properties calculation

The list can go on and on…
The biggest example that I’ve had on Support regarding this setting is when a customer called in saying he’s got a large assembly and he needs to get the parts exported to DXF for the suppliers asap but cannot, the DXF file is empty!

I noticed that upon opening the drawing files that needed to be exported to DXF, all the views were in draft quality. The problem boiled down to modelling without the verification on rebuild setting enabled. Once we enabled the verification on rebuild setting many part feature trees lit up like Christmas trees with red cherries all over them. The user was none the wiser for months modelling as SolidWorks was not reporting the errors due to not validating the validity of the surfaces and bodies in the models. Once we set a few models straight by fixing up the errors the drawing views now where in high quality and the DXF export worked!

Watch out for this setting, as in the case above the poor customer was up for weeks of repairing models, and he ended up submitting late to his supplier.

You may have heard in the past that this setting will slow you down. This is an old school way of thought; with the PC’s we have now this setting will not slow you down enough to worry.