Composite Design > Composite Design Workflow > Setting Up the Composite Environment > Add Composite Materials
Add Composite Materials
You use composite materials to create plies and cores. The cured thickness of a composite material must be a non-zero number.
You can add composite materials to a part, or directly to a composite feature in the Composite environment. When you open a Composite environment or click OK to close the environment, the changes made to the materials and their properties are synchronized between the part and the composite feature.
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When you define a new file for a composite material or open an existing composite material file, the default unit of the angular properties of the material is set by the cmpst_mtrl_angular_prms_unit configuration option.
You can add the required composite materials to the composite feature from the Composite environment as follows:
1. Click Edit Materials. The Materials in Composite # dialog box opens.
2. Browse to the directory that contains the composite material files.
3. Double-click the materials to add them to the composite feature. The composite materials that are added to the Materials in Model list are indicated by .
4. Click OK.
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The added composite materials appear in the Composite Tree under Materials.
Set or Change the Default Material
When you add composite materials to a composite feature, the composite material that is added first in the list is set as the default, and it is identified by . The default material is automatically selected when you create plies or cores.
Set a composite material as the default or change the default material as follows:
1. In the Composite Tree, select the material to set as the default material.
2. Click .
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Changing the default material does not change the material of previously added plies and cores.
Remove a Composite Material
• In the Composite environment, right-click the material in the Composite Tree, and then click Delete.
• In the part environment, right-click the material in the Model Tree, and then click Delete.
Resolve the UNASSIGNED Material State
When the material of a laminate object is removed or becomes unavailable:
• The Material value and the PTC_ASSIGNED_MATERIAL parameter are automatically set to UNASSIGNED.
• The laminate object is visually indicated by a red color and .
• In the Composite Tree:
◦ The Feature Status column for the parent feature displays Unresolved.
◦ The Parents Details column for the features that use the laminate object as a reference also shows Unresolved.
Certain restrictions apply when the material value is not assigned for a laminate object:
• You cannot create a new laminate object with the UNASSIGNED material value.
• You cannot manually change the material value of a laminate object to UNASSIGNED.
• You cannot perform actions, such as solidification and draping simulation, on a laminate object with the UNASSIGNED material value.
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When creating relations based on material values, it is recommended not to use the UNASSIGNED value to prevent errors.
To change the material value from UNASSIGNED to a valid material:
• Use the Laminate Manager, as follows:
1. Click Laminate Manager on the Laminate Tree.
2. Click the cell with the UNASSIGNED value in the Material column.
3. Select the desired material from the list.
4. Click Regenerate.
• Use the Laminate Objects Properties dialog box:
1. Select one or more laminate objects with the UNASSIGNED material value.
2. Right-click any selected laminate object, and then select Properties from the shortcut menu.
3. Select the desired material in the Material box.
4. Click OK.
• Use the feature that creates the laminate object:
1. Select the feature that created the laminate object and then click Edit Definition.
2. Select the desired material in the Material box.
3. Click OK.
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