You can tell if your system supports this by going to the Monitor drop-down in the SOLIDWORKS graphics window. This technique can only be used if your computing system is using a video card that is вЂњRealView GraphicsвЂќ compliant. The calculation will take a very long time to process because of the high count of Edges/Faces.ДЄn option to display a part as вЂњExpanded MetalвЂќ, would be to use a texture. Well, with some trickery and magic, this can ickery and magic being Display State, patience, and a good video card! 3D ModelingД«uilding Expanded Metal as a 3D model is not difficult but it will bog down your computer system and SOLIDWORKS. Customer RequirementsД¬ustomers often need to show details, need a model for a presentation, or on a drawing for the shop floor - it just has to be there! So how do we get the best of both worlds? How do I make a model that is solid in the 3D Model/Assembly that I can see through but see it in the Drawing and it doesnвЂ™t block my other models? It had more than a three minute rebuild time, almost 90,000 triangles, and my graphics performance was gone (until after the rebuild). Think about how many faces, how many edges, and how many points the video card alone must generate! IвЂ™ve seen a 30in x 29.5in plate that had 3,500+ holes and weigh over 10MB.

While the part itself is nothing more than a plate with holes in it and is not much to sketch and pattern - this geometry in CAD is a monster! It is commonly used for fences, walkways, grates, and as metallic lath to support plaster or stucco.

Expanded metal is a type of sheet metal that has been cut and stretched to form a regular pattern to look like a mesh.

Solidworks texture files