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Integrated BIM tools, including Revit, AutoCAD, and Civil 3D
Professional CAD/CAM tools built on Inventor and AutoCAD
Assign and manage Physical Materials and Appearances in Fusion.
Type:
Tutorial
Length:
4 min.
Transcript
00:03
In Fusion, you can create, customize, and apply materials to components and bodies.
00:10
The Physical Material command enables you apply color and engineering properties to components and bodies.
00:17
You can also use the Appearance command, to apply color to components, bodies, and faces.
00:24
Although it is not necessary for a 3D modeling project,
00:28
if you do want to specify physical materials and appearances for parts,
00:32
it is important to have a clear understanding of how the part is manufactured, and of your overall project.
00:38
In this example of a trigger part for a reciprocating saw model, most likely, it will be injection molded, probably from an ABS plastic.
00:47
Given the information available, it makes sense to assign a physical material and appearance to the saw trigger.
00:54
You can always reassign them later if new information becomes available.
00:59
To assign physical materials from the model workspace, in the Browser, right-click the Trigger and select Open.
01:07
This opens the Trigger on a new document tab.
01:10
Start by setting the physical material.
01:13
In the Browser, right-click the top-level Trigger and select Physical Material.
01:19
In the Physical Material dialog, place the pointer over the material under In This Design,
01:24
to see that Fusion applies the default material of steel to all new bodies.
01:29
In the Library group, you can access different types of materials by clicking the categories.
01:35
For the saw trigger part, expand Plastics.
01:38
Scroll through the available options, and for this example, assign an ABS Plastic by dragging and dropping it onto the trigger part.
01:47
Once applied, you can see the new material, ABS plastic, added to the In This Design group.
01:53
Here, you can right-click or double-click the material to change the Density.
01:58
Click Advanced to open the Material Editor, which provides several options for you to edit,
02:03
including descriptive and product-specific information.
02:08
Click the Appearance tab to modify the visual appearance properties,
02:12
and click the Physical tab to modify general Information, Basic Thermal properties, Mechanical properties, and Strength.
02:21
For this example, however, you do not need to make any changes to the default material properties.
02:27
Click Cancel to close the Material Editor, then Close the Physical Material dialog.
02:33
The process to assign appearances is similar and does not affect the physical properties of the part.
02:39
In the Browser, right-click the top-level Trigger and select Appearance.
02:44
From the Appearance dialog, you can choose to apply the material to either bodies and components, or to individual faces.
02:52
The In This Design group shows the material appearances in this design.
02:57
The default steel is gray satin, while the ABS applied to the trigger is white.
03:02
Below that is the Library group, where you can choose from a variety of different appearances and finishes for your models and parts.
03:10
You can also create your own appearances and set favorites.
03:14
For this example, drag the white material and drop it onto the trigger part.
03:19
Then, double-click the Plastic material to open the Material Editor.
03:25
The appearance color is currently white, but you can change it to any color.
03:30
As you make adjustments, you see the color change on the model.
03:34
When you are finished, click Done, and then Close the Appearance dialog.
03:39
You can now Save the file.
03:42
Switch back to the Reciprocating Saw tab, and from the Application bar, click Update to update the assembly.
03:49
You can now see the updated trigger appearance in the context of the model.
Video transcript
00:03
In Fusion, you can create, customize, and apply materials to components and bodies.
00:10
The Physical Material command enables you apply color and engineering properties to components and bodies.
00:17
You can also use the Appearance command, to apply color to components, bodies, and faces.
00:24
Although it is not necessary for a 3D modeling project,
00:28
if you do want to specify physical materials and appearances for parts,
00:32
it is important to have a clear understanding of how the part is manufactured, and of your overall project.
00:38
In this example of a trigger part for a reciprocating saw model, most likely, it will be injection molded, probably from an ABS plastic.
00:47
Given the information available, it makes sense to assign a physical material and appearance to the saw trigger.
00:54
You can always reassign them later if new information becomes available.
00:59
To assign physical materials from the model workspace, in the Browser, right-click the Trigger and select Open.
01:07
This opens the Trigger on a new document tab.
01:10
Start by setting the physical material.
01:13
In the Browser, right-click the top-level Trigger and select Physical Material.
01:19
In the Physical Material dialog, place the pointer over the material under In This Design,
01:24
to see that Fusion applies the default material of steel to all new bodies.
01:29
In the Library group, you can access different types of materials by clicking the categories.
01:35
For the saw trigger part, expand Plastics.
01:38
Scroll through the available options, and for this example, assign an ABS Plastic by dragging and dropping it onto the trigger part.
01:47
Once applied, you can see the new material, ABS plastic, added to the In This Design group.
01:53
Here, you can right-click or double-click the material to change the Density.
01:58
Click Advanced to open the Material Editor, which provides several options for you to edit,
02:03
including descriptive and product-specific information.
02:08
Click the Appearance tab to modify the visual appearance properties,
02:12
and click the Physical tab to modify general Information, Basic Thermal properties, Mechanical properties, and Strength.
02:21
For this example, however, you do not need to make any changes to the default material properties.
02:27
Click Cancel to close the Material Editor, then Close the Physical Material dialog.
02:33
The process to assign appearances is similar and does not affect the physical properties of the part.
02:39
In the Browser, right-click the top-level Trigger and select Appearance.
02:44
From the Appearance dialog, you can choose to apply the material to either bodies and components, or to individual faces.
02:52
The In This Design group shows the material appearances in this design.
02:57
The default steel is gray satin, while the ABS applied to the trigger is white.
03:02
Below that is the Library group, where you can choose from a variety of different appearances and finishes for your models and parts.
03:10
You can also create your own appearances and set favorites.
03:14
For this example, drag the white material and drop it onto the trigger part.
03:19
Then, double-click the Plastic material to open the Material Editor.
03:25
The appearance color is currently white, but you can change it to any color.
03:30
As you make adjustments, you see the color change on the model.
03:34
When you are finished, click Done, and then Close the Appearance dialog.
03:39
You can now Save the file.
03:42
Switch back to the Reciprocating Saw tab, and from the Application bar, click Update to update the assembly.
03:49
You can now see the updated trigger appearance in the context of the model.
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