1. Simple Stretch
2. Anchoring an External Reference to a Stretch
3. Adding an Offset to an External Reference Anchored to a Stretch
4. Anchoring Multiple External Reference to a Stretch
5. Additional Product Stretch
6. Multiple Stretch Parameters in a Stretch Feature
7. Anchoring a Stretch on top of a Stretch

To ensure the performance of stretching functionality in catalogue products, here are some key factors that show the level of impact of different types of stretch on a catalogue product.

Simple Stretch

Impact Level to Performance: Low

Example:

A simple catalogue stretch is the baseline of catalogue stretch performance. The smoothness of the stretch animation will depend on the incremental value from the minimum to maximum set parameters.

Anchoring an External Reference to a Stretch

Impact Level to Performance: Low

Example:

The drawer above is anchored to the end of an empty stretch file. It moves the origin of the external reference along the stretch direction, to animate the open and close drawer motion. Just as with the simple stretch, the stretch feature was set to Numeric Order and with an incremental value of 1 mm.

Adding an Offset to an External Reference Anchored to a Stretch

Impact Level to Performance: Low

Example:

In a case where the same external reference can be used, an Edit Geometry offset is usually placed and allows us to offset its origin without needing to create another instance of the external reference. In the example above, an addon stretch is added and by offsetting the original external reference, more side tables can be added to the space.

Anchoring Multiple External Reference to a Stretch

Impact Level to Performance: Low to Medium

Example:

Multiple External Reference can be anchored to the end of a stretch. This, however, would increase the impact on performance depending on the number of polygons of the external references that are anchored to the stretch.
In the example above, there are only two External References anchored to the stretch, therefore the impact on performance is minimal.
Expect lower responsiveness, jitteriness, and hiccups when more External References are anchored. 

Additional Product Stretch

Impact Level to Performance: Medium

Example:

Additional Products can be added using the stretch feature. The impact on performance is dependent on the complexity of the Additional Product features and its model polygon count. The example above shows how Additional Products can be used in a stretch feature.

Multiple Stretch Parameters in a Stretch Feature

Impact Level to Performance: Medium to High

Example:

Stretching a round object according to its radius requires you to have multiple stretch parameters in a stretch feature. However, doing so will decrease the performance of the stretch.
In the above example, a round tabletop has two stretch parameters, its width and depth with the scale option checked in the Model Lab stretch section.

Anchoring a Stretch on top of a Stretch

Impact Level to Performance: Medium to High

Example:

Stretch on top of another stretch can be used to animate motion that depends on another motion. The above example utilizes one empty stretch file which has another two empty stretch files anchored on top. Using this method of stretching heavily impacts performance.