Composite Design > Composite Material > Create a Composite Material
Create a Composite Material
1. Open the Materials dialog box in one of the following ways:
◦ In a part:
▪ In the Model Tree, right-click the part and click Edit Materials.
▪ In the Model Tree, right-click Materials and click Edit Materials.
▪ Click File > Prepare > Model Properties. Click change in the Material row.
◦ In a Composite environment:
▪ Click Edit Materials.
▪ In the Composite Tree, right-click Composite and click Edit Materials.
▪ In the Composite Tree, right-click Materials and click Edit Materials.
2. Click . Alternatively, click File > New > Composite Material. The Material Definition dialog box opens.
3. Enter a name for the material in the Name box.
4. Enter a description for the material in the Description box.
5. Enter a value greater than 0 for the density of the material in the Density box, and then select a unit of measurement from the adjacent box.
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If you select a unit of measurement that is different from the assigned system of units for the model, then the Changing Parameter units dialog box opens and allows you to convert or interpret the parameter value. Interpret Value (for example 1" becomes 1mm) is the default.
6. Use the following tabs to define the properties of the material:
Structural—Defines the structural properties for the material of a model.
Thermal—Defines thermal properties for a material of a model.
Composite—Defines properties of a composite material. The cured thickness value must be greater than 0. To learn how to define the properties of a composite material, see Properties of a Composite Material.
Miscellaneous—Defines sheet metal properties, surface properties, and cross-hatching.
Appearance—Defines appearances.
User Defined—Defines parameter definitions and adds them to the materials database. To learn how to create a user-defined parameter, see To Create a Parameter topic in Fundamentals and follow steps from step 4.
7. To save the material to the library, perform the following steps.
a. Click Save to Library. The Save a Copy dialog box opens.
b. Browse to the library folder and click OK. If you have added or edited appearances then the Save dialog box opens.
c. Click OK. By default, the appearances are saved in a file named global.dmt in the same location where the material file is saved or in the location defined by the global_appearance_file configuration option.
8. To save a material to the model, click Save to Model. The material is saved to the model and appears in the Materials dialog box in the Materials in Model column.
9. Click OK to save the changes and close the Materials dialog box.
Edit the Properties of a Composite Material
1. Locate the material in one of the following ways:
◦ In the Model Tree, expand Design Items > Materials.
◦ In the Composite Tree, expand Setup Items > Materials.
2. Right-click the material and select Edit Definition. The Material Definition dialog box opens.
3. Edit the properties.
4. Click OK to save changes and close the dialog box.
5. Click Regenerate to regenerate the model, if not regenerated automatically.
Create a Copy of a Composite Material
1. In the part or in the Composite environment, use Edit Materials to open the Materials dialog box.
2. From the Materials in Model list, right-click the composite material, and then click Copy.
The copy appears in the Materials in Model list as Copy_of_<name>, while subsequent copies of the same material appear as Copy1_of_<name>, Copy2_of_<name>, and so on.
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Optionally, you can use the Material Definition dialog box to edit the information, such as name, description, or any other properties. To open the dialog box, right-click the copied material and then select Properties.
3. Click OK to save the changes and close the Materials dialog box.
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